Our Research Center
Consists of:

Research Library

   Use by members - free

   Non-members - $5.00 daily fee 

   Research by Library Staff -$20.00 per hour

Staff Room
(Use by staff & volunteers only)

Archives Rooms
(Use by staff & volunteers only)

   Appointments with the archivist can be scheduled

Members and Non-Members may undertake self-directed genealogical and historical research at our Research Center in Tudor Hall which is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00am to 4:00pm, the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11:00am to 4:00pm, and by special appointment.

Members and Non-Members who are unable to visit Tudor Hall may request genealogical and historical research through our Research Volunteers.  Click here to make a Research Request.

Archives

In the Society's archives are an estimated 330,000 pages of papers, ledgers, diaries and other books, photographs, as well as other items that represent the history of St. Mary's County.  Many of these are from noted historians and former members of our society.  The Society gratefully accepts items of historical value for preservation for future generations.

All items are cataloged and entered into our Past Perfect© archives database, a standard software package for museum collections.  Many of the materials, due to their fragility are often transcribed and or scanned to produce accessible copies for research.

The materials are stored in special rooms of Tudor Hall and must be retrieved by the Archives staff.  One should always call or email and make an appointment to insure an archivist is available to provide the item of interest.  

Click Here to Search Our Archives

Brief Descriptions of Some of Our Major Personal Papers Collection

Bohanan Family Papers
Buck Briscoe Collection
Charles & Celestine Adams Collection
Charles E Fenwick Collection
Charlotte Hall School
Dent Family Collection
Edwin W Beitzell Collection
Papers of George Morgan Knight
Papers of J Allan Coad
Papers of J Edwin Coad
Papers of the Misses Hebb
St. Mary's County School Records
Stanley L Raley Collection

Research Library

Visit These Pages for Descriptions of Our Resources, Including Many Online!

Page 1: People

Birth/Baptismal Records, Family History Files, Slavery Records, Marriage Records, Death Records (Probate, Wills, Obituaries, Cemeteries), Census Records, Church & Parish Records 

Page 2: Places

Land Records (Deed Books, Rent Rolls, Tax Records, Surveyor's Journals, Maps, Historic Roads)

Page 3: Military

Military Records - Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War

Page 4: General History, Publications, Research Guides

Subject Historical Files (history, government, geography, culture, customs), Newspapers, Magazines

Click Here to View Our Library's Card Catalog

Visit this link to open a PDF of the Library's card catalog shelf list (card catalog records of all 2,636 items in the library by call number).  Once you open the file, search for any term by pressing "CTRL - F".  Important note - very light text on cards, and handwritten cards did not OCR and are not searchable.

For a list of all search term hits in their context (instead of one-by-one), download the file, open in Adobe Acrobat (Reader or Pro), and then click the "settings" icon (gear) to open full search mode. Highly recommended!