Genealogy and Local History Library

The Historical Society of Kent County Library collection comprises 1000’s of items pertinent to regional history including reference works, manuscript collections, documents, ledgers, maps, genealogies, cemetery records, photographs and oral histories.

Library Hours: Wed – Fri, 10:00 until 3:00;  Contact: library@kentcountyhistory.org

Research Services and Fees

Library use: There is no charge for visiting researchers to use our library, although we do ask for a donation.  If you wish to use our library on an ongoing basis, we ask that you become a member of the Historical Society.

Copies are 25 cents each.

Research services: there is no charge for us to simply look up a family name or subject to see if we have any information.  You may make an inquiry by emailing library@kentcountyhistory.org.  If you want us to copy information and send it to you, the fee is a flat $10.00 charge, plus the cost of copies.  For members the flat fee is $5.00.

Any service beyond a simple “look-up” is considered research   If you want us to conduct research, we will do so using our library and other local resources, at a charge of $30.00 for a two hour search ($20 for members), plus the cost of copies. Please email requests or queries, with as specific information as possible, including exact dates and names when possible, to library@kentcountyhistory.org; or call 410-778-3499, Wed-Fri, 10:00 – 3:00.

Search Our Collection

The Historical Society is undertaking the cataloging of its research collection with PastPerfect Software, purchased with a grant from The Hedgelawn Foundation of Kent County.  Please be patient as we undertake this project to provide users with information about our library and archival and photograph collections. Eventually, our object collection also will be included. This database will be a work-in-progress and will be updated periodically. Please visit the Society or contact Society staff if you are looking for information not online.

General Search Suggestions

Please use the following link to search our collection

http://kentcounty.pastperfectonline.com/

• Search terms are not case sensitive.
• To conduct a simple search, use the keyword method.
• To search for several keywords, enter all words and records containing all of those words (in any order) will be returned.
• To search for keywords in a particular order, surround the exact term with quotation marks.
  Example: American Revolution (without quotes) will give you all the records containing those two words in any order and even if they are not related to each other.  “American Revolution” (with quotes) will give you all the records with those words in that exact relation to each other.
• To choose which content and records are to be searched, click the appropriate box under the heading “Content [Records] to Search.”
• To browse records by letter of the alphabet, use the “Click and Search” option at the top of the Search page.
• To search for keywords in specific fields, use the “Advanced Search” option at the top of the Search page.

Books

Books in the Library collection are in the process of being cataloged using a unique system. The library contains both published and unpublished books and booklets, with a focus on local and regional history, Maryland and Kent County genealogical resources and family histories.

• You may do a keyword search for a title of a specific book by typing in that title. It is suggested you type the main words or phrase in the title so that the search is not too specific. For example: Kent County wills. This will return a search for the book titled: “Abstracts of Kent County Wills” as well as the search term/subject “Wills-Kent County.”
• A keyword search for subjects or search terms may also be effective. Try a general search, such as: American Revolution. You can then narrow your search if necessary.

Maps

The map collection contains original maps, as well as copies of historic maps primarily of Kent County and its towns and Maryland. Select images of our maps can be found on the “Maps” section of this website.

• To find a listing of all maps, type HSKC Maps Collection using
  a keyword search.
• Use keyword search to find a map of a specific place or town. For example: Chestertown map.

Documents

The Society holds both collections of documents, as well as miscellaneous documents grouped by categories and subcategories. The miscellaneous document categories are: Architecture and Engineering; Business and Industry; Culture; Education; Ethnic and Cultural Groups; Family/Genealogical History; Government; Legal Records; Maps and Atlases; Maryland; Military and War; Natural History; Oral History; Organizations; and Religion. Miscellaneous documents have been categorized as of January 2010; visit the Library to view these documents.

Photographs

The Society holds collections of photographs, as well as miscellaneous photographs grouped by categories and subcategories. The main categories are: Architecture and Engineering; Business and Industry; Culture; Education; Ethnic and Cultural Groups; Family/Genealogical History; Government; Legal Records; Maps and Atlases; Maryland; Military and War; Natural History; Oral History; Organizations; and Religion. Distinct collections of photographs will be cataloged together, then identified and inventoried individually when possible. This will be a time-consuming process. The Usilton/Kent County News Collection contains over 5,000 images, for example. Eventually, select images may be available online.

Historic Sites

The Society maintains files for all historic structures in the Kent County Historic Sites Inventory originally conducted by the Maryland Historic Trust. Additional sites and structures will continue to be added to this “K-file” listing. The files contain the inventory form, photographs and additional documentation collected by the Society.

• To find a listing of all files, enter a keyword search: Historic Sites Inventory
  *To search for a house or street name, enter that term or phrase in a keyword search. For example: Queen Street or Middle Hall.
• The K-files will eventually have multiple subjects listed under search terms, which can be found using a keyword search. For example: African-American.

Oral Histories

The Society has a small collection of oral histories, with a goal of expanding these holdings in the future.

• To find a list of all oral histories, use the keyword search: Oral history collection.
• To locate a specific interview, try searching by surname or first name.
• Search terms for the subject(s) of the interviews will eventually be added. For example: agriculture.

Vertical Files

The vertical files are collections of newspaper clippings, articles and copies of documents organized into a system of categories and subcategories. The main categories are: Architecture and Engineering; Business and Industry; Culture; Education; Ethnic and Cultural Groups; Family/Genealogical History; Government; Legal Records; Maps and Atlases; Maryland; Military and War; Natural History; Oral History; Organizations; and Religion.

• You may find a list of all vertical files in our holdings by doing a keyword search for: “Vertical file” (singular, no “s”). Then, browse all file titles; there are over 1000.
• You could search for all of the vertical files in a main category by searching the keywords in each category. For example: Maps atlases vertical file.
• Vertical file titles are designed to be descriptive of the contents. Therefore, browsing may be helpful, along with a simple keyword search of the subject and the term vertical file. For example: Revolution vertical file.

Finding Aids

Denning Collection 2017.001

Fairlee Grange Collection 2017.002

Bottomley Collection 2017.003

Almshouse Collection 2017.004

Pearce Collection 2017.005

Wethered Collection 2017.006

Smythe-Willson Collection 2017.007

Richard Bennett Collection 2017.008

Chambers, Ezekiel F. Collection 2017.009

Wallis Collection 2017.010

Wickes, Joseph Collection 2017.011