Delaware Genealogy Search

Delaware is small enough that one archives holds nearly everything. The Delaware Public Archives in Dover keeps the state's vital records that have become public, the probate, land and court records of all three counties, and the colonial records of New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties going back to the Dutch and Swedish settlements of the 1630s. Its free online databases index births, deaths, marriages and probate across the state.

Delaware began vital registration in 1881, let it lapse, and resumed it consistently in 1913, so the 1880s and 1890s are covered only partly and church and cemetery records fill the gap.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Delaware statewide genealogy links

• State of Delaware Digital Archives DocumentsAccess Digital Archives
• Delaware State Archives and Libraries SearchDelaware Archives and Libraries Search
• Guide to Delaware Public Library Archive CollectionsLibrary Historic Collections Guiide
• Probate Records Database for DelawareProbate Public Records Database
• Delaware Historic MapsHistoric Delaware Maps
• USGenWeb Archives DelawareSearch Delaware GenWeb Archives
• National Archives Delaware Mid Atlantic RegionDelaware Genealogy Research at the National Archives

Delaware's birth records from 1881 to about 1920, death records to about 1960 and marriage records to about 1960 are held by the Delaware Public Archives, which posts free online indexes and provides copies; the Archives receives birth records after 72 years, and death and marriage records after 40. Later records are held by the Delaware Division of Public Health Office of Vital Statistics. Marriage records exist in county form from the 1700s in some parishes and from 1847 statewide, and divorce records are with the Family Court.

• Delaware Public ArchivesFree online indexes and copies of public birth, death, marriage and probate records, checked September 25, 2026
• Delaware Office of Vital StatisticsRecent birth, death and marriage certificates, checked September 25, 2026
• Delaware Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The Public Archives holds the probate records of all three counties from the 1680s, land warrants and surveys from the Penn proprietorship, county tax assessments, the Delaware militia and Civil War rosters, naturalization records from the state courts, and photographs. Delaware took no state censuses, so the federal censuses from 1790 and the tax lists carry the family forward. The Delaware Historical Society in Wilmington holds newspapers, church records and family papers, and the Hagley Library holds business and du Pont family records. The National Archives at Philadelphia holds Delaware's federal court and customs records.

• Delaware Public Archives digital collectionsFree digitized probate, land and military records, checked September 25, 2026
• Delaware Historical SocietyNewspapers, church records and family papers, checked September 25, 2026
• National Archives at PhiladelphiaFederal court and naturalization records for Delaware, checked September 25, 2026
• FamilySearch Delaware research guideFree indexed Delaware records and images, checked September 25, 2026

Delaware's three county recorders of deeds hold land records from the 1600s, with New Castle County's going back to the Dutch, and each posts an online index. The registers of wills hold probate records, the Court of Chancery holds trust and equity cases, and the Prothonotary of the Superior Court holds civil case files. The Public Archives holds the older books of all these offices on microfilm and in its online databases, so most Delaware courthouse research can be done in Dover.

• Delaware County Public RecordsRecorders of deeds and registers of wills for New Castle, Kent and Sussex
• Delaware Court RecordsSuperior Court, Chancery and probate records

These federal and national sources complement Delaware's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Delaware state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.

FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.

Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.