We have compiled original and transcribed sources that document the African-American experience in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Together they enable researchers to discover new themes and stories that highlight the enduring connections within Delmarva's Black communities.
The Nabb Center acknowledges that historical records may contain harmful language that reflects attitudes and biases of their time. We do not alter, edit, or modify original records or original captions, as they are part of the historical record. We're also working to address harmful language that may appear in staff-generated descriptions.
Here is the complete list of sources we have transcribed or extracted, with information about each to help you gauge their usefulness for your purposes. Please remember that many of these sources are not the complete record; individuals denoted as people of color were extracted from larger sets of records. New sources will be continually added as we continue this project.
This source was extracted from The 1798 Federal Direct Tax of Somerset County, Maryland, which documented the description of the land, commercial buildings, number of slave owners, and a description of each d…
The 1800 Census was the second census recorded in the United States. These records include individuals who were listed as "negro" or "mulatto" on the Delmarva Peninsula. Part of these records were originally tr…
The 1810 Census was the third census recorded in the United States. These records include individuals who were listed as "negro" or "mulatto" on the Delmarva Peninsula. These records were originally transcribed…
The 1820 census was the fourth recorded in the United States. Questions from this census differed from years prior by asking for the number of individuals either free or enslaved within their household and thei…
The 1830 census of the United States recorded every head of household in the country (note: Somerset and Queen Anne's counties in Maryland are missing), with others in the household tallied by age range. This t…
The 1832 census of free Blacks was taken by the sheriffs in Maryland and overseen by a 3-person board of managers who were members of the Maryland State Colonization Society. According to the 1831 “An Act re…
The 1850 census was the seventh census recorded in the United States. These records include all individuals who were listed as 'Black' or 'Mulatto' in the field that denoted racial identity. For individuals who…
During the 1850 census, a separate 'slave schedule' enumerated the enslaved people in the United States. Enslaved people were not listed by name and instead were listed by slaveowner in each county and election…
The 1860 census was the eighth census recorded in the United States. These records include all individuals who were listed as 'Black' or 'Mulatto' in the field that denoted racial identity. For individuals who …
During the 1860 census, a separate 'slave schedule' enumerated the enslaved people in the United States. Enslaved people were not listed by name and instead were listed by slaveowner in each county and election…
In 1890, the United States conducted a special census of veterans of the American Civil War; the 1890 population census for the United States was destroyed in a fire. This compilation currently includes Black M…
These records, abstracted from the world's largest gravesite database, Find a Grave, include the names, birthdates, death dates, and burial locations of people interred at known African-American burial sites in…
Caroline County was formed in June 1773 out of the parent counties of Dorchester and Queen Anne’s, Maryland; it borders Sussex County, Delaware. These land records were abstracted from the series of books en…
This database contains extracts from the Abstracts From the Land Records of Dorchester County, Maryland series abstracted by James A. McAllister, Jr., the former Assistant Register of Wills of Dorchester County…
This source was abstracted from William Still's 1872 Underground Railroad, which documented the narratives of individuals who had escaped slavery in the South. Stories of individuals who escaped from or throu…
This abstract of land records is extracted from the series of Maryland land record books by Leslie and Neil Keddie. The original records can be found on https://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm by searching the ap…
Delmarva locations were extracted from the “finding aids” of microfilm series Petitions to Southern County Courts, 1775-1867, from Series II of Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks Part B (Maryland (1775-1866), D…
Abstract entries such as apprenticeships of free people of color and transactions regarding sales, sometimes including names, of enslaved people and the names of the deceased’s estate from which they came are…
This source was abstracted from the records compiled by Barry W. Miles and Moody K. Milles III. Sources for these records include Accomack County Wills, District Court Wills & Deeds, Superior and Circuit Court …
These court proceedings detail the changing ownership of apprentices or the enslaved to other individuals. This abstract only contains data for people noted as "Free" or "Slave". These records of court proceedi…
This source includes abstracts of references to free and enslaved Black individuals found in the Worcester County Orphans Court Proceedings (Liber TT5) 1848-1851. These Orphans Court records include Apprentice…
These indentures were transcribed by Gail M. Walczyk from the Court Records from Wills and Deeds to Orphans Accounts and published by Peter's Row in 2002. This compilation includes individuals noted as peopl…
Transcribed and compiled by Gail M. Walczyk, this register records the deaths of African Americans in Accomack County, Virginia between 1853 and 1896 (excepting 1861 to 1864).
