A Maryland Research Trip

November 19, 2012

Have you lost an ancestor in Maryland? We recently received a research tip from one of our book vendors, Diane, from the Prince George’s County Genealogical Society of Maryland [PGCGS]. No one knows about researching in a geographic area like someone who lives in the area. 

Diane says that after the Civil War, many young men left their farms in southern Maryland to find work in Washington, DC. When they died, most of the time their bodies were not shipped home. You will find their burials in Washington, DC.

"If you are not familiar with Washington D.C. and the area of Maryland surrounding it, then you don’t know the connection of Prince George's and Montgomery County to the District. Folks lived in Maryland and worked in the District and vice versa. There were no hospitals that were close by in Prince George’s County until about 1943, so everyone that got ill and needed a hospital ended up in the ones in the District. So many Maryland people died in the District. . . . ."

"So anytime you have researchers who [are] stuck and can’t find their ancestor in Maryland, tell them to look in Washington, D.C. for a burial or death certificate. Do note that Ancestry.com has the Washington Post on their website, but [a] majority of people that put obits in the newspaper put their obits in the Washington Evening Star which is no longer published."

We recently purchased Murray Funeral Records, Washington, DC, 1890-1925 from PGCGS.  It is being cataloged right now but will soon be available to help you find those elusive Maryland ancestors.

Janice S.
Midwest Genealogy Center