Delaware Church Records

Many religious groups have kept records of Delaware families. Before 1900 the largest denominations were the Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Quakers (Society of Friends).

A transcription of the registers and minutes of nearly 100 church records from the 1680s to the 1930s was made by the Delaware Historical Records Survey. These are at the Delaware Public Archives and are on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL films 006304-20). These records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under DELAWARE, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - CHURCH RECORDS. You will also find them listed under Historical Records Survey (Delaware) in the Author/Title Search of the microfiche catalog.

An old list of church addresses and ministers is:

Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Delaware. Dover, Delaware: Historical Records Survey, 1942. (FHL book 975.1 E4h; film 1036702 item 3; fiche 6019975.)

There is an index to many baptisms, 1759-1890, on microfilm under:

Delaware. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Index Cards of Delaware Marriages, Baptisms, Births, and Death, 1689-1913. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1949. (FHL film 006423.)

The following publications contain information concerning church members and groups:

Burr, Horace. The Records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, Wilmington, Delaware, for 1697-1773. Wilmington, Delaware: Historical Society of Delaware, 1890. (FHL film 908