Most church records (of baptisms, marriages, burials, and confirmations) are retained by the churches themselves and few have been published or microfilmed. The Library has some volumes, including the following:

Christ Church (Broad Creek, Delaware). Register of Christ Church, Broad Creek, and of St. Philip's Chapel, Laurel, Sussex County, Delaware. N.p., n.d.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del Folio F174 .L3 C54)

Clark, Raymond B. Delaware Church Records: A Collection of Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Records and Tombstone Inscriptions, from 1686-1880, Five Important Religious Groups: Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Quaker, with Historical Sketches of the Churches or Groups, and with Illustrations of the Churches. St. Michaels, MD: R.B. Clark, 1986.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del Folio F163 .C54 1986)

Contents: Old Drawyers Presbyterian Church, Odessa; Newark Friends Meeting Marriage Records, Wilmington; Christ Church, Broad Creek; Little Creek Old Style Baptist Church, Little Creek; St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Lewes.

Holy Trinity Church (Wilmington, Delaware). The Records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, Wilmington, Del., from 1697 to 1773, Translated from the Original Swedish by Horace Burr, with an Abstract of the English Records from 1773 to 1810. Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware; no. 9. Wilmington: Historical Society of Delaware, 1890.
Location: Morris Library (F161 .D45 no.9)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F161 .D45 no.9)

Contents: Marriage index (males); Marriage index (females); Births and baptisms; Burials. See also Births and Baptisms, Burials and Deaths: Index, Old Swedes Church Records, 1800-1860 (Del F174 .W7 W65).

Holy Trinity Church (Wilmington, Delaware). Catalogue and Errata of the Records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church. Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware; no. 9-A. Wilmington: Historical Society of Delaware, 1919.
Location: Morris Library (F161 .D45 no.9A)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F161 .D45 no.9A)

Transcripts of Early Newark, Delaware Church Records.
Location: Special Collections (Manuscript Collection no. 347)

A compilation of transcriptions from the records of five Newark churches: Village Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian Church, Welsh Tract Baptist Church, White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church, and Head of Christiana Church. Spanning the years 1739-1906, the church records include minutes from meetings; lists of births, deaths, and church membership; records of dismissals, admissions, and resignations; as well as copies of indentures and deeds. For more information, see the online finding aid.

Welbon, Henry Garner. History of Head of Christiana Presbyterian Church, the Second Oldest Presbyterian Church in Delaware: Containing a Story of the Church's Life, Sketches of its Pastors, List of Communicants, Record of Marriages. Newark, DE: Kells, 1933.
Location: Morris Library (BX9211 .N48 H43)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del Folio BX9211 .N48 H43)

Based on the Rev. J.L. Vallandigham's "A Historical Discourse Delivered at Head of Christiana," 1876.

Wright, F. Edward. Vital Records of Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware, 1686-1800. Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1986.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del HA38 .D3W75x 1986)

Transcripts of church records: Duck Creek Monthly Meeting (Friends), Anglican churches of King George's and Prince George's, and Presbyterian churches at Lewis, Coolspring and Indian River.

DELCAT Examples

For More Information

Delaware Genealogical Research Guide. 3rd ed. Wilmington, DE: Delaware Genealogical Society, 2002.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref F163 .D349 2002)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .D349 2002)

The most important guide for doing genealogical research in Delaware. It covers specific types of records and where they can be found in the state. Edited by Thomas P. Doherty and published by the Delaware Genealogical Society (http://delgensoc.org). It includes a list of churches and their locations.

Delaware Genealogical Society. Journal. Semiannual.
Location: Morris Library (F163 .D35x)

Publishes transcripts of original records. Published since 1980. The Tables of Contents are online.

Schaefer, Christina K. Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas: A Complete Digest of the Records of All the Countries of the Western Hemisphere. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1998.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E18 .S33x 1998)

Zebley, Frank R. The Churches of Delaware: A History, in Brief, of the Nearly 900 Churches and Former Churches in Delaware as Located by the Author. Wilmington, Delaware: William N. Cann, Inc., 1947.
Location: Morris Library (BR555 .D4 Z4)
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref BR555 .D4 Z4)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del BR555 .D4 Z4)
Location: Library Annex (BR555 .D4 Z4)

Includes photographs of 150 churches. Complete sets of Zebley's photographs, including 150 not in the book, are at the Historical Society of Delaware and the Delaware Public Archives.

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