Birth & Death Records (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Location - Internet (http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/ss/vitalstats.html)

Ancestry Library Edition.
Location: Library Databases [restricted to UD]

Best viewed using the Internet Explorer browser. Ancestry Library Edition includes many resources related to vital records. Select the Search tab, then "Browse by location", Delaware. Or select "Birth, Marriage, & Death Records." Example: Delaware Marriages, 1645-1899: An index compiled from various sources. Refers to the original sources at the Family History Library and at Delaware Public Archives. The following locations and time periods are included in this database: Kent County, 1684-1899; New Castle County, 1684-1889; Sussex County, 1645-1894; City of Middletown, 1849; City of Milford, 1810; City of Newark, 1822-1849; City of Wilmington, 1805-1849; Unknown location, 1657-1895. Also see the Learning Center available free through Ancestry.com.

Delaware Public Archives.
Location: Internet (http://archives.delaware.gov/)

Early Delaware vital records (birth records more than 72 years and marriage and death records more than 40 years old) are available at Delaware Public Archives (DPA) in Dover. Sources include the various county and city registers of births, marriages, etc. and "Index cards to vital statistics." See: Guide to Vital Records. Consult the The Online Guide to the Collections for more information about relevant collections. Note: vital records prior to 1913 are incomplete.

Clark, Raymond B. Maryland and Delaware Bible Records. St. Michaels, MD: Raymond B. Clark, Jr., 1990.
Location: Morris Library (CS68 .C51 1990)

Includes 37 Maryland Bibles (50 families) and 17 Delaware Bibles (20 families).

Daughters of the American Revolution, Delaware. Bible Records, Delaware. 13 vols. Newark, DE: The Society, 194?-1967.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .D28)

Delaware Genealogical Abstracts from Newspapers (DGAN). Delaware Genealogical Society Special Publication, no. 9, 5 vols. Wilmington, DE: Delaware Genealogical Society, 1995- .
Location: Morris Library (F163 .D45x 1995)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .D45x 1995)

Covers 1729-1859 and 1861-1879 in these volumes: Vol. 1. Deaths from the Delaware Gazette 1854-59, 61-64. Vol. 2. Marriages from the Delaware Gazette 1854-59, 1861-64. Vol. 3. Delaware Marriages and Deaths from Newspapers, 1729-1853. Note: 1860 Delaware Gazette is not available. Vol. 4. Marriages and Deaths from the Delaware Gazette 1865-74. Vol. 5. Marriages and Deaths from the Delaware Gazette 1875-79.

The Delaware Historical and Genealogical Recall of Matilda Spicer Hart: Reprinted with a Full Name Index. Publications of the Delaware Genealogical Society no. 3, 4 vols. in one. Wilmington, DE: Delaware Genealogical Society, c1984.
Location: Morris Library (F163 .D37)

Frazier, Margaret Mendenhall. Delaware Advertiser, 1827-1831: Genealogical Abstracts. Newhall, CA: C. Boyer, 1987.
Location: Morris Library (F163 .F73 1987)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .F73 1987)

Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware: From the Colonial Period to 1810. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, c2000.
Location: Morris Library (E185.96 .H46 2000)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del E185.96 .H46 2000)

A compilation of information about more than 300 Maryland and Delaware black families.

Hocker, Edward W. Genealogical Data Relating to the German Settlers of Pennsylvania and Adjacent Territory: From Advertisements in German Newspapers Published in Philadelphia and Germantown, 1743 -1800. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980.
Location: Morris Library (F160 .G3 H6 1980)

Laws of the State of Delaware.
Location: Morris Library - State Documents (KFD25)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del KFD25)

Prior to 1906, divorce in the state of Delaware was a legislative action. A list of divorces is found in the volumes for each legislative session. Look under "Titles to Private Acts." 1906 divorce became the responsibility of Superior Court.

Scott, Kenneth. Abstracts from Ben Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1748. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1975.
Location: Morris Library (F148 .S36 1975)

Items of genealogical interest relating to Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Turner, Charles Henry Black. Genealogical Collection of Delaware Families. Dover, DE: Bureau of Archives and Records, 1948.
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfiche no. 391)
Location: Internet (http://archives.delaware.gov/exhibits/document/turner/toc.shtml)

A microfiche produced from the original manuscripts at the Delaware Public Archives. The online version is from DPA.

Turner, Charles Henry Black. Rodney's Diary and Other Delaware Records. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott, 1911.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F165 .T94)

Includes extracts relating to Delaware and Delaware people, from archives and other public and private probate, land and vital records of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, mostly before 1800.

Turner, Charles Henry Black. Some Records of Sussex County, Delaware. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott, 1909.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F172 .S8 T7)
Location: Library Annex (F172 .S8 T7)

Includes civil, court, church, and Bible records, such as land grants, civil suits, wills, administrations, and marriage records. Also included are vestry records of St. Peter's church for the early 1800's. Some Kent County records are included The Index and marriages list are available online.

Virdin, Donald Odell. Delaware Bible Records. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1991-1998.
Location: Morris Library (F163 .V57 1991)

The set includes 6 volumes. The Library has vol. 1-3 and 5-6.

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). See especially information about the "Wilmington Death Register" (approx. 1847-1954), p. 14, and the "Index cards of Delaware marriages, baptisms, births and deaths" (ca. 1680-1934), p. 13, at Delaware Public Archives.

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

Publishes transcripts of original records. Published since 1980. The Tables of Contents and name indexes are browsable online.

Delaware Historical Society Library.
Location: Internet (http://www.hsd.org/library.htm)

DHS Library has specialized indexes, for example: City of Wilmington Marriages, 1881-1912 and City of Wilmington Deaths, 1847-1916.

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