INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT RECORDS
SEARCHING THE GUIDE
There are a variety of ways to search the Guide.
Reference and Research Page: Topical Finding Aids
Exploring our Research Guides, also found under the Reference and Research tab, is the recommended first step for all users, especially the "Topic Specific Research Guides" section.
If You Know a Collection Number
If you know the collection number (also called an accession or series number) of the record you want to locate, then please use the "Jump to" box on the right hand side of the page. For example: “S1179” is the series number for county death records for the years 1910-1951. This will take you directly to the catalog page for these records with links to any digitized images, or the physical storage location.
Change Your Results View
When using the basic search box for records, there are three types of search available: Display by Series, Display by Agency, and Display by Qualifier. For the vast majority of searches, we recommend the first two options.
Display by Series has organized the records alphabetically by type of record. For example, clicking on “T” will result in all record series beginning with “T,” such as Tax Assessments, Testamentary Papers, Tobacco Inspection Papers, etc.
TIP: Beware of synonyms for the series title given to a record. (Articles of Incorporation can be listed as Charter records, pre-1851; Equity Cases as Chancery Papers; Divorce Papers as Equity Papers in some counties; Deeds as Land Records, etc.)
Display by Agency has organized the records alphabetically by the agency that created the record. (For example: a county Circuit Court, Prerogative Court, Secretary of State, etc.)
Display by Qualifier is an option best suited for advanced researchers. It is an arrangement of the records by level of government which created them including the county, state, and municipal (city) levels. For example, if a record was created by a state agency, it will be listed as a STAGSER or STate AGency SERies. On exception to this arrangement are the TRANSER or the Transferred Series. This is the listing of record series transferred to the Maryland State Archives that have not been fully described through archival accessioning procedures, and therefore TRANSER may contain county, state or municipal records.
Filtering Results
You can filter your results when searching. More than one filter can be used at a time. The filters include:
Jurisdiction: Limit your search to a specific County or Municipality (city)
Series Name: Specify that you want only a specific type of record, for instance: Testamentary Papers
TIP: If you are not sure of the exact record series title, just type a part of the series name (“testamentary” or "testa")
Agency: The entity that created the record (Circuit Court, Register of Wills, etc.)
TIP: If you are not sure of the Agency’s exact title, just type a part of the title (“register”)
Date: Date of record creation
Form: Paper, Microfilm, Electronic
LOCATIONS OF RECORDS
Note that over half the records listed in the Guide are stored in remote facilities outside Annapolis, including all records housed separately at the Baltimore City Archives, a subsidiary of the Maryland State Archives. When planning a visit to the Archives, feel free to contact us at msa.helpdesk@maryland.gov, and our archivists will be happy to confirm the location of the records that you need. Records in the Archives building in Annapolis have a location that begins with a two digit number. All other records stored elsewhere begin with letters. In addition, all records with citations of BRG, BTR, and BMS are available in the original only at the Baltimore City Archives, by appointment only.
SERIES CITATION INFORMATION
The Society of American Archivists describes a “series” as A group of similar records that are arranged according to a filing system and that are related as the result of being created, received, or used in the same activity; a file group; record series. When records are inventoried by, or transferred to, the Maryland State Archives, their original arrangement and order, as intended by the creating agency, is maintained as much as possible, although some series are artificial creations by the Archives to bring a semblance of order out of records that have been poorly managed and cared for prior to transfer. The citation for every series unit is uniformly structured whether it be records in the custody of the Archives or records in another repository managed by the State Archives, such as the Baltimore City Archives. For example:
Level of Government = BALTIMORE CITY
Collecting Agency = BALTIMORE CITY ARCHIVES
Record Group = (Mayor's Office)
Series Content Description = Calhoun Correspondence to the City Council
Date Span = 1797-1802
MSA Designated Series Number/citation = BRG9-1
or
Level of Government = FREDERICK COUNTY
Creating Agency = REGISTER OF WILLS
Series Name= (Inventories)
Date Span = 1749-1851
MSA Designated Series Number/citation = C807
Note on Series Numbers: The letter at the beginning of each series number identifies the type of record it is. As shown:
C = County Record
CM = County Record on Microfilm
CE = County Record in Electronic Format | T = Transferred Record
TM = Transferred Record on Microfilm
TE = Transferred Record in Electronic Format |
S = State Record
SM = State Record on Microfilm
SE = State Record in Electronic Format | M = Municipal Record
MM = Municipal Record on Microfilm
ME = Municipal Record in Electronic Format |
BRG=Baltimore City Archives Record Group BMS=Baltimore City Manuscript Collections BRT=Baltimore City Records Transfers | |
ABOUT THE ARCHIVES
The Maryland State Archives is the central repository for state government records of permanent value with a broad legal mandate to acquire and care for both public and private records relating to the history of Maryland from the earliest times of Lord Baltimore to the present. Its mission is to
A. Protect records considered essential to the continuing operation of government;
B. Guarantee the integrity and preservation of permanent records;
C. Ensure the legal admissibility of the permanent record;
D. Secure the rights and privileges of citizens;
E. Assure public access to the records of government;
F. Promote legal and fiscal accountability of government agencies; and
G. Provide a means to document administrative history of government agencies.
The Guide to Government Records was created to assist users in accessing these records. It describes series of records which have been created by state, county, or municipal agencies.
This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.
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