MGS offers several webinars (with handouts) on African American genealogy, with an emphasis on research in Maryland.
On our Webinars page, African-American Research in Maryland by professional genealogist Robyn Smith provides a short (12-minute) introduction. More in-depth discussion is provided in African American Genealogy in Maryland, a one hour and 15 minute webinar by Chris Haley, Director of Research for the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland at the Maryland State Archives.
Two other webinars by Robyn Smith are available in our Member's Only webinar collection: A Tangled Web: Researching the Enslaved in Maryland (1 hour) and Finding the Last Enslaver (2+ hours with Q&A).
The MGS Links collection also has a number of links to resources and repositories concerning African American genealogy generally and particularly in Maryland.
The following articles from the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal are among those that highlight researching African Americans in Maryland. MGS members can read these articles in the Members Only collection of the MGS Journal online. Not yet a member of MGS? Join to get immediate access to these articles.
- African Americans in Maryland During World War I by Zaakira L. Sadrud-Din. (Vol. 58, No. 1, 2017).
- An African American Diggs Family of Prince George’s County: Issues Unique to Research of Enslaved Families by Michael Hait (Vol. 54, No. 2, 2013).
- Identifying the Last Slave-Owner of Freedmen in Maryland Using Local Records by Michael Hait (Vol. 51, No. 1, 2010).
- Jim Wilson of Caroline County: Lynching Victim Reunited with His Family by Malissa Ruffner (Vol. 64, No. 3, 2023).
- Minty’s Legacy: A Black Family in Slavery and Freedom by Robyn N. Smith (Vol. 57, No. 1, 2016).
- Ran Off or Carried Away: Maryland Slaves Who Came into the Protection of British Forces during the War of 1812 by Maya Davis (Vol. 55, No. 2, 2014).
- Serving the Interests of Emancipated Slaves: Records of the Freedmen's Bureau for the State of Maryland by John P. Deeben (Vol. 61, No. 2, 2020).
- Slave Records of the Hambleton Family at Perry Cabin Farm, Talbot County, Maryland by Joseph L. Douglas, Jr. (Vol. 52, No. 3, 2011).
- St. Thomas' Episcopal Church of Owings Mills, Baltimore County: History of the North Cemetery by Malissa Ruffner (Vol. 66, No. 1, 2025).
- The Bishops of Hoopers Island—Slave and Free by Jacqueline H. Hedberg (Vol. 51, No. 1, 2010).
- The Prather Family of Montgomery County, Maryland: Freedom's Journey by Robyn N. Smith (Vol. 58, No. 3, 2017, and Vol. 59, No. 1, 2018).
Image: Statue of Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Banneker was a free African-American astronomer, inventor, surveyor, farmer, and author who is widely recognized as America’s first Black scientist. A native of Baltimore County, he assisted in surveying the initial boundaries of Washington, D.C. Photographer: Frank Schulenburg, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.