A NHPRC Documenting Democracy Access to Historical Records Grant: The Maryland State Archives holds two essential types of records documenting freedom within its collections. The first are Manumissions, legal documents that frees an enslaved person from slavery on behalf of the slave holder. The second are Certificates of Freedom, documents that resulted from a 1805 General Assembly law that sought to identify Maryland’s free African American population and to control the availability of freedom papers. This legislation required those who were born free, or those who received their freedom from a slave owner, to record proof of their status in the county court.

These documents, found in 111 record series at the Maryland State Archives arranged by the county of issuance, contain vital information about those who were enslaved. Everything from the names, age, physical description, location of the recipient’s birth and rearing, and names of the slave holder or witness who confirmed the person’s free status is usually included. These records have been uploaded and made available through the Legacy of Slavery searchable database.

View the full listing of the records consulted during this project

Counties in Maryland with Records of Manumissions

Counties in Maryland with Records of Manumissions in our online database include Anne Arundel, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Harford, Kent, Montgomery, Queen Anne's and Talbot Counties.

Once you are ready to search the database, note that you can click the 'Browse by County' large blue button. Select the county name, and then in the left box called 'Record Type' you can select 'Manumissions' and you will see your search results. In addition, if you click on the title of a column in the search results, for example 'First Name', then it will sort the search results from A-Z. Then if you click the title again, from Z-A.

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Counties in Maryland with Records of Certificates of Freedom

Counties in Maryland with Records of Certificates of Freedom in our online database include Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, Talbot and Washington Counties.

Once you are ready to search the database, note that you can click the 'Browse by County' big blue button. Then click the county name, and then in the left box called 'Record Type' you can select 'Certificates of Freedom' and you will see your search results. In addition, if you click on the title of a column in the search results, for example 'First Name', then it will sort the search results from A-Z. Then if you click the title again, from Z-A.

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