Delaware Public Archives Blog

Our photo archivist, Randy Goss, was organizing some of the photos from one of our Photograph Collections and found these great shots of Samuel P. Langley’s attempt to be the first man to fly. These six pictures were taken October 7, 1903 on the Potomac River.  Langley was the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and […]

Have you ever looked at your deed and seen the term hundred? Have you ever wondered what that meant?  A couple came in after they had purchased their new house. They were curious what the term Appoquinimink Hundred meant on their deed. The term hundred originated in England and is defined as a division of a county. It is different than […]

The Delaware Public Archives will sponsor a Civil War program entitled On the Home Front: Delaware Women during the Civil War on Saturday, March 6, at 10:30 a.m. As with previous wars, the women kept the home fires burning as the men marched off to engage in battle. But during the Civil War, things were just a […]

More than 25 people came out on Saturday, Feb. 20, for the Judy Johnson program at the Archives.  Not only did the speaker, Ellen Rendle, do a great job of presenting information about Johnson’s life and career, but numerous individuals who knew Mr. Johnson came forward to talk about their remembrances.  Several persons noted that Johnson was always willing […]

I was watching the Olympics this week and was listening to the commentators talking about the athletes that live in the United States but play for other countries. I couldn’t help but think about a family we helped in 2007.  We had a mother call who wanted to get dual citizenship for her son. He […]

Have you ever had an Uncle that always has a story about one of your ancestors serving in a war? So the story goes of war heroes in every family. Did you ever wonder if it was the truth?  A young lady came in because her uncle had been telling her for years about her […]

You’ve been asking your kids for years to give you a trip to Europe for Christmas. You don’t need any more knickknacks, gift certificates, etc.  And this year they finally did!  Now you have to get your passport.  I had an extremely excited woman call to get a copy of her marriage certificate from 1964.  […]

The Outreach Team has had several recent successes with the Hometown Delaware project.  This project aims to identify many of the unknown individuals in the Delaware Public Archives’ photograph collections.  While Rehoboth Beach Museum patrons recently identified many of the people in the area photos on display in the Museum, several Milford residents were able to name numerous individuals […]

Learn about The Life and Times of William Julius “Judy” Johnson at the Archives! With the recent dismantling of the Eagles, many sports fans in the area may be looking forward to the promise of the upcoming season for the Phillies or whatever baseball team you may support. The Delaware Public Archives will help put you in the baseball frame of […]

Did you ever wonder how old is your house?  I had a patron come in who had just moved here from another state and bought an old house. It was a two-story house in Camden that was rumored to have been a stop for the underground railroad. They wanted to know the story behind it. […]