Link check: The resources on this page were reviewed in August 2026. Legacy and archived sites are identified where helpful.
Communities and County Sites
Places to ask questions, compare research, and explore county-specific records and resources.
The Lower Delmarva Roots Forum
The descendant of the old LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L RootsWeb mailing list, which I administered for many years before RootsWeb discontinued its mailing lists. Post genealogy queries and surnames, compare notes, or just talk Lower Delmarva genealogy.
Ancestry Message Boards
Ancestry’s county message boards are still available and can be useful for searching older discussions and connecting with other researchers.
MDGenWeb — Eastern Shore Counties
Ancestry — Eastern Shore County Message Boards
Delmarva Research Resources
Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture
The premier research center for Delmarva family and regional history, with extensive manuscript, photograph, archival, and special collections.
MEDUSA — Maryland’s Cultural Resource Information System
The Maryland Historical Trust’s map- and text-based database for historic properties, architectural resources, archaeological information, and other cultural resources throughout Maryland.
Upper Shore Genealogical Society of Maryland
Genealogy resources and research support for Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties.
Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites
A Maryland organization devoted to the preservation and protection of human burial sites from unauthorized or unwarranted disturbance.
African American History in Maryland
Maryland African American heritage resources, including Eastern Shore history connected with Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, slavery, abolition, freedom seeking, and Black communities.
Ocean City Museum Society
Historical information about Ocean City, the Worcester County coast, and the United States Life-Saving Service.
Golden Lyon II Genealogical Research
Ralph Riggin’s Lower Delmarva genealogy site, including research on related families and material from Allied Families of the Delmarva Peninsula. Preserved here through the Internet Archive.
GHOTES — Genealogy and History of the Eastern Shore of Virginia
An extensive Eastern Shore of Virginia genealogy and history resource for Accomack and Northampton counties, especially useful because so many Maryland Eastern Shore lines extend south into Virginia.
Delaware Genealogical Society
A valuable resource for Delaware research, especially Sussex County and families whose lives crossed the shifting boundaries of the Delmarva Peninsula.
Independent Eastern Shore Genealogy Sites
Cindy’s Genealogy on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia
Cindy Bennett’s collection includes cemetery records, wills, deeds, census information, church records, vital records, and other Eastern Shore material.
Grandfather’s Clock
Genealogy and history for the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, including newspaper material and profiles of old businesses, people, families, and towns.
Craig O’Donnell’s Fassitt Information
An eclectic collection centered on the Fassitt family of Accomack County, Virginia, and Worcester County, Maryland, with Delmarva history, boats, maps, land records, and genealogical material.
Hitch Genealogy
Mike Hitch’s Eastern Shore genealogy and history work, including descendants of Adam Hitch, historical maps, local research, and his genealogy and history blog.
MilesFiles
Created by third cousins M. K. Miles and Barry Miles, MilesFiles contains extensive Eastern Shore family lines from Accomack and Northampton counties in Virginia; Somerset, Worcester, and Wicomico counties in Maryland; and Sussex County, Delaware.
Eastern Shore Family and Personal Sites
The Reddish Family
Susan Curelop’s site tracing the Reddish family in Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Nebraska.
Eastern Shore’s Africans, Melungeons, and Native Americans
Family and community research including Acree, Downes, Pritchett, Flamer, and Matthews lines of the Upper Shore.
The Wells and Allied Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware
Family data, surname listings, and name indexes for Wells and allied Eastern Shore families.
Walker Family of the Eastern Shore (Maryland)
A group for sharing information about Walker families of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, particularly the Crisfield area and related lines.
General and State Research Sites
FamilySearch
Free access to billions of historical records, family trees, digital books, research guidance, and other genealogy resources.
Maryland State Archives
Maryland’s principal repository for state and county government records, with research guides, land records, indexes, and extensive digital resources.
Maryland Genealogy Research Guidance
Maryland Genealogical Society guidance to Maryland records, repositories, source materials, and online research resources.
American Life Histories
Library of Congress manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936–1940, containing thousands of first-person life histories and interviews.
GenForum
A large archive of genealogy message boards organized by surname, place, and topic. Particularly useful for finding older research discussions that may not appear elsewhere.
Paleography — Reading Old Handwriting
Practical help for reading and interpreting historical handwriting in wills, deeds, registers, and other old records.
U.S. National Archives — Resources for Genealogists
Federal records and research guidance for census, military, immigration, naturalization, land, and other genealogical sources.
Cyndi’s List — Maryland
A categorized directory of Maryland genealogy resources from Cyndi Howells’ long-running genealogy reference site.
Cyndi’s List — Genealogy Website Creation
Resources for creating, organizing, publishing, and maintaining a genealogy website of your own.