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Version: 2/2002
Last modified: 10/02/07
Delaware Genealogical Society | Delaware Public Archives | Family History Centers | Historical Society of Delaware | Special Collections Department (UD) | Wilmington Public Library
Delaware Genealogical Society
(http://delgensoc.org/)
A very active local genealogy society. Publisher of the Delaware Genealogical Research Guide, an essential source for locating genealogical and historical records in Delaware. They maintain a Professional Genealogical Researcher list which contains the names of professionals specializing in Delaware genealogy who can be contacted about doing research.
Delaware Public Archives
(http://archives.delaware.gov/)
Hall of Records
121 Duke of York Street
Dover, Delaware 19901
(302) 739-5318
The Hall of Records is the repository for all the non-current records of the State of Delaware, its counties, and large municipalities, as well as papers and records from organizations and private individuals. Among the State's holdings are documents from the Swedish colonial period, 1638-55; the Dutch settlement, 1655-64; the Duke of York regime, 1664-82; and the Penn Proprietorship, 1682-1776. Most of the records, however, date from statehood in 1776. Besides original and microfilmed documents, the Archives maintains a library of Delawareana, including State publications, books, genealogies, pamphlets, maps, newspaper clippings, microfilm, photographs, motion pictures, slides, and sound recordings.
Family History Center (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints): Newark
500 West Chestnut Hill Road
Newark, DE
(302) 456-9301
Although the library is quite small, a researcher can request material for loan from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the world's premier genealogical library (for a reasonable fee). There are Family History Centers in Newark, Wilmington, and Dover. See Family History Centers in Delaware. The FHC web page includes a feature: To find a Family History Center in your area (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp).
Historical Society of Delaware
(http://www.hsd.org/)
505 N. Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19801-3004
(302) 655-7161
The Historical Society of Delaware (HSD) Library is the state's largest collection of materials related to the history and people of Delaware and also has material relating to surrounding areas. They maintain the Family Surname File, a card catalog of over 120,000 names and references. Collection strengths include business records of Delaware companies from the 18th and 19th centuries, church records, military and naval records, and personal records. Some of the manuscripts of the HSD are listed in H. Clay Reed, "Manuscript Books in the Historical Society of Delaware" (reprinted from Delaware History 11:1 [April 1964], pp. 65-82) (Ref Z688 .R3R43 1964).
Special Collections Department
(http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/)
University of Delaware Morris Library
Newark, DE 19717-5267
(302)-831-2229
The Special Collections Department has a broad collection of rare and specialized materials, including books, manuscripts, maps, prints, photographs, broadsides, periodicals, pamphlets, ephemera, and realia from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. Collection strengths include history and Delawareana; horticulture; and history of science and technology, American literature, decorative arts, and more. Published materials in Special Collections are included in DELCAT, the library's online catalog. Additionally there are rich collections of manuscripts which are not included in DELCAT. For a sampling of this type of material, see the finding aids to manuscript and archival collections.
Wilmington Public
Library
(http://www.wilmlib.org/)
Tenth and Market Streets
Wilmington, DE 19801
(302) 571-7416
The Wilmington Public Library has an extensive collection of Delaware historical and genealogical materials. Of special interest is the "Delaware Index," a subject and biographical index to Wilmington Morning News and Evening Journal articles and to selected Delaware history books. It has extensive indexing from the 1920s to 1979, with limited indexing from the 1880s to the 1920s. Obituaries are included for prominent Delawareans. There is a clippings file which accompanies the Index and provides the text of about a third of the entries. The Library also maintains an electronic index of Wilmington News Journal and Delaware Today articles called the Newspaper Index which is available as a search option in the Library catalog.
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
(http://www.genpa.org/)
1300 Locust Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia,
PA 19107-5699
(215) 545-0391
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
(http://www.hsp.org/)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 732-6200
Among the extensive book and manuscript holdings of the HSP are some materials relating to Delaware. Open to members and to the general public for a small fee.
National Archives -- Philadelphia
(http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/public_services/public_services.html)
Mid Atlantic Region
900 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-4292
(215) 597-3000
The National Archives branch in Philadelphia is one of the many regional locations which make available some of the material in the National Archives in Washington as well as specialized regional holdings. The Mid-Atlantic region covers Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Philadelphia National Archives holds microfilm of all the federal censuses for all states, as well as some print and microfilm indexes.
Among the materials are Records of the Delaware District Court, 1790-1960 (naturalization records), Passenger Arrivals at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports, 1820-1874 (including Wilmington, Delaware), and Internal Revenue Service Assessment Lists, Delaware, 1862-66. Consult Guide to Records in the National Archives Mid Atlantic Region (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995) (Ref CD3029 .P4 U55 1995) for a detailed description.
Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture
(http://nabbhistory.salisbury.edu/)
Salisbury University
1101 Camden Avenue, PP190
Salisbury, MD 21801
An extensive collection of genealogical material on the "DelMarVa" Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia). The collection includes microfilms of public records, including many reels of Federal Census Schedules, business records, oral histories, and photographs.
Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society
(http://www.rootsweb.com/~ldgs/index.html)
The website lists the projects, publications, and meetings of the Society. Includes a useful list of Internet Resources.
Upper Shore Genealogy Society of Maryland
(http://www.chronography.com/usgs/)
