Digitized collections from our archives and links to exhibits and resources to assist researchers, students, educators, and citizens. Please note that some of these links will open external websites such as CONTENTdm, Flickr, and YouTube.

The descriptions of our collections are available via the Delaware Public Archives Portal. Visit the Search Our Collections webpage to learn more.

We are dedicated to continuously reviewing and enhancing our descriptive practices to incorporate more respectful and inclusive terminology when possible. Please see our Harmful Content Advisory for more about these efforts.

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Guides

A Chronological Guide to Records of the Delaware State Legislature: This guide will assist researchers in finding legislative records.

Civil List: This is a staff reference database for elected and appointed offices that patrons may find useful. This is in no way comprehensive. Information is added to this database periodically.

Guide to African American Records: This guide outlines some of the collections and books that can be used to research African American history in Delaware.

Guide to Census Records: Delaware’s United States census material offers a wealth of information to a researcher. Genealogists find census records 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 Delaware and Pennsylvania Tract Names in Maryland Patent Records (1672-1792): This table is an index to the Maryland State Archives Land Office (Patent Records), SM2 collection.

Guide to DPA Civil War Records: This guide contain links to various collections and record types in our holdings, with a list of the material they have concerning the Civil War.

Guide to Orphans’ Court Records: You can search these Orphans’ Court records by keyword and see the results in real-time. They are broken down by County and into Parent and Child Lists.

Guide to Private Vital Statistics, Tombstone and Cemetery Records: This index card collection spans circa 1700 – 1991 and is arranged alphabetically by the name of the cemetery, or the name of the family responsible for the cemetery if known. Cards show the name(s) of the deceased, the name and location of the cemetery, and the page number.

Guide to Revolutionary War Records: This guide outlines the scope of the Revolutionary War holdings at the Delaware Public Archives.

Guide to Vital Statistics 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.

Guide to World War I Records: This guide highlights the collections in the Delaware Public Archives that contain records pertaining to World War I.

Guide to World War II Records: This guide highlights the collections in the Delaware Public Archives that contain records pertaining to World War II.

The Honorable Joseph R. “Joe” Biden Subject Guide: This guide outlines the collections and items in the Delaware Public Archives that pertain to President Biden.

Index to 1500-008-001, Marriage Records (1855-1934): This list is an index for the Department of Health and Social Services, Vital Statistics, Marriage Records collection. The records were maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics and its predecessors from 1855 to 1934, and the indices were created by DPA. Brides and grooms are indexed separately.

Index to 1500-008-003, Death Records (1855-1910): This guide – part list, part index cards – indexes the Department of Health and Social Services, Vital Statistics, Death Records collection. The records were maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics and its predecessors from 1855 to 1910, and the indices were created by DPA.

Newspaper Abstracts and Index – Births, Deaths, Marriages (1789-1850): Transcriptions of birth, death, and marriage newspaper abstracts from the following newspapers: Delaware Gazette; The Faithful Centinel; The Delaware Gazette, and General Advertiser; Delaware and Eastern Shore Advertiser; The Monitor, & Wilmington Repository; The Federal Ark; The Museum of Delaware; The Delaware Statesman; American Watchman; and The Wilmingtonian. The abstracts were transcribed and indexed by DPA.