The apprenticeship applications submitted to the Register of Wills documents the attempts of former slaveowners to maintain possession of the children of their recently freed slaves immediately after 1864 Maryl…
The apprenticeship applications submitted to the Register of Wills documents the attempts of former slaveowners to maintain possession of the children of their recently freed slaves immediately after 1864 Maryl…
This source contains the births, deaths, marriages, and other familial records of both enslaved and free Black families in Northampton County and (additionally) Accomack County. The majority of the family bible…
This 1914 to 1922 birth registry from the office of Dr. Jesse Rosenberger Wanner includes the dates of birth and the physicians or midwives carrying out the births. Dr Wanner’s practice covered the Nanticoke…
This abstract includes individuals who died within one year prior to June 1st of the decennial U.S. census in Caroline County, Maryland from 1850 to 1880. These schedules may be the only record of a person’s …
Cemetery data is produced from Linda Duyer's book titled One Kind Favor: African American Burial Sites of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, compiled in 1997. Data include tombstone transcriptions, family rela…
This source was abstracted from the book Manumission Records 1806-1864 Dorchester County, Maryland transcribed by Elaine McGill. While the title of the book indicates manumission records, they are actually c…
A Certificate of Freedom, issued by the Clerk of the Court of Somerset County, proved the status of Black individuals, in some instances preventing them from being resold into slavery. These certificates featur…
This source contains the baptisms, births, confirmations, and funerals of both enslaved and free Black people in Coventry Parish (Somerset County) between 1742 and 1896. Information in this source includes the …
This source contains the marriages of both enslaved and free Black people in Coventry Parish (Somerset County) between 1843 and 1858. Information in this source includes the names of the bride and groom, slaveo…
The Delaware Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1864 for African American Methodists in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic region that included parts of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ne…
Bastardy Bonds posted by the father of an illegitimate child ensured reimbursement for the expenses acquired by those caring for the child. These data are abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' "Sussex Count…
Coroner’s inquests are investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural, or suspicious manner, or who died without medical attendance. This data is abstracted from Delawa…
Abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' partial index of legislation passed by Delaware's General Assembly from 1776 to 1911. This extraction lists legislation that refers to “negro,” "slaves," or “colo…
This source compiles correspondences, testimonies, military orders, and other written documents from the edited volumes and project website of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project, which is supported by th…
This source includes newspaper advertisements placed by slave traders to buy or sell slaves throughout the state. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryla…
This source was compiled from two volumes of Dorchester County Chattel Records (Libers FJH2 & WJ3) found online at the Maryland State Archives – Volumes 776 & 805. The original Libers include bills of sale fo…
The records in this collection contain the names, ages, occupations, marital status, marriage dates and locations (often someone’s home) of the marriages in Dorchester County, Maryland between 1866 and 1906. …
These audiovisual sources come from a variety of collections at the Nabb Research Center and primarily consist of oral history interviews, although there are some performances and events with audio. Videos are …
This source documents the enslaved individuals born to the Bradley family in Maryland (likely western Wicomico County) from the years 1836 to 1861. This loose page was included amongst other family bible pages …
Recorded by Isaac and Frances Molock and later descendants, this source documents the births, marriages, and deaths of members of the Molock family, a Black family living in Dorchester County, Maryland, between…
This bible, printed in 1767, was maintained by Thomas Pollitt of Worcester County, Maryland, who recorded the names and birthdates of 10 children of Titus and Rachel, two individuals who he (and later his child…
This source contains the births and deaths of children enslaved to the Colonna family in Accomack County, Virginia between 1846 and 1858. This source also includes the children's names, their mother's names, an…
This source, abstracted from original records by Paul Heinegg, compiles the histories of free Black families that lived on the Delmarva Peninsula during the Colonial Era. Many of these families descended throug…
This source contains correspondence from agents and administrators of the Freedmen's Bureau requesting assistance for schools on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in Delaware. The records are dated from 1869 to 187…
In 1864 Maryland ratified their constitution to free all enslaved people in the state. While apprenticeships had long been a practice in the region, formerly enslaved children and the children of former slaves…
