Genealogy Resources at WCFL
The collection contains many resources for counties surrounding Washington County. This webpage features only those resources which are specifically for Washington County records. A downloadable genealogy guide (in PDF format) gives information on doing genealogy research at the Washington County Free Library.
Genealogy RequestsReference assistance is available to people researching family history. Letter inquiries are answered by reference staff or questions may be sent via email. Please use the Contact Us box on our home page and choose Reference Librarian to send us an email request.
Staff will conduct a basic search of local histories, family genealogies, cemetery records, church records, marriage records, census, and city directories. A list of local researchers will be provided to patrons who require more extensive research.
A search for obituaries will be done for patrons who can provide an exact date of death, or if unknown, the name can be found in the Washington County Obituary Locator, an index of obituaries printed in the local newspapers.
This research is done at no charge to the patrons but donations are accepted to cover the cost of photocopies and postage.
Please limit your requests to no more than five (5) per month.| Resource | Brief Summary | Catalog Reference |
|---|---|---|
Obituary Locator 1790-2023 |
Index to the obituaries from the Hagerstown, MD, Morning Herald and Daily Mail, 1790-2022. Compiled by C. William Ridenour, Lea Kersting & Joseph Berger. |
REF 929.375291 K |
Sanborn Maps (LOC) |
Digital Sanborn Maps Library of Congress edition, 1867-1970 provides access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps for more than 12,000 American towns and cities. Western Maryland subscription ended on June 30, 2021. |
Virtual Resource |
Historic Newspaper Indexing Project, 1790-1890 |
The Historic Newspaper Indexing Project began in 1980 as an aid to patrons researching Washington County history and genealogy. |
Virtual Resource |
WHILBR - Western Maryland's Historical Library |
View images from the collections of Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties historical societies and individuals of the three counties. |
Virtual Resource |
Digital WHILBR (digital.whilbr.org) |
View images from the collections of Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties historical societies and individuals of the three counties. |
Virtual Resource |
Marriage Records |
Washington County Maryland, Marriage Licenses, 1861-1919, 1927-1949 by C. William Ridenour and Helen K. Ridenour ; edited by Marsha L. Fuller. |
REF 929.3752 R, WMR 929.3752 R |
Ira Lourie's Johnson Map Project |
The Johnson U.S. Map Project represents the work of Dr. Ira S. Lourie. He is a child psychiatrist who has been an avid map collector since 1978 and whose mapping related interests include both the maps of Maryland and the atlases of Alvin J. Johnson. |
Virtual Resource |
School Records |
School Records for Washington County and some surrounding counties. |
WMR |
Court Records |
Historic Records of the Washington County Clerk of Circuit Court. |
Virtual Resource |
Church Records |
Records from local churches. |
WMR |
1877 Illustrated Atlas |
The 1877 Illustrated Atlas of Washington County, Maryland was published in 1877 by Lake, Griffing & Stevenson of Philadelphia. Provided by the Western Maryland Historical Library. |
Western Maryland Historical Library (WHILBR) |
Land Records |
The collection contains many resources for counties surrounding Washington County. |
Western Maryland Historical Library (WHILBR), Maryland State Archives |
City Directory 1893-1894 |
Hagerstown City Directory published in 1893. |
Western Maryland Historical Library (WHILBR) |
Telephone Directories |
Hagerstown phone service started in 1883. Listing is a published directory from 1907. |
Western Maryland Historical Library (WHILBR), WMR |
Cemetery and Death Records |
Local Cemetery Records. |
Virtual Resource |
| Resource | Brief Summary | Catalog Reference |
|---|---|---|
Vertical File Collection |
While we can't share everything, we'd like to provide a summary of the subjects currently contained in our collection. |
WMR |
County and Regional Histories |
Ledgers and Records compiled by Washington County residents. |
Virtual Resource |
| Resource | Brief Summary | Catalog Reference |
|---|---|---|
Heritage Quest |
Resources in this genealogy database include the US Federal Census 1790-1930. |
Virtual Resource |
Ancestry Library Edition |
Available inside library only with this link. Genealogical and local history information. |
Virtual Resource |
