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Delaware County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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Guide to Delaware County, Pennsylvania ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

This article is about a county of southeast Pennsylvania. For other uses, see Delaware (disambiguation)
County Facts
County seat: Media
Organized: September 26, 1789
Parent County(s): Chester[1]
Neighboring Counties
Montgomery • Chester • York • Philadelphia • New Castle (DE) • Gloucester (NJ)
Courthouse
Delaware County, Pennsylvania Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
Delaware County PA Map.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for the Delaware River. The county is located in the southeast tip of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Delaware County Courthouse
201 West Front Street
Media, PA 19063
Phone:610-891-4000
Recorder of Deeds Phone: 610-891-4152
Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court Division Phone: 610-891-4400, Email: walkm@co.delaware.pa.us
Marriages Phone: 610-891-4548
Treasurers Office Phone: 610-891-4273
Delaware County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records 1893-1906, marriage records from 1885, divorce records from 1927, probate from 1790, court records from 1897, land records from 1789, orphan court records from 1865 and delayed birth records 1875-1900[3]


For birth and death records prior to 1906 contact:Delaware County Archives. If you are looking for a birth record between 1893 and 1906, please visit the Register of Wills department located at the Government Center. The Recorder of Deeds processes and preserves records relating to real property dating back to 1789. All records are preserved on microfilm. The Register of Wills is responsible for matters relating to probate and the Orphans Court maintains the records of marriages. Tax records are in the Treasurers Office.

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1893 1885 1893 1897 1789 1790 1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1906. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[7]

Cities
Boroughs
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Townships


History Timeline

1641: Swedes and Finns spreading north from Fort Christina (present-day Wlimington, Delaware) first settle in Finland (Chamassungh), now Trainer, Pennsylvania[8][9][10] and Upland (Meckopenacka), now Chester, Pennsylvania.[11][12][13] The New Sweden Colony continues to expand northward with new settlements as far as Philadelphia in the following years.

1651-1655: The New Netherland Colony builds Fort Casimir[14][15][16] (now New Castle, Delaware), settle Sandhook,[17][18][19] and abandon Fort Beversrede (now Philadelphia) in 1651. In 1654 New Sweden captures Fort Casimir from the Dutch without a fight and renames it Fort Trinty (Trefaldighets).[20] In 1655 New Netherland returns with a large army and all of New Sweden in presend-day Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey submits to Dutch rule.[21]

1664: As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War New Netherland including southeast Pennsylvania is surrendered to the English.[22]

1673-1674: A new war breaks out and the Dutch send a large armada to retake New Netherland for a few months. But as the war ends the colony is ceeded to England for the last time.[23]

1680s: William Penn founded the English colony of Pennsylvania after receiving a grant in 1681 from the king of England. His colony offered religious freedom, liberal government, and inexpensive land. Quakers established the city of Philadelphia.

Resources

Bible Records

  • Bibles at PA USGenWeb Archives

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Delaware County, Pennsylvania online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Pennsylvania Cemeteries for more information
Green check.png
The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.


Additional Cemetery Resources

Census Records

Federal Census

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 9,469 —
1800 12,809 35.3%
1810 14,734 15.0%
1820 14,810 0.5%
1830 17,323 17.0%
1840 19,791 14.2%
1850 24,679 24.7%
1860 30,597 24.0%
1870 39,403 28.8%
1880 56,101 42.4%
1890 74,683 33.1%
1900 94,762 26.9%
1910 117,906 24.4%
1920 173,084 46.8%
1930 280,264 61.9%
1940 310,756 10.9%
1950 414,234 33.3%
1960 553,154 33.5%
1970 600,035 8.5%
1980 555,007 −7.5%
1990 547,651 −1.3%
2000 550,864 0.6%
2010 558,979 1.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Court Records

For information about records kept in the Orphan's court, Prothonotary Court, Court of Common Pleas, and other courts in counties of Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Court Records Wiki page.

  • 1718-1852 Records, 1718-1852(*); Court of Private Sessions and Clerk of Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer at FamilySearch Catalog — images

The Office of the Prothonotary in Delaware County has been merged into a new department called the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
Prothonotary
Director: Angela L. Martinez, Esquire
Government Center, Room 126
201 W. Front Street
Media, PA 19063
610-891-4370
Website

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

For online resources, passenger lists, and specific groups coming to Pennsylvania, see Pennsylvania Emigration and Immigration.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

For groups that came, see People section of the Pennsylvania Emigration page.

