Delaware Historical Society

The Delaware Historical Society contains over 2 million documents that chronicle Delaware’s history from the late 1600s to the present. The Society’s collections are especially rich in women’s history, African American history, and the political history of the early United States. Rare books and prints are available, including 300 Delaware imprints by over 25 different printers. The Society maintains an extensive map collection, including dozens of Pre-1800 Maps. Various material objects from early America are also held by the Society. Check the Society’s Collections/Research page for general information on holdings. Ask Caesar is the Society’s main search engine and has three entry points: the Library Catalog, the Archives Catalog, and the Object Catalog. A useful tool in the Archives Catalog is the Browse Subjects feature.

Delaware Public Archives

As the official repository for Delaware state and local government, the Delaware Public Archives preserves more than 95,000 cubic feet of records and documents relating to the colonial and early history of the state. Its state government records include the public papers of Delaware’s governors and executive branch agencies. Local government holdings include county and municipal records dating back to the 17th century. The Archives also contain the personal papers of distinctive Delawareans such as George Read and Caesar Rodney, as well as business records of various craftsmen, merchants, and farmers. Holdings can be searched by subject in the Collections Gateway. Several Public Finding Aids are available, including an excellent aid on the Archives’ Revolutionary War Records. Some of the Archives’ collections can be viewed online via their Digital Archives.

Hagley Museum and Library

Formerly the Eleutherian Mills Historical Library, the Hagley Museum and Library specializes in the history of business, science, and technology. Its early American sources date back to the 17th century and are especially strong in the 18th and 19th. Of particular interest are the vast collections relating to the du Pont family and their business interests. The Library maintains hundreds of searchable Finding Aids for its archival holdings while the Museum provides an online catalog for its material object collections. Some of Hagley’s early American sources have been digitized. The Library’s Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society offers various research fellowships.

Nanticoke Indian Museum

Delaware’s only indigenous museum, the Nanticoke Indian Museum collects and preserves artifacts related to the Nanticoke peoples who inhabited the western shore of the Delmarva Peninsula prior to European colonization. The Museum’s collections are especially rich in material objects crafted by the region’s indigenous peoples, with some items dating back to 8,0000 BCE.

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

The University of Delaware Library Special Collections holds significant sources on early Delaware and the surrounding region. The Library’s collections span back to the 16th century but are especially rich in in the 18th and early 19th. Much of these manuscripts contain the personal, business, and legal papers of various Delaware and Pennsylvania families, merchants, and government officials. Search the Library’s Research Guides for subject areas and its Finding Aids for detailed lists of available collections. Some of the Library’s early American sources have been digitized. The Library does offer some fellowship opportunities in affiliation with the Association of Centers for Study of Congress.

Other Delaware Archives & Sources

GenealogyDig maintains a list of genealogical and historical societies within Delaware. Much of Delaware’s early court records were produced by the Superior Court and are now deposited at the Delaware Public Archives. FamilySearch’s Delaware Court Records is a useful guide for the history of and archival information for the courts.

For much of its colonial history, Delaware comprised the Lower Counties of William Penn’s grant and thus had significant ties to Pennsylvania prior to the American Revolution. As such, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the Pennsylvania State Archives all have sources on early Delaware. Other neighboring depositiories with Delaware collections include the Maryland Center for History and Culture, the New Jersey Historical Society, the New-York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Early Delaware sources can also be found at the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Dutch, the English, and the Swedes each colonized the space that would become Delaware, and their archives’ reflect that history. Check with the Nationaal Archief in the Netherlands, the British Library and the National Archives at Kew in the United Kingdom, and the Riksarkivet in Sweden for sources.