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On Thursday morning, February 25, Governor Jack A. Markell honored Robin Brown, Richard B. Carter, and Harry F. Themal as the latest recipients of the Governor’s Heritage Award in a ceremony held at the Buena Vista Conference Center. Established in 2003 by the Office of the Secretary of State, the Governor’s Heritage Award is given […]

On Saturday, July 1, 10:30 a.m. Delaware Heritage Commission member Terry Wright will present a program at the Delaware Public Archives on Pickett’s Charge, the climatic final attack at the Battle of Gettysburg. After two years of war, and several days of hard fighting on the Union flanks around the town of Gettysburg, Confederate General […]

If I had a dollar for every time a researcher said that phrase! Unfortunately, there’s a big misconception that you can find everything about your family history with one click of the mouse. Truth is, only a very small portion of records have been digitized and are available on the internet. You still need to […]

On Saturday, February 6 at 10:30 a.m., Certified Genealogist Michael Hait will present a program at the Delaware Public Archives focusing on one of the lesser known federal agencies, the Freedman’s Bureau. The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands operated from the end of the Civil War until 1872 under the U.S. War Department. […]

Tom Summers, Outreach Services Manager Sometimes the signature on a letter is more important than the message contained within. Written on November 6, 1804, this correspondence to Delaware Governor David Hall documents the resignation of Delaware’s Senator William Hill Wells. However, the most interesting section is the signature. Located in the lower right corner is […]

September is National Preparedness Month, a perfect time to create an emergency plan for your family and for your genealogy research.

The seventieth anniversary of the Japanese surrender in World War II seems an appropriate time to make our followers aware that a Guide to World War II Records at the Delaware Public Archives has recently been created. The finding aid is available online and in paper format in the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room. The […]

100+ books have been added to the reference collection at the Delaware Public Archives.

The Delaware Public Archives provides access to some of its most accessed photograph collections online through the Delaware Heritage Collection.

From April 12 through April 19, the Delaware Public Archives will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of President Abraham Lincoln death by displaying a set of documents and photographs related to Lincoln’s assassination. Along with pictures of both Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, the display features Lincoln’s funeral procession program, a […]