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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. According to the 2011 census, it's estimated the county has a population of 871,233, and it is the wealthiest African American-majority county in the United States. Prince George's County was named after Prince George of Denmark (1653–1708), husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and brother of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway. It is frequently referred to as 'P.G.' or 'P.G. County,' an abbreviation which is viewed as pejorative by some residents. Prince George's County is a part of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area, with its county seat being Upper Marlboro.
History
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Pre-history
The Cretaceous Era brought dinosaurs to the area which left a number of fossils, now preserved in a park in Laurel. The site, which among other finds has yielded fossilized teeth from Astrodon and Priconodon species, has been called the most prolific in the eastern United States.
Post-European settlement history
Prince George's County was created by the Council of Maryland in the Province of Maryland in 1696 from portions of Charles, and Calvert Counties, and a portion was detached in 1748 to form Frederick County. Because Frederick County was subsequently divided to form the present Allegany, Garrett, Montgomery, and Washington counties, all of these counties in addition were derived from what had up to 1748 been Prince George's County.
In 1791, portions of Prince George's County were ceded to form the new District of Columbia, along with portions of Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as the parts of Northern Virginia; that were later returned to Virginia.
During the War of 1812, the British marched through the county by way of Bladensburg to burn the White House. On their return, they kidnapped a prominent doctor, William Beanes. Lawyer, Francis Scott Key was asked to negotiate for his release, which resulted in his writing the Star Spangled Banner.
In April 1865, John Wilkes Booth made his escape through Prince George's County after shooting President Abraham Lincoln. He was on his way to Virginia.
Since much of the southern part of the county was tobacco farms that were worked by slaves, there was a high population of African Americans who unsuccessfully attempted to become part of Maryland politics in the late 19th century. The population of African Americans declined during the first half of the 20th century, but was renewed to over 50% in the early 1990s when the county again became majority African American. The first African American County Executive was Wayne K. Curry, elected in 1994.
On July 1, 1997, the Prince George's County section of the city of Takoma Park, Maryland, which straddled the boundary between Prince George's and Montgomery counties, was transferred to Montgomery County. This was done after city residents voted to be under the sole jurisdiction of Montgomery County, and subsequent approval by both counties and the Maryland General Assembly. This was the first change in Prince George's County's boundaries since 1791, and the first alteration of the boundaries of any county in Maryland since the early 1900s.
The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places.
Timeline
Population History
- source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
| Census Year | Population
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| 1790 | 21,344
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| 1800 | 21,185
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| 1810 | 20,589
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| 1820 | 20,216
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| 1830 | 20,474
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| 1840 | 19,539
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| 1850 | 21,549
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| 1860 | 23,327
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| 1870 | 21,138
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| 1880 | 26,451
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| 1890 | 26,080
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| 1900 | 29,898
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| 1910 | 36,147
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| 1920 | 43,347
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| 1930 | 60,095
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| 1940 | 89,490
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| 1950 | 194,182
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| 1960 | 357,395
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| 1970 | 660,567
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| 1980 | 665,071
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| 1990 | 729,268
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Note: Parts of Prince George's and Montgomery Counties were taken to form the District of Columbia in 1791.
Research Tips
External links
- Outstanding guide to Prince George's County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, wills, deeds, county histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
- www.goprincegeogescounty.com/
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