Enslaved persons who were moved into Washington County, Maryland from outside the county were recorded in the land records of the county. Enslaved persons born in the county were not listed this way.
The legal documents for Allegany County, Maryland’s enslaved population, from 1792 to 1865 have been researched and transcribed by William Bauman
1860 was thus the final census prior to Maryland's 1864 constitution which freed the enslaved of Maryland. Therefore this census lists those who were free prior to the outlawing of slavery. It contains a column for 'color', where each person is listed as W (white), B (black) or M (mulatto). This collection contains those persons listed as black or mulatto in 1860. Enslaved persons were not included in the regular census.
These indexes are from the registers of Washington County, Maryland freedom papers. There are five sets of books at the Maryland State Archives. Three of the registers, C-1937-1, C-1937-2, and C-1937-3, covering the years of 1827-1863, were indexed by Jeffery Wyand and are included here.
Hazel Groves Hansrote was a well-known preservationist and long-time historian, writer, and researcher of Allegany County and state history. In the early 1970s she served as Chair of the Allegany County Committee of the Maryland Historical Trust. Along with Mary C. Miltenberger (1934-2024) she also served as a co-editor of the Heritage Press, a monthly newspaper published by the Preservation Society of Allegany County which was founded in 1970.