Seeking colonial Maryland ship records

The immigration records for Baltimore Maryland begin in 1820 before this not many if any records exist. I read somewhere that records before this, just the ship's name and important people are recorded. Information on Ancestry may be helpful it that they have an alphabetical list you may recognize a name on it. On Maryland Records, Vol. II to the right under Browse this Collection see Index to this book with the names in alphabetical order and page on which they appear. 

Tim

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to History Hub

From: Alice Lane

Research Volunteer

Hope the following info helps. A really great website.

These pages represent literally years of work, endless coffee and fingers worn to the bone.

This data base has been compiled simply in hopes of easing tedious research for other people.

If you copy any of these pages, please acknowledge Anne Stevens did the work.

Pilgrim Ship Lists By Date (packrat-pro.com)

Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's
Over 7100 families and 290 ships

From the above list

Ark and Dove passenger list in 1634

Ark and Dove (packrat-pro.com)

From the above list

Unity 1638 (packrat-pro.com)

The Unity left Cowes, Isle of Wight on Nov 22, 1638, bound for Maryland.

'John Sheercliffe and others were transported by Mrs Mary Throughton, a widow, into St. Mary's County, the Province of Maryland.' See John Shiercliffe 

Unity sources: Col. William D. Renner Sr. per The Archives of Maryland, Vol 1, page 15
 If you choose to use this information or copy this page, please have the courtesy to include an acknowledgment that the work, research and compilation was done by Anne Stevens of packrat-pro.com 

Hi Jennifer,

I have recently face a similar problem. I have been looking for the arrival of Elizabeth Wheeler and Thomas Docton in Maryland in the latter half of the 17th century. I have had success with the former and a failure with the later. Here is the citation that I wrote up for Elizabeth Wheeler.

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 1 Nov 2020), Elizabeth Wheeler, 1672, Maryland.

Charlie

Dear Ms. Churchill,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

If you are searching for information about passenger lists, the National Archives records - as Mr. McGoldrick noted - generally begin around 1820. For instance, the series Transcripts of Passenger Arrival Lists, ca. 10/1819 - ca. 12/1832 in the Records of the U.S. Customs Service (Record Group 36) includes some early passenger lists for Baltimore. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) at archives1reference@nara.gov for access to and information about them. For more information about the records in NARA custody and about additional resources related to earlier passenger lists, please see Immigration Records on NARA’s website

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located 9 series related to ships and Maryland in the 18th century in Record Group 36 that may be of interest to you, including records of clearances and entrances, accounts, letters, manifests, and more. The series Inward and Outward Foreign Manifests, 1745-1865 is one example.  Most of these records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at Philadelphia (RE-PA) at philadelphia.archives@nara.gov for information about and access to them.

You also may wish to review other series created by the Department of the Treasury’s Customs Service’s Collection District of Annapolis, Maryland. Office of the Collector of Customs and by the Collection District of Baltimore. Port of Entry, Baltimore in the Catalog.

Next, we located the series Revolutionary War Prize Cases, 1780-1787 in the Records of the Supreme Court of the United States (Record Group 267) that includes  11 file units related to Maryland. These records have been digitized and may be viewed online via the Catalog. Please contact RDT1 with any questions you might have about these records.

Plus, we located 2 series and 4 items related to ships and Maryland in the 18th century in the Records of District Courts of the United States (Record Group 21). The series have not been digitized, but the items can be viewed online in the Catalog. Please contact RE-PA for further assistance with these records.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1 and RE-PA. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

In addition, we suggest that you contact the Maryland Historical Society (Maryland Center for History and Culture) and the Maryland State Archives to see if they can offer you any further assistance, and we also recommend that you review the FamilySearch wiki for Maryland Emigration and Immigration.

Finally, you may wish to contact The National Archives of the United Kingdom for information about ships that originated there.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!