Delaware Public Archives Blog

Monday we take some time to honor the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and his accomplishments for civil rights.  We had a college professor, who is new to Delaware, stop in to see if we had anything on civil rights in Delaware. He was floored when he saw all we had.  We have audio recordings […]

Did you know that April 12th will mark the Civil War sesquicentennial?  Did you know that we have over 23 cubic feet of original records, 140 rolls of microfilm, and approximately 60 photographs relating to Delaware Union troops?  In preparation for the anniversary, with the help of our sister agency the Government Information Center, we are […]

Looking for something to combat the post-holiday blues? Come out to the Delaware Public Archives to help celebrate the history of the railroad in Delaware. The Archives will be hosting a free railroad exhibit from January 5 to January 8 coinciding with the completion of a related Archives initiative to bring the entire Jackson & […]

That’s exactly the question a little girl from Dover asked the other day. It seems her mother collects them.  She dropped by to see if we had any information that would help explain it. She was amazed to see that we have records from the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, which include scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and some of […]

“We, the deputies of the people of the Delaware state……………fully, freely and entirely approve of, assent to, ratify, and confirm the said Constitution”  And with those words on December 7, 1787 at Battell’s Tavern in Dover, Delaware ratified the Federal Constitution and became the first state in the new nation.  There are many activities to […]

Have you been trying to join a lineage based society and hit a brick wall?  Maybe we can help. We did the other day when a patron came in to see if she could find documentation on an ancestor so that she could join the Society of Colonial Inn Keepers.  She was surprised at all the […]

Thanks to the financial generosity of the Friends of the Delaware Archives, we have attained two important Delaware related items.  The first item is a picture of Governor William Cannon who served as Governor of the First State during the Civil War from 1863 to 1865. The second item is a booklet entitled “A Brief […]

The last of Nancy Lyons’ series of genealogical workshops, entitled “Analyzing Wills and Other Probate Records” will be held this Saturday, November 6, 10:30 a.m., at the Delaware Public Archives.  This free workshop will provide plenty of valuable genealogical tips for researchers so mark this date on your calendar.  There will be handouts for those who attend […]

So have you ever been taking a nice leisurely walk through the woods, enjoying the fresh air, the sights, the sounds, and then boom you trip over something?  And has that something ever been a tombstone?  You can ask the gentleman that came in the other day because that’s exactly what happened to him.  Needless […]

I’m sure you’ve been reading in the papers about all the problems with some of the roads in Delaware.  We had a guy come in to see if we had any documents relating to the maintenance of roads. Seems he had just come from the garage after needing new shocks.  He said it was because […]