Delaware Genealogy

Delaware, the first state, just happens to be my home state and I am a proud and true Delawarean. We may be the second smallest but we have some of the most rich history in the country.

Delaware was originally inhabited by the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. In 1609 we were first spotted by Henry Hudson but while under the pressure of navigating a northwest passage to Asia, and avoiding a mutiny, he left before setting foot on land. About 25 years later Dutch traders established their new home at Zwaanendael, near present-day Lewis, Delaware.

Led by Peter Minuit, The Swedish South Company sent their flagship ship Kalmar Nyclel to colonize and set up a trade on the river bank of what is now Wilmington, DE. The New Sweden colony only lasted 17 years before being conquered by the Dutch in 1655. In 1682 the Duke of York gave Delaware, then called the Three Lower Counties, to William Penn, and the land became part of Pennsylvania Province. Delaware now consists of three counties, Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex. Old Newcastle, once named New Amstel, is still well preserved - home to one of the first forts, Fort Casimir and was located along the Delaware River and was the landing place of William Penn and his fellow Quaker Immigrants. In 1704, when he granted them a separate legislature, New Castle became the colonial capital of Delaware - the first state capital, until the 1880s.

Although he never stepped foot in The Delaware colony, Lord del la War was the Virginia governor for whom Delaware would get its name.

In the mid-1800s Delaware was the largest producer of black gunpowder. Gunpowder was produced at the Brandywine River by the Dupont Family and was used during the Civil War.

A peach boom during 1840-1880 made Delaware City one of the top peach-producing towns in the country.

The Wilmington tanning industry was the leading industry in Wilmington from the 1600s to the early 1900s.

Unknown to many Delawareans north of Milton, Delaware in Sussex County was a major holly-producing export in the first half of the 1900s.

Located on Pea Patch Island in the center of the Delaware River, Fort Delaware became a Union prison camp during the Civil War, housing up to as many as 12,595 Confederate prisoners of war at one time.

From the 1600s, Delaware was primarily home to Quakers and other British immigrants. then by the late 1800s and early 1900s, Italians, Polish, and Greek immigrants found their way to Wilmington, Delaware. Germans immigrated to Wilmington in the mid-1800s.

One of the advantages I have, living in such a small state is that I have easy access to Delaware's historical and genealogical sites. Below are the primary Societies.

The Delaware Historical Society founded in 1864, has acquired nine historic buildings related to Delaware’s past and an extraordinary collection of more than 3 million objects, books, documents, photographs, and maps.

For 45 years, The Delaware Genealogical Society has provided Genealogy resources and workshops to those seeking to search their roots.

The Downstate Genealogical Society focuses on Kent County genealogy and surrounding areas.

Located in Delaware’s state capital Dover, are the Delaware Public Archives. Delaware’s Public Archives is an excellent resource for researching one’s genealogic roots here in Delaware, containing thousands of documents and other materials - census records, vital statistics including birth, death, and marriage records, tax assessments, probate/estate records, land deeds, and military records.

The Delaware Public Archives also preserves a large amount of genealogically related materials that were of private origin. These records include family histories, bible records, church records, manuscript genealogies, and newspapers.