This source contains monthly reports from schools commissioned by the Freedmen's Bureau across the Delmarva Peninsula after the Civil War. The records are dated 1869-1870 and provide statistics and general rema…
This source documents information about the individuals who were once enslaved by the owners of Handsell Plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Compiled and researched by the Nanticoke Historic Preservation…
These two hiring agreements for people likely enslaved by the Gilliss family of Worcester County, Maryland come from the Gilliss Family Collection (1999.006) at the Nabb Research Center. The Gilliss Family Coll…
This source, titled Instruments of Freedom, Deeds and Wills of Emancipation Northampton County, Virginia 1782-1864, (F 232. N85 L37 1994), was transcribed, compiled and indexed by Frances Bibbins Latimer. Thi…
These notes, compiling the names of people noted as Blacks or negroes in the land records of Somerset and Worcester counties, were abstracted from the Nabb Center’s John Jacob Collection (1984.016) of note c…
These notes, compiling the names of people noted as Blacks or negroes in the land records of Somerset and Worcester counties, were abstracted from the Nabb Center’s John Jacob Collection (1984.016) of note c…
This source compiles many of the laws that affected enslaved Americans and free Black people in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia between 1642 and 1860. Included are colonial and state-level laws, as well as pro…
This source documents the baptisms conducted by the clergy at Malone Methodist Episcopal Church, which was within the Delaware Conference's (African American) Madison Circuit in Dorchester County, Maryland. Dat…
This source documents the marriages conducted by the clergy at the Malone Methodist Episcopal Church, which was within the Delaware Conference's (African American) Madison Circuit in Dorchester County, Maryland…
This abstract includes deeds of manumission for formerly enslaved people found between 1825-1866 in Somerset and Worcester counties, Maryland. Included in the listing are the names of slave-owners and the ensla…
This source consists of abstracts of manumissions recorded in the Delaware Public Archives’ Deed Records of Sussex County, Delaware between the years of 1639 and 1843; the majority of the entries are manumiss…
This source contains abstracts from the book Volume 3 Maryland Colonization Society Manumission Book 1832-1860 abstracted by Jerry M. Hynson. (E 185.86 H9). It contains abstracts from the *Record of Manumissio…
This source includes transcriptions of death certificates dating from May 1910 to March 1922 that document the deaths of Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester County, Maryland people who were recorded as Black (or…
This source includes data compiled from records of individuals arrested during the Antebellum period for slavery related crimes (specifically 1811-1864). This source includes only records from Eastern Shore cou…
This source was derived from two volumes of Maryland in the World War 1917-1919, published by the Maryland War Records Commission in 1933. Records include veterans of the First World War who were denoted as "…
Compiled from "Marylanders to Liberia” by Jerry M. Hynson, published in Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin Spring 1998 Volume 39 Number 2, which abstracted data from *U.S. Congress, Senate, Roll of Emig…
This medical accounts ledger documents Alexander Hamilton Bayly's medical work in Dorchester County, Maryland from 1835 to 1847. Based in Cambridge, Bayly's patients lived across the county and included free Bl…
Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…
Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…
Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…
Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These cemetery records feature information of the deceased, showing birth dates as early as 1816 and de…
Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These baptismal records note the dates and names of individuals baptized from 1889 to 1917. Some record…
Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These marriage records document the names, ages, and residences of couples seeking union in Wicomico Co…
This register notes the names, birthdates, appearances, and birthplaces of free Black people in Northampton County, Virginia from 1853 to 1861. The register was compiled and published by Frances Bibbins Latimer…
This source includes Dockets (1862-1869) and Records (1845-1865) showing individuals pardoned from jail. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryland counti…
This source (and description) was extracted from data provided under Creative Commons from the Library of Virginia’s VIRGINIA UNTOLD: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NARRATIVE project. The Library’s African American N…
This source is derived from Records of the Slave Claims Commissions Volume I. Register of Claims of the Delaware Commission and Volume III Journal of the First Maryland Commission by Michael Hait. The Slave…
Brownsville, an estate just east of Nassawadox in Northampton County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, was owned by the Upshur family for many centuries and now stands as the headquarters to The Nature Conserva…
This abstract comes from Commissioner of Slave Statistics, Robert Bell's book of slave statistics, recorded in Dorchester County, Maryland between 1864 and 1868. It was later transcribed by Elaine McGill. *A ta…
The Delaware Conference was the African-American conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church that included the geographic area of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, as well as parts of New J…
