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Nineteenth century African American genealogy is particularly difficult for researchers. On Saturday, February 7, at 10:30 a.m. the Delaware Public Archives will host a special program which will explore this challenging time period for African American genealogy. Presented by Shamele Jordon, the program will focus on a variety of sources and strategies for locating ancestors […]

Tom Summers, Outreach Services Manager One of the joys of working at the Delaware Public Archives is discovering interesting documents that have not been processed until now and has not been seen for hundreds of years. Recently, I blogged about a Kent County Orphans Court plot that was more than 25 feet long which was […]

Delaware Lt. Governor Matt Denn joined Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock today during a public ceremony to declare February 2014 as African American History Month. The ceremony was held at the Delaware Public Archives and this year’s announcement was special because 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the monumental Brown v. Board of Education ruling […]

In honor of African American History Month, the Delaware Public Archives will present a special program to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education case on Saturday, February 1, 2014, 10:30 a.m.  Following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the Brown v. Board of Education in May 1954, Milford High School […]

During October, the Delaware Public Archives celebrates American Archives Month. This Archives is one of the oldest public archives in the nation; beginning in 1905!   From handwritten notes and documents to the latest digital imagines of many of our holdings and collections, we have over 10.4 million documents and over 800,000 photographs that are yours […]

In the early nineteenth century, Patty Cannon was the alleged leader of a notorious gang in Sussex County that was known for kidnapping possibly hundreds of free African Americans for sale into slavery. Featured on an episode of the PBS series “History Detectives,” and the subject of numerous fictional and non-fiction accounts, Cannon’s life and […]

Are you headed to one of our incredible beaches this Memorial Day weekend? Then why not share your Delaware beach photos with us for our latest online exhibit. Not many people send postcards anymore.  With today’s technology we send pictures from our phones. We’d love to see what was happening at the beach and around Delaware at the official […]

New Exhibit – Houses of Worship: The African American Experience in Delaware   This week the Delaware Public Archives officially opened our new exhibit entitled, “Houses of Worship: The African American Experience in Delaware”. Governor Jack Markell made an appearance and signed a proclamation declaring February, African American History Month. The opening of the exhibit […]

On February 2 at 10:30 a.m., the Delaware Public Archives will, as part of its celebration of African American History month, be hosting a program by Syl Woolford of Newark entitled “The History of Black Methodism in Delaware.” John Wesley, in his vision of the Methodist Episcopal Church, established a denomination in which all human […]

Sometimes our researchers ask if I ever get out of the building.  Well the other day I had an occasion to, just not the kind that I like….. An agency called to say they had some moldy books.  I went to take a look and indeed they were moldy.  It’s amazing what 80 percent humidity […]