Family: History Rediscovered

The Historical Society of Carroll County welcomes all those interested in doing research on their Carroll County ancestors, the Historical Society’s library offers a wide range of resources. Patrons can use our subscriptions to Ancestry, Fold3 (military records), and Newspapers.com (Maryland’s newspapers) as starting points, then search many linear feet of books on our shelves which cover local families – both well-known surnames and more obscure ones.

Using the “Search” feature of this website, you can check to see whether names of interest to you are represented in book form or perhaps in our family history folders. Our vertical files include not only information on specific topics but also on well-known individuals. Over the years library volunteers have amassed a large collection of obituaries which are arranged by family name plus material from many local family bibles.

The Society’s widely known Arthur Tracey files include names of early land owners in Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick counties, the names of their tracts, and approximate locations. Tracey’s drawings of Carroll land tracts have been digitized and can be printed. The Basil Crapster files include information about many families who lived in northwestern Carroll County and parts of nearby Pennsylvania.

Patrons can search for family information in Carroll County’s newspapers on microfilm or online. Issues of some newspapers go back 150 years and, with luck, an ancestor’s name may pop up attending a social function, getting married, or advertising goods for sale.

Library volunteers are always available to help you glean as much information as possible from our collections during your visit. If you cannot stop in the library, you can request research help for a fee.