I have them definitively in the US Census records back to 1830 but as of then, they’d already moved from MD to NY (they later moved to MI). My info that the family originated in MD comes only from other, later documents (census and bmd records and a Civil War pension file) that place the family on the Eastern Shore of MD and one additional reference to Anne Arundel Co.

In my research, I’ve simply been going through available records for the individual counties in MD to try and find references to Hansons (free or slave) that might match with my family, especially any evidence of Hansons freed before 1830 (when my relatives appear in the US Census for NY). I'd really appreciate it if you have any other suggestions about the best way to research this, since I'm not very familiar with MD records.