Welcome to Montgomery County, Maryland Genealogy Trails!

Hello, my name is Nancy Keyes (formerly Piper) and I am your Maryland State host. If you have data that you would like to have posted on this website, please email me. Please include the County (and State) you are submitting data for. THIS COUNTY IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data and placing it online for the free use of all researchers. If you have a love for history, a desire to help others, and basic web-authoring skills, consider joining us! Get the details on our Volunteer Page. [A desire to transcribe data and knowledge of how to make a basic webpage is required.] This County currently does not have a host. This means that there is no one available to help answer your questions about this county's history or to help you with your family's genealogy within this county. WE REGRET THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO DO PERSONAL RESEARCH FOR YOU. DATA  Biographies Cemeteries Cities and Towns Death notices and obituaries Military Data Marriages Newspaper Data Quaker Records Oaths of Loyalty Past Updates  Tidbits  Wills  Website Updates: September 2024 Death Notice: Albert Miller The area now known as Montgomery County was originally a part of Charles County. In 1696 parts of Charles and Baltimore Counties were split off to form the new Prince George's County. In turn, in 1748, a portion of Prince George's County produced Frederick County. Montgomery County was formed in 1776 by the splitting of Frederick County. The former Frederick County was subdivided into three; the central portion remained Frederick County, while the western was named Washington County in honor of General (later President) George Washington, and the eastern part was named Montgomery County in honor of another Revolutionary War general, Richard Montgomery. In 1791, portions of Montgomery County, including Georgetown, were ceded to form the new District of Columbia, along with portions of Prince George's County, Maryland, as well as parts of Virginia that were later returned to Virginia. In 1828, construction on the C&O Canal commenced and was completed in 1850. Throughout the 19th century, agriculture dominated the economy in Montgomery County, with slaves playing a significant role. In the 1850s, crop production shifted away from tobacco and towards corn. Montgomery County was important in the abolitionist movement, with slave Josiah Henson, who wrote about his experiences in a memoir which became the basis for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). Josiah, the inspiration for the character "Uncle Tom", was a slave in the county and a slave cabin where he is believed to have spent time still stands at the end of a driveway off Old Georgetown Road. In the 1860 presidential election, Montgomery County was one of only four Southern counties to vote for Abraham Lincoln. On July 1, 1997, Montgomery County annexed a portion of Prince George's County, after residents of Takoma Park, which spanned both counties, voted to be entirely within the more affluent Montgomery County. The county seat is Rockville and the largest municipality is the city of Gaithersburg. Most of the county's residents live in unincorporated locales, the most populous of which is Silver Spring.

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