PUBLIC FINDING AIDS
Research Favorites
Bastardy Bonds Database - You can now search the Trustees of the Poor Bastardy Bonds Database online, for free!. Keep in mind entries made on the bastardy bonds show the names of the sureties, father, mother, and justice of the peace; date and amount of bond; sex and date of birth of child; conditions of the bond; signatures of sureties and witnesses; and hundred of residence of the mother. Occasionally the name of the child is given.
On-line Guide To The Collections - The Guide to the Delaware Public Archives was initiated in 1978 with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Originally designed as a printed guide to the collection, the project evolved into an electronic finding aid for the entire collection of the of the Delaware Public Archives.Delaware Library Catalog (Books and Publications) - The books, published volumes, and periodicals in the holdings of the Delaware Public Archives (DPA) are now indexed in the Delaware Library Catalog. This online resource allows users to search through the collections of many different Delaware libraries and research facilities at once.
Probate Records Database - These indexes are the primary finding aid to our holdings of manuscript probate records for all three counties from c. 1680 to c. 1925. These are not indexes to all the names appearing in the records, but only the names of the deceased for whom the files were created. Contained in each index are the individual's name, and a date or dates.
Naturalization Records Database - This index covers naturalization records for selected record series from Superior Court in all three counties. The records abstracted were those that contain substantial information about particular individuals, thus providing useful information to those researchers searching for a specific person.
Related Finding Aids
Agency Histories - This guide provides historical and background information on each agency of Delaware Goverment. Knowing the functions and jurisdictions of each organization is useful in determining the research value of the records each agency creates. This guide also functions as a good resource for locating keywords for input in the On-line Guide To The Collections.
Directory of Delaware Records Repositories - Compiled by Richmond D. Williams in 1995 for the Delaware Historical Records Advisory Board, Hall of Records, Dover DE supported in part by a grant from the Delaware Heritage Commission
Genealogical Repositories List - List of genealogical repositories in Delaware.
Guide To Census Records - Delaware's United States census material offers a wealth of information to a researcher. Genealogists find census particularly useful for tracing family lines or histories in the state. Historians find them useful for local history information. Social scientists find them useful for demographics, ethnic studies,etc
Guide To Revolutionary War Records - This guide, indicating and describing the scope of the Revolutionary War holdings at the Delaware Public Archives, will assist the researcher in finding both original and secondary source material.
Guide to Civil War Records - These records contain a wide variety of individual documents.
Guide To Vital Records (Births, Marriages, and Deaths) - The Delaware Public Archives provides many valuable resources for researching vital statistics records. Without such information, a person may not be able to locate a birth certificate to obtain a passport or fill in that last missing link in his or her family tree.
Research The History Of Your Home - This guide serves as a tool for researching a property in New Castle county,and can be useful for Kent and Sussex county research as well.
