New Castle County, Delaware Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the English city of Newcastle. The county seat is Wilmington and the county was created August 8, 1637. New Castle County is located in the north area of the state and was previously known as New Amistel County. The name changed by 31 December 1674 to New Castle.

County Courthouse
New Castle Courthouse Leonard L. Williams Justice Center 500 North King Street Wilmington, DE 19801 Phone: 302-255-0544 New Castle County Courthouse

Clerk of Peace has marriage records from 1911. The Prothonotary has divorce and court records. Register of Wills has probate records. Recorder of Deeds has land records. Most records of the older county records have been transferred to the Delaware Public Archives.

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:

History Timeline
1638 Swedes and Finns settle at Fort Christiana (now Wilmington). They eventually spread as far north as Philadelphia. See New Sweden wiki article for more details. 1651 Dutch build Fort Casimir and Sandhook (now New Castle City). See New Netherland article for details. 1654 New Sweden captures Fort Casimir without a fight. It is renamed Fort Trinity (Trefaldighets). 1655 New Netherland returns a large army and forces all of New Sweden to submit to Dutch rule. 1664 As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War New Netherland is surrendered to England. 1673 A new war breaks out. The Dutch send a huge armada to recapture New Netherland, but at the end of 1674 it is finally ceded to England. Nieuw Amstel is renamed New Castle after the English take control.

Church Records
Contains church records of:
 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – ($), free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Wilmington: Central Presbyterian Church; First Presbyterian Church; Holy Trinity Church; St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
 * Swedes Church
 * Christina Parish was located in what is now Wilmington. A 1754 membership list is preserved in Archivum Americanum at the Consistory Court of the Archbishop of Upsal in Sweden. A copy is held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Synopsis of Delaware Courts

Emigration and Immigration
Large numbers of Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in Chester (PA), probably arrived at the port of New Castle in the early 1700s.

Local Histories
Online County Histories
 * Fort Casimir : the Starting Point in the History of New Castle. By Alexander B. Cooper. 1905. Wilmington, [Del.] : n.p. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Ancestry ($).
 * The Old Hollingsworth Plantation. By Clinton Alfred Weslager. n.d. Wilmington, Delaware : Historic Red Clay Valley. Digitized by FamilySearch, 2009. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Delaware, New Castle County on page 126.]

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index; images available through FamilySearch Catalog

Regiments. Civil War service men from New Castle County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in New Castle County.
 * - Nield's Independent Battery, Delaware Light Artillery

World War I
 * 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1802-1943 Delaware, Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1943 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)

Delaware Public Archives has placed the New Castle County Naturalizations Original petitions and other legal documents of immigrants wishing to become American citizens on-line. There is an alphabetical listing of the names and dates.The date listed reflects the year of the file and may vary from the document displayed. The file for each individual may contain more documentation.

Newspapers

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

Obituaries

 * New Castle County, Delaware Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Wilmington, Newark, Elsmere, New Castle, Middletown, Delaware City, Newport, Bellefonte and Odessa areas.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records

Books and Film
 * Delaware Public Archives, Probate. Name-searchable index provides name, years of probate, number of pages, entry number, and whether the folder has been filmed or scanned. Copies may then be obtained by using the email link on the search page. Multiple items may be ordered at the same time. The Research Staff will return a total cost, and link to confirm and pay for the order.
 * A Calendar of Delaware Wills, New Castle County, 1682-1800. New York, NY: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1911; Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. (FS Library book .)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * Dickson, Taylor L. and P.S.P. Conner. "Some Data Concerning the Taking of Wolves in New Castle County in 1676, and a Reprint of the Taxables of that Year," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan. 1895):29-34. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Birth

 * 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1847-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1784-2007 Delaware, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($)
 * 1847-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Death

 * 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1847-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Family History Centers

 * Newark Delaware Family History Center
 * Wilmington Delaware Family History Center
 * Cecil County Public Library - Cecilton Branch - an affiliate library
 * Cecil County Public Library - Chesapeake City Branch - an affiliate library
 * Cecil County Public Library - Elkton Branch - an affiliate library
 * Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum - an affiliate library

Museums

 * Society of Winterthur Fellows Winterthur Museum, Garden &amp; Library 5105 Kennett Pike Wilmington, DE 19735 Phone: 302-888-4681 E-Mail: [mailto:reference@winterthur.org reference@winterthur.org] Website Facebook

Societies

 * Delaware Genealogical Society Center for African American Heritage 505 N. Market Street Wilmington, Delaware 19801-3091 302 655-7161 E-Mail: [mailto:president@delgensoc.org president@delgensoc.org] Website
 * Jewish Historical Society of Delaware 505 North Market Street Wilmington, DE 19801-3091 302 655-6232 Email: [mailto:info@jhsdelaware.org info@jhsdelaware.org] Website
 * New Castle Historical Society 30 Market Street New Castle, DE 19720 302-322-2794 Email: [mailto:info@newcastlehistory.org info@newcastlehistory.org] Website Facebook
 * Fort Delaware Society P.O. Box 553 2711 Staff Lane, Fort DuPont State Park Delaware City, DE 19706 302 834-1630 E-Mail: [mailto:society@fortdelaware.org society@fortdelaware.org] Website

Websites

 * The New Castle County DEGenWeb Project, an member of The DEGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for New Castle County
 * New Castle County, Delaware Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * New Castle County Genealogy (Delaware Genealogy)
 * – 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.