Baltimore Maryland Inner Harbor Family History Center

The Inner Harbor Family History Center serves Baltimore's Inner Harbor, West Baltimore, and Northwest Baltimore. We are a computer-only center where you can access a computer to use online resources like FamilySearch; we don't have microfilm/microfiche readers. We have consultants available to help you remotely or in-person! Our services and resources are free of charge.

Center Contacts and Hours

 * Language:  English


 * Address:  900 W Madison Ave., Baltimore MD 21201


 * Location Map: Google Map


 * Phone or Text: 443-527-7618


 * E-mail:  [mailto:MD_BaltimoreInnerHarbor@familyhistorymail.org MD_BaltimoreInnerHarbor@familyhistorymail.org]


 * Open Hours:
 * It is summer 2021 and the Center is open by appointment. Please plan to observe the following COVID-19 precautions:
 * Rather than having open hours we will meet you by appointment. Please contact us 2-3 days or more before you wish to come in so that we have time to arrange staff to meet you. Weekday, weekend, and evening times are all possible.
 * We now have computers in two rooms so that we can accommodate 2 patron appointments at the same time.
 * Face coverings are required at all times for patrons and staff.
 * Please bring your own drinking water. The building water fountain is not accessible during the pandemic.
 * We sanitize all surfaces before and after each appointment.
 * A clear barrier will be in place between you and our staff if you need consultant assistance at the computer.
 * We can help you remotely over the phone or via video conferencing platforms. Note, however, that we cannot provide remote access to records that are restricted to viewing in a Family History Center.
 * SPECIAL CLOSURE NOTICE: The Center will be closed:
 * No upcoming special closures.


 * If the front door is locked when you arrive, ring the white oblong doorbell near the bright green "ring doorbell" sign.
 * Parking:
 * Pay-to-park on Madison; street parking is free after 6 PM Monday - Saturday, and all day Sunday.
 * Free parking in the church lot, east side of the church between the church and MLK Boulevard.
 * No parking in the lot on the west side of the church between the church and the office building. That lot belongs to the office building and unauthorized vehicles are towed aggressively.

Upcoming Events
2nd Sunday Summer Family History Helps series. Please join us on 2nd Sunday evenings for free webinars sponsored by the Family History Center and featuring the delightful Alexa Klimas Corcoran! Alexa is a professional genealogist specializing in mid-Atlantic research. She serves as a board member of the Maryland Genealogical Society, as co-chair of the Utah Genealogical Association's DNA special interest group, and as a volunteer in the Family History Center assisting patrons.


 * Sunday, June 13, 2021, 7:30-8:30 PM; Ask Us Anything! Got a family history question? We've got answers! Please submit your detailed question in advance with your registration. One question per registration please.
 * Sunday, July 11, 2021, 7:30-8:30 PM; Low Hanging Fruit on your Family Tree: Beyond the Usual Sources. Can't find what you need in the usual genealogy places? Learn about some unusual or often overlooked sources for more information on your family. Join us as we discuss a few little secrets that can lead to some big discoveries.
 * Sunday, August 8 2021, 7:30-8:30 PM, Genetic Genealogy: An Introduction to DNA Testing for Family History. You’ve heard about DNA tests as a way to find out more about your ethnicity and family history, but it all seems so complicated. We’ll move through the fundamental facts about genetic genealogy and how it could be helpful as you explore your family history.

Register for one or more webinars.

4th Sunday Fall Family History Helps series. Please join us on 4th Sunday evenings for free webinars sponsored by the Family History Center and featuring the delightful Alexa Klimas Corcoran! Alexa is a professional genealogist specializing in mid-Atlantic research. She serves as a board member of the Maryland Genealogical Society, as co-chair of the Utah Genealogical Association's DNA special interest group, and as a volunteer in the Family History Center assisting patrons.


 * Sunday, September 26, 2021, 7:30-8:30 PM; Family History Treasure Hunt: Find and Preserve Priceless Records & Memorabilia.  Before you clean out the family junk drawer or donate that box in the attic, join us for a discussion of the genealogical gems found in old personal documents, family photos, and other memorabilia. Often overlooked or discarded, these items can provide valuable information as you research your family.
 * Register here for Family History Treaure Hunt
 * Sunday, October 24, 2021, 7:30-8:30 PM; Records That Count:  Clues and Connections in the U.S. Census.  Census records were created to count the U.S. population, but these detailed documents became the mainstay of family historians hoping to reconstruct a sense of family past. We’ll explore the census records with an overview by decade, including soon-to-be-released 1950, with a focus on key clues and connections.
 * Register here for Records That Count

RootsTech Connect 2022 will take place on March 3–5, 2022, as a fully virtual family history event. Welcoming over one million visitors from over 240 countries to its 2021 online event, RootsTech Connect 2021 was the largest in the history of RootsTech. The success of this online experience is spectacular proof of humanity’s interest in discovering our roots and connecting to each other. RootsTech Connect in 2022 will remain completely virtual and completely free. Registration will open in September 2021.

As anticipation builds for RootsTech 2022, many are still taking advantage of all that RootsTech 2021 has to offer. Over 1,500 free, on-demand sessions are available at RootsTech.org.

Center Resources
The Family History Center Portal maintenance and upgrades are complete and the Portal is back in service. Limited access collections (images restricted to viewing in a FHC) and premium partner websites are again available.

Databases and Software

 * FHC Portal  The Family History Center Portal gives free access in the center to premium family history websites that ordinarily charge for subscriptions. Some of the available sites are:
 * The 19th Century British Library Newspapers digital archive—. This fully searchable database of the British Library's newspaper holdings provides a complete run of 48 national and regional Victorian British newspapers for the 19th century from 1800 to 1900.
 * NewspaperArchive.com is the world's largest online newspaper archive. Discover fascinating news in archived newspapers hundreds of years old—including obituaries, birth announcements, sports articles, comics, and more.
 * Alexander Street Press, American Civil War—. Contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs, and approximately 100,000 indexed pages of diaries, letters, and memoirs.
 * Ancestry.com—
 * Kinpoint Premium—. Kinpoint is designed to make it easier for you to do your family history by letting you see what to work on at a glance, quickly find missing information in your family tree, and discover insights into the lives of your ancestors.
 * MyHeritage—Library Edition—. Used by millions of people worldwide to help research family history, build a family tree, and add photos, historical records, and more.
 * Puzzilla—.  Find new research opportunities on descendant lines in Family Tree.

Hardware and Equipment

 * Four computers, printer, scanner. We are a computer-only center and have no microfilm/microfiche readers.
 * You are welcome to bring your own laptop or device in and use the Center's wifi.

Center Services
We can assist you in using FamilySearch. We are open by appointment, except during any holiday or special closures noted above.


 * We can assist FamilySearch users remotely (over the phone) and view your tree with you using FamilySearch's helper tool.

Some FamilySearch collections are only accessible at a Family History Center. If you have run into that issue you are welcome to use our computers to access these materials.

Resources in the Local Area

 * Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly Maryland Historical Society) online resources.
 * Maryland State Archives
 * What research can you do at the State archives? Start here to find general Maryland research guides, topic specific guides such as for marriage records, a list of searchable collections and key indices at the Archives, and contact information for other information sources such as courts and libraries.
 * Baltimore City Archives
 * What research can you do at the City archives? Resources include many searchable records sets pertaining to people, property, events and groups.

Volunteer at the Center:
Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering to help others research their family history.