Kent County, Delaware Genealogy

United States

Delaware

Kent County

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

This article is about a county in state of Delaware. For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation)

Delaware Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Dover Organized: August 8, 1673 Parent County(s): St. Jones Neighboring Counties Caroline (MD) • Kent (MD) • New Castle • Queen Anne's (MD) • Sussex See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Kent County was created on 8 August 1673 and named for Kent, an English county. Its county seat is Dover. It is located in the central part of the state. Kent is one of few counties bordering another county with same name across the state line, Kent (MD) County, Maryland.

County Courthouse

Kent County Courthouse
414 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901
Phone: 302-735-1900
Kent County Courthouse

Clerk of Peace has marriage records.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records.
Recorder of Deeds has land records from 1680.
Register of Wills has probate records.

Kent County, Delaware 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
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1676	1676	1676	1680	1680	1680	1782
*Statewide registration was 1861-1863, then reinacted in 1881. General compliance by 1921.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from St. Jones County, on 8 August 1673. Renamed: Renamed from St. Johns County, 17 December 1682. County Seat: Dover Delaware Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Delaware Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Delaware 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:

Cities
Dover (county seat)	Harrington	Milford (partly in Sussex County)
Towns
Bowers Camden Cheswold Clayton (partly in New Castle County) Farmington Felton	Frederica Hartly Houston Kenton Leipsic Little Creek	Magnolia Smyrna (partly in New Castle County) Viola Woodside Wyoming
Unincorporated communities
Andrewville Berrytown	Little Heaven	Marydel (aka Halltown)
Census-designated places
Dover Air Force Base (aka Dover Base Housing) Highland Acres	Kent Acres Rising Sun-Lebanon Riverview	Rodney Village Woodside East

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Kent, Delaware online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves USGW Tombstone Transcription Project Interment.net
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Catalog WorldCat.org
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
See Delaware Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

For tips on accessing census records online, see: Delaware Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	18,920	—
1800	19,554	3.4%
1810	20,495	4.8%
1820	20,793	1.5%
1830	19,913	−4.2%
1840	19,872	−0.2%
1850	22,816	14.8%
1860	27,804	21.9%
1870	29,804	7.2%
1880	32,874	10.3%
1890	32,664	−0.6%
1900	32,762	0.3%
1910	32,721	−0.1%
1920	31,023	−5.2%
1930	31,841	2.6%
1940	34,441	8.2%
1950	37,870	10.0%
1960	65,651	73.4%
1970	81,892	24.7%
1980	98,219	19.9%
1990	110,993	13.0%
2000	126,697	14.1%
2010	162,310	28.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Funeral Homes

Bennie Smith Funeral Home in Dover Bennie Smith Funeral Home in Milford Cartwright Family Mortuary in Milford Evan W. Smith Funeral Services in Dover Faries Funeral Directors and Crematorium, Inc. in Smyrna House of Wright Mortuary in Smyrna Lofland Funeral Home in Harrington Lofland Funeral Home in Milford Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Smyrna McPherson Funeral Services Inc in Camden McPherson Funeral Services Inc in Milford Melvin Funeral Home in Harrington Michael Ambruso Funeral Director, Inc. in Dover Pippin Funeral Home in Wyoming Rogers-Hovatter Funeral Home in Milford Short Funeral Services, Inc. in Felton Short Funeral Services, Inc. in Greenwood Torbert Funeral Chapels in Dover Trader Funeral Home in Dover

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• USGS Topographical Maps at USGS.gov
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

American Revolution

• A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: FS Catalog Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Delaware, Kent County on page 126.

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Delaware Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index; images available through FamilySearch Catalog

World War I

• 1917-1919 Delaware, World War I Servicemen Records, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II

• 1940-1945 Delaware, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1802-1943 Delaware, Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1943 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Delaware, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

• 1800s-1999 Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry ($)

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1680-1800 Kent County, Delaware Probate records, 1680-1800 at Ancestry - index & images ($) original data: Valinger, Leon de, com/ Calendar of Kent County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800.
• 1680-1800 DeValinger, Leon. A Calendar of Kent County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800. Dover, Delaware: Public Archives Commission, 1944. (FamilySearch Library film 1035860 item 4; fiche 6051248.) Facsimile reproduction of the original (FamilySearch Library book 975.14 P28d.)
• Indexes to probate records 1801-1833, in three volumes by Mary Marshall Brewer (Lewes,Del.: Delmarva Roots, 2002.)
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

Birth

• 1650-1974 Delaware Vital Records, 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

• 1650-1974 Delaware Vital Records, 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1784-2007 Delaware, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)

Death

• 1650-1974 Delaware Vital Records, 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Kent County. For state-wide facilities, see Delaware Archives and Libraries.

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

• Dover Delaware FamilySearch Center
• Newark Delaware FamilySearch Center
• Cecil County Public Library (multiple locations) - an affiliate library
• Winterthur Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

The Delaware Public Archives
121 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Dover, DE
Phone: 302-744-5016
Email: sarah.denison@state.de.us
Website

Societies

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

Downstate Delaware Genealogical Society
PO Box 1787
Dover, DE 19903-1787
Email: info@downstatedegenealogists.org
Website
Facebook

The Greater Harrington Historical Society
108 Fleming Street
Harrington, DE 19952
Phone: 302-398-3698
Email: info@ghhsociety.org
Website
Facebook

Milford Historical Society
501 Northwest Front Street
Milford, DE 19963
Email: parsonthorne@gmail.com
Facebook

Websites

• The Kent County DEGenWeb Project, an member of The DEGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Kent County
• Kent County, Delaware Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.