Welcome to the Snowden and Warfield family geneology website!

Welcome to the Snowden and Warfield families, ancestral Founders in the State of Maryland. Although both progenitors arrived in America in the same year, 1659, Richard Warfield arrived at the age of 13 as an indentured servant and Richard Snowden arrived at age 19 with aland grant. In time, both established extensive land holdings in the New World. The intermarriage of Snowdens and Warfields along with other progenitor families of Maryland, including the Ridgely, Thomas, Dorsey and Hopkins families, continued through three centuries and led to a wealthy agrarian society.

Both families played seminal roles in the early development of the American colonies and the Revolutionary War that established America as an independent country separated from English rule. Hard work, dedication, generosity and unbounded hospitality were the prevailing characteristics of both families. Frequently, during major holidays, Montpelier, the homestead of the descendants of Richard Snowden, was filled to capacity for a week at a time, with friends and family numbering to 20-30 with attending servants, horses and carriages. It was indeed an era of gracious living and historical significance!

The Snowden family originated in Wales but had settled in Birmingham, England, for a number of years. Knowledgeable in mining and smelting of iron ore, the family was part of the "Industrial Revolution" which developed in England. In 1659, at age 19, Richard Snowden Sr. came to Laurel, MD and acquired 400 acres of land. Through industrial, agriculture, and milling interests, the family came to acquire several thousand acres of land through purchases and grants. These holdings ultimately encompassed large portions of 4 counties, including Prince George 's, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Montgomery Counties.

Major Thomas Snowden, a Revolutionary War hero, who served under George Washington, and his wife, Ann Dorsey Ridgely, lived in " Montpelier " in Laurel, Maryland. This Georgian Mansion, owned and maintained today by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, symbolizes an era of gracious living and historical significance. It was here that George Washington stopped on his way to and returning from the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was here that Abigail Adams rested on a journey between Baltimore and Washington, D. C. A roster of visitors to Montpelier would read like a "Who's Who" of American history.

The founder of the Maryland family was Richard Warfield, the son of a watchmaker on Fleet Street in London, who was brought to Maryland in 1659 as an indentured servant by John Sisson. Achieving his freedom in 1670, he married Elinor Browne, the daughter of Captain John Browne, a merchant shipper between Maryland and England. When he returned to England, thirty years after he immigrated to the New World, he was a leading citizen of the Province of Maryland, an Officer of the Militia and a wealthy planter. His land holdings, at that time, "exceeded the acreage of the city of London, his birthplace".

The Warfield family of Maryland has produced notable persons in farming, business, medicine, government, finance and the military, including Edwin Warfield, a governor of Maryland, and J. D. Warfield, a historian who published "The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland ". Dr. Charles Alexander Warfield was the hero of "The Burning of the Peggy Stewart" in Annapolis and Bessie Wallace Warfield ultimately married King Edward VIII of England, resulting in his abdication of the throne, when she became the Duchess of Windsor.

Descriptions of ancestral family homes that belonged to the descendants of Richard Snowden and Richard Warfield, including available pictures and locations.

Descriptions of family cemeteries in Howard County, Maryland, including available pictures and locations as well as family members who are buried there.

Registered Coat of Arms for the Snowden and Warfield families.

Current maps of roads that lead through Snowden and Warfield country in the State of Maryland.

Excerpts from historic diaries and wills from the Snowden and Warfield families.

A chronological list of stories that define the unique achievements of Snowden and Warfield descendants during Colonial America; the Revolutionary War; Manumission; Western Expansion; the California Goldrush; the Civil War; World War II; The Korean War; the founding of Colleges, Medical Societies, Medical Schools and Research Institutions; and 20 th century achievements in literature, theater and medical research.

This section provides access to genealogical data files for the purpose of obtaining reports on family relationships according to (i) Descendant Charts, (ii) Ascendant Charts, etc. This section also provides "password-protected" access to "designated family editors" who may provide data on new members of the family or correct data on prior entries.