Delaware Public Archives Blog

“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 […]

Do you smell it? Can you hear that? It’s the aroma of scrapple and the sound of apples crunching. Yup, it’s time for the apple scrapple festival in Bridgeville. To get ready for this event we had some wonderful ladies come in to see what we had on the town of Bridgeville.  They were surprised that […]

Well then, you can now use it to log in to the Delaware page on Ancestry.com.  By using your card you can have free access to the records Ancestry has digitized for the Delaware Public Archives.  These records include births up to 1908, marriages up to 1933, and deaths up to 1933.  Coming soon will be […]

Yeah, you read that right. Delaware Tramp Art.  I had a patron come in the other day to show me this decorated cigar box.  It was her great-grandmothers.  It was made in Ellendale around 1890. It seems tramp art is very collectible. These decorative boxes were made by blue-collar workers as gifts for their sweethearts during the […]

Have you ever had a relative tell you what a great sports star they were and if it hadn’t been for that darn knee injury they’d have gone pro?  Well that’s exactly what happened the other day.  A kid came in to see if he could find information on his uncle. It seems his uncle keeps […]