Delaware Fast Facts and Key Resources

Colony founded: 1638

First mostly extant federal census: 1800

Statewide birth and death records begin: 1861 to 1863; resumed in 1881

Statewide marriage records begin: 1847

State-land state

Original counties: Deale, New Castle, St. Jones

Contact for vital records:

Office of Vital Statistics Jesse S. Cooper Building Federal and Water streets Dover, DE 19901 (302) 744-4549

<www.state.de.us/dhss/dph/ss/vitalstats.html >

Web Sites

Delaware USGenWeb Project

<theusgenweb.org/de>

Delaware Resources at RootsWeb

<resources.rootsweb.com/usa/DE>

Delaware Roots

<delawareroots.org>

A History of African-Americans of Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore

Resources

A Bibliography of Delaware Through 1960 compiled by Henry Clay Reed and Marion Björnson Reed (University of Delaware Press)

Colonial Families of Delaware, six volumes, by F. Edward Wright (Willow Bend Books)

Delaware Genealogical Research Guide edited by Thomas P. Doherty (Delaware Genealogical Society)

The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius (Family Tree Books)

“Finding Delaware Ancestors” lecture by Thomas P. Doherty (Audiotapes.com)

Index to Scharf ‘s History of Delaware, 1609-1888 (Historical Society of Delaware)

Maryland and Delaware Genealogies and Family Histories: A Bibliography of Books About Maryland and Delaware Families by Donald Odell Virdin (Heritage Books)

Organizations and Archives

Delaware Genealogical Society

505 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801, <delgensoc.org>: Publishes Delaware Genealogical Society Journal.

Delaware Historical Society
505 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801, (302) 655-7161, <dehistory.org>

Delaware Public Archives

121 Duke of York St., Dover, DE 19901,(302) 744-5000, <www.state.de.us /sos/dpa>

Diocese of Wilmington Archives (Roman Catholic)
Box 2030, Wilmington, DE 19899, (302) 655-0597, <cdow.org/archives.html>

Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture

Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave., Salisbury, MD 21801, (410) 543-6312, <nabbhistory.salisbury.edu>

Fort Delaware Society

122 Washington St., Box 553, Delaware City, DE 19706, (302) 834-1630, <www.del.net/org/fort>

Hagley Museum & Library

298 Buck Road E., Box 3630, Wilmington, DE 19807, (302) 658-0568, <www.hagley.lib.de.us>

Jewish Historical Society of Delaware
505 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801, (302) 655-6232, <jhsdelaware.org>

University of Delaware Library

List of Delaware’s Hundreds

Harried by Delaware’s hundreds? Use this list to keep tabs on the state’s tax districts. Defunct hundreds are in italics, with modern hundreds’ former names in parentheses.

New Castle County

Appoquinimink

Blackbird (split from Appoquinimink)

Brandywine

Christiana

Mill Creek

New Castle

Pencader

Red Lion

St. Georges

White Clay Creek

Wilmington (split from Christiana)

Kent County

East Dover (Dover — originally St. Jones — split into East and West)

Duck Creek

Kenton (Little Creek)

Little Creek (split from Duck Creek; different from Kenton)

Milford (split from Mispillion)

Mispillion

North Murderkill (Murderkill — originally Motherkill — split into North and South)

South Murderkill

West Dover

Sussex County

Baltimore

Broad Creek

Broadkill (also Broadkiln)

Cedar Creek (Cedar Hook)

Dagsboro

Georgetown (split from Broadkill)

Gumboro (split from Broad Creek)

Indian River (Indian Creek)

Lewes & Rehoboth (Rehoboth)

Little Creek

Nanticoke (Deep Creek)

Northwest Fork

Seaford (split from Northwest Fork)

From the January/February 2017 Family Tree Magazine