Certificates of deaths that occurred in Maryland counties. Entries on 4X6 inch cards include name of decedent, place and cause of death, age, place of birth and names of parents, race, occupation, marital status and name of spouse, if any. Arranged chronologically by month and year, then alphabetically by surname for each county. Indexed for 1898-1910 under BOARD OF HEALTH Death Record, Counties, Index series [MSA S1177]; microfilm, [MSA SM25]; online [MSA SE58]. Note that the Maryland law mandating the recordation of vital records by the counties, excluding Baltimore City, begins in May 1898 (Chapter 312, Article 43 of the Code of Public General Laws, title "Health", sub-title "State Board of Health"). Very few records consisting of death dates prior to May 1898 exist, having been recorded retroactively and in most cases are errors in recordation.