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

The Orphan's Court ensures the best interests of those not capable of handling their own affairs: minors, incapacitated persons, decedents' estates, and more.[24]

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a specific location and reveal family relationships. Records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, maps and more. For more information, see Pennsylvania Land and Property.

Media:Delaware county pennsylvania townships.pngDelaware county pennsylvania townships.png
About this image

Land records in Delaware County began in 1770. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Media, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Philadelphia CountyMontgomery CountyChester CountyGloucester CountySalem CountyNew Castle CountyPA DELAWARE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Delaware County (over 1500)
(may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Maps

Migration

Military Records

See more databases at Pennsylvania Military Records and US Military Records.


Revolutionary War
Men in what is now Delaware County (then Chester County) served in the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment.[25]

Civil War

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Naturalization records can contain information about immigration and nativity. Prior to 1906, it is rare to find the town of origin in naturalization records. For more information, see Pennsylvania Naturalization

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

Newspapers

Newspapers may contain obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings. Newspapers are often found in local or university libraries, historical or genealogical societies, or state archives in the area where the newspaper was published. See Pennsylvania Newspapers for more information.

Newspapers of Delaware County


Online Newspapers

To learn if there are newspapers online for a specific town or city in Pennsylvania, see news.google.com/newspapers and search for the town or the name of a newspaper.

Online Newspaper Abstracts

Obituaries

Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died or where family members lived. Local libraries or societies may have indexes or other sources.

Online Obituary Abstracts

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate matters in Delaware County are handled by the Orphans' Court and start when the county was created.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates; appointments of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills; inheritance tax appeals, and various petitions and motions.

Online Probate Indexes and Records


Online Will Abstracts

School Records

  • Swathmore College: 1883-1956 (Online at the Internet Archive)

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Vital Records

Vital records are handled by the County Orphans' Court. Between the years 1852-1855 Pennsylvania made a failed attempt to record birth, marriage and death events at the county level. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. For the most complete set of records, contact the County Orphans' Court.


Birth

Early births 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For more information, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

Marriage

Pennsylvania marriages were created by county officials. Contact Delaware County Courthouse

Death

Early deaths 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For indexes and records, 1906 and later, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

The following records are available at the Delaware County Archives:

Divorce

Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary.

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Delaware County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

Delaware County Archives
340 N Middletown Rd, Bldg 19
Lima, PA 19063
Mailing Address: 201 W Front St
Media, PA 19063
Phone: 610-891-5620
Email: archives@co.delaware.pa.us
Website

The archives has will administrations 1790-1935, county home records 1806-1929, birth 1852-1906, marriage records 1852-1854 and 1885-1940, death records 1852-1854 and 1893-1906, court records 1790-1929, veterans' graves registration 1775-2010, prison records 1873-1917, naturalization records 1795-1990, wills 1789-1935, and more.

National Archives at Philadelphia
14700 Townsend Rd
Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096
Phone: 215-305-2044
Fax: 215-305-2052
Email: philadelphia.archives@nara.gov
Website
Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Delaware County. For state-wide library facilities, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

Delaware County Library System (DCLS)
Administrative Headquarters
340 N Middletown Rd, Fair Acres Bldg 19
Media, PA 19063
Phone: 610-891-8622
Fax: 610-891-8641
Email: support@delcolibraries.org
Website
Facebook
Online Catalog

There are 22 libraries in the DCLS library system. They have a sizable genealogy and biography collection.

Friends Historical Library
Swarthmore College Library Special Collections
500 College Ave
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Phone: 610-328-8496
Email: friends@swarthmore.edu
Website
Facebook

Located in neighboring Delaware County, but has many resources for the greater area.

Museums

Christian C. Sanderson Museum
1755 Creek Rd (Old Route 100)
PO Box 153
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Phone: 610-388-6545
Email: info@sandersonmuseum.org
Website
Facebook

The museum has a family name index "for stories to augment your genealogy research."