This roll of the enlisted men of the 7th Regiment USCT was abstracted from the 1878 book Record of the Services of the Seventh Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops from September 1863 to November 1866 compiled by Jo…
Included in this source are runaway advertisements that slaveowners placed in local papers in an attempt to retrieve their escaped slaves. Other advertisements were placed by County Sheriffs trying to return ru…
The 1921 directory of the City of Salisbury, Maryland was compiled and edited by Harry S. Duffy and C. Edward Williams. It denoted African American residents with an [x] next to the addressee. Data included nam…
These data were compiled from various sources that document the segregated schools on the Delmarva Peninsula, including African American Education in Delaware by Bradley Skelcher (1999), Landmarks by France…
This source includes names of individuals found in Baltimore City and County jail. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryland counties, please visit the L…
This source was abstracted from land records that recorded information regarding slave sales including the names of the buyers, sellers, and names of the enslaved individuals. Also noted are the dollar amounts …
This abstract includes data from Bond Book EB 1805-1815, which was transcribed by Rebecca F. Miller in 1993 (F187.S7 B6). This abstraction includes only records for people listed as "negroes," slaves, or free B…
Somerset County Bonds 1827-1850 are contained in the Probate records under the Register of Wills (Somerset, Maryland). Entries pertaining to people noted as "negroes" were extracted from Bond Books JP8, JP13, …
Abstracted from Roy C. Pollitt's 1986 transcription, Somerset County, Maryland Marriage Records, 1796-1871. Note that in most cases, the date recorded reflects the date the licenses were purchased, but the ac…
These receipts regarding the guardianship of estates come from Somerset County receipt books EB 30 and JP 10, with dates ranging from 1808 to 1842. Items referencing people of color were abstracted by Rebecca F…
This source is an abstract of the 1852-1866 Somerset County, Maryland tax assessment ledger for the Barren Creek District. This assessment also includes what became the Sharptown District. In 1867, both distri…
This abstract of the 1852-1866 tax assessment ledger is for Dames Quarter District 4 and Dublin District 8 of Somerset County, Maryland.
Assessment records include taxable property, such as land, livestock, …
This extraction from the 1817-1822 Somerset County, Maryland tax assessment ledger is for District 2 (there were 3 districts during this period; District 2 included much of the central portion of the county at …
There were three tax districts in Somerset County, Maryland during this time period. It appears that only records from Districts 1 and 3 are extant; District 2 is missing. These assessment records include taxa…
An almshouse provided charitable housing for the poor or landless of the county. These records are abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' "Sussex County Almshouse Births and Deaths." Data shows the births an…
These records document an agreement between an apprentice and master to learn a trade, such as farming, housekeeping, blacksmithing, etc. Agreements include terms of service, payment received at the end of serv…
This source details the property assessed for taxation of individuals in the Dagsborough and Lewes & Rehobeth Hundreds in Sussex Co., Delaware, ranging from the years 1801-1868. Enslaved persons (along with the…
This listing, extracted from Bound to Serve: The Indentured Children In Talbot County, Maryland 1794-1920 (F187.T2 L46 1983) by R. Bernice Leonard, contains indentures of “free” children that were filed …
This listing was abstracted from the book Talbot County Maryland Marriage Licenses 1850-1875 (F187.T2 L55) by R. Bernice Leonard. Her book is basically an index that includes the groom, bride, date and minis…
This abstract includes individuals who died within one year prior to June 1st of the decennial U.S. census in Delaware and Virginia from 1850 to 1880. These schedules may be the only record of a person’s deat…
This source was abstracted from Graven in Stone and Buried Under the Shield: A Guide to Gravestones of Maryland's Civil War Veterans by Ralph E. Eschelman and A. Douglas Rawlingson. The full inventory (MSA SC…
This source includes manumission records for Dorchester, Caroline, and Talbot Counties in Maryland. A manumission is the legal document freeing an enslaved person and can be found in land, probate, and chattel …
Slaves mustered into the 19th Regiment, US Colored Troops (Dorchester, Somerset, and Worcester Counties, Maryland). Compiled by Linda Duyer from original versions of the Maryland Adjutant General Civil War Must…
These records were compiled from Linda Duyer's One Kind Favor - See That My Grave's Kept Clean: African American Burial Sites of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, Maryland. Duyer's listings were compiled dire…
This source (and description) was extracted from data provided under Creative Commons from the Library of Virginia’s VIRGINIA UNTOLD: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NARRATIVE project. The Library’s African American N…
From Leslie Anderson Morales (Editor) 2007 index of this record: In 1853, the Commonwealth of Virginia began an annual registration of births and deaths. The Birth Index of Slaves, 1853-1865 was later transcrib…
These records were recorded from Accomack County (Va.) Deeds, 1701-1838 (bulk 1737-1820). Beginning in 1778, Virginia law required enslavers who brought enslaved people into the state to register them with the …
As early as 1691, the Virginia General Assembly began passing laws that forced free Black Virginias to leave the Commonwealth. Fears around insurrection and the desire to control Black bodies gave rise to insti…
Commonwealth causes are criminal court cases filed by the state government that consist primarily of warrants, summons, subpoenas, indictments, recognizances, and verdicts handed down by juries and other legal …
Coroner’s Inquisitions are investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural, or suspicious manner, or who died without medical attendance. Documents commonly found in cor…
Deeds of emancipation and manumission essentially provide the same information and there is little difference between the two. Both include the name of the enslaver, the name of the enslaved person to be freed,…
Acts passed by the Virginia Legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every “free negro” or “mulatto” to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk. This collection contains records…
Virginia enacted legislation during the Civil War to requisition enslaved and free Black people to work on military fortifications and other defensive works around the Commonwealth. The records found in this co…
Free Negro Tax Records include “Free Negro Tax Lists” and “Free Negro Delinquent Tax Lists.” In 1801, the Virginia Legislature passed an act requiring commissioners of the revenue to annually return a c…
Freedom suits are law suits initiated by enslaved people seeking to gain their freedom. This collection includes petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, and wills. They record enslaved peoples’ …
Indentures of apprenticeship are composed of indentures binding out free Black individuals, often children, to learn a particular trade or craft. These indentures may be written agreements between the family of…
Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, manumission of enslaved people, petitions for…
In 1806, the General Assembly passed a law to suppress the manumissions of slaves. The law stated that all formerly enslaved people freed after May 1, 1806, who remained in the Commonwealth more than a year cou…
Localities and individuals submitted public claims to the Auditor of Public Accounts to obtain payment for services rendered to the state. The Auditor of Public Accounts was the chief auditor and accountant of …
A “runaway slave record,” or as it is officially titled, “Runaway and Escaped Slaves Records, 1794, 1806-1863,” include accounts, correspondence, receipts, and reports concerning expenses incurred by lo…
This “List of Colored Voters Registered at Temperanceville Precinct in Atlantic Magisterial District” comes from the collections of the Eastern Shore Public Library. Registrations date from 1902 to the 19…
This voter registration roll contains the names, ages, and literacy statuses for African American voters in the Asbury District of Somerset County, Maryland. Information about voter's previous voting activity i…
This voter registration roll notes the names, ages, and counties of birth for African American voters in Wicomico County, Maryland. Other information includes dates of naturalization or reasons for the disquali…
This voter registration roll includes the names and district numbers of African American voters in Somerset County, Maryland from 1870 to 1873. The original rolls, dating 1870, 1872, 1873, come from Somerset C…
This voter registration roll includes the names, districts, political parties, and ages of Black voters in Somerset County, Maryland in 1920. The 19th amendment was ratified in 1920 extending the right to vote …
This source includes compiled voting rights laws and legislation that applied to Black voters in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as federal laws that affected the entire country. Included are proposed…
Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the baptisms of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wicomico Coun…
Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the marriages of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wicomico Cou…
Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the deaths and funerals of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wi…
These records date from 1867-1887 and document marriages between people of color in Wicomico County, Maryland. The records were transcribed by L. Paul Morris from Wicomico County Circuit Court, Liber T.F.J.R.
This source contains abstracts of wills from Talbot, Caroline and Kent Counties in Maryland. Probate dates within the series range between 1777-1872 for Talbot, 1688-1886 for Caroline, and 1777-1867 for Kent. …
This source, depending on the county, contains abstracts of wills probated between 1783-1919, and consists of entries in which people referred to as "Negroes" are mentioned as a legacy, heir, or deceased indivi…
This source contains abstracts of wills probated between 1751-1883 in Sussex County, Delaware. Note that there are several gaps in this compilation (such as 1828-1851,1854-1855, and 1864-1869). This extract co…
These records were extracted from a book of the same name; a project of the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society and the Nabb Research Center from 1997. These three volumes of records are missing, due to a fire …
This source is an abstract of records transcribed by Jody Powell in Worcester County Maryland Marriage Records, 1795-1865.