Pennsylvania Veterans Museum
Media Armory
12 E State St
Media, PA 19063
Phone: 610-566-0788
Email: info@PaVeteransMuseum.org
Website
Facebook

Societies

Listed below are societies in Delaware County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Pennsylvania Societies.

Delaware County Historical Society
9 West Front Street
Media PA 19063
Phone: 610-750-0622
Website

Friends Historical Association (Quakers)
Haverford College Library
370 Lancaster Ave
Haverford, PA 19041-1392
Phone: 610-896-1161
Email: fha@quakerhistory.org
Website

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_County,_Pennsylvania accessed 2/2/2017
  3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002) Delaware County, Pennsylvania, p.589
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Delaware County, Pennsylvania," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_County,_Pennsylvania, accessed 19 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "New Sweden" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sweden (accessed 7 November 2008).
  9. ↑ Albert Cook Myers, Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1912; reprint Barnes and Noble, 1959; digitized by Google, 2008), 69, note 3. "Chamassung or Finland, where the Finns dwelt, was on the west side of the Delaware River, between the present Marcus Hook in Pennsylvania, and the mouth of Naaman's Creek just over the circular state line in Delaware."
  10. ↑ Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, v. 3, (Philadelphia:M'Carty and Davis, 1834; digitized by Google, 2006), 11. "Chamassungh, or Finland. This place was inhabited by Finns, who had strong houses, but no fort. It lies at the distance of two German miles, east of Christina, by water; and, by land, it is distant two long Swedish miles."
  11. ↑ Amandus Johnson, "Detailed Map of New Sweden 1638-1655" in Amandus Johnson's book The Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1664 (Philadelphia: Swedish Colonial Society, 1915), 392.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Swedish Settlements, 372. "Johann Companius, who was called by the government to go to New Sweden in 1642, was placed on the new budget, with a salary of 10 R.D. a month and seems to have been looked upon as a sort of military preacher. He was stationed at Christina, but shortly after his arrival here he was transferred to Upland, where he settled with his family and conducted the service at New Gothenborg."
  13. ↑ Myers, 150. "If now [the land at] Upland, which belongs to the Company, and is large enough for the sowing of twenty or thirty bushels of grain, might be given to the parsonage for Nertunius, together with the small houses there, it would be very well; then he would need no other salary from the Company." and footnote 4, "Now Chester."
  14. ↑ Amandus Johnson, "Detailed Map of New Sweden 1638-1655" in Amandus Johnson's book The Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1664 (Philadelphia: Swedish Colonial Society, 1915), 392.
  15. ↑ "Fort Casimir" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Casimir (accessed 7 November 2008).
  16. ↑ Philip S. Klein, and Ari Hoogenboom, "A History of Pennsylvania, 2nd ed." (University Park, Penn.: Penn State Press, 1980; digitized by Google at http://books.google.com/books?id=AB24rFZOmzcC), 11.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Detailed Map.
  18. ↑ Peter Stebbins Craig, "Chronology of Colonial Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1712" in The Swedish Colonial Society [Internet site] at http://www.colonialswedes.org/History/Chronology.html (accessed 10 November 2008). Originally published in Swedish Colonial News, vol. 2, number 5 (Fall 2001). "1651 - Dutch build Fort Casimir at Sand Hook (New Castle) and abandon Fort Bevers-reede in Schuylkill."
  19. ↑ Johnson, Swedes on the Delaware, 294. "In October, Novermber, and December the new freemen were ordered to clear their lands at various places, for the purpose of planting maize in the coming spring; and several fields at Sandhook, at Fort Christina and up at the [Christina] River were cleared and sewn for the benefit of the company with the grain which Mr. Lord had brought in . . ."
  20. ↑ "New Sweden" in Wikipedia.
  21. ↑ "New Sweden" in Wikipedia.
  22. ↑ "New Netherland" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_netherland (accessed 13 December 2008).
  23. ↑ "New Netherland" in Wikipedia.
  24. ↑ The Philadelphia Courts at Common Pleas accessed 10 July 2012
  25. ↑ John B.B. Trussell and Charles C. Dallas, The Pennsylvania Line; Regimental Organization and Operations, 1776-1783 (Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1977). Digital version at Family History Archive.
  26. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/2/23/Igipennsylvaniac.pdf.
  27. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/2/23/Igipennsylvaniac.pdf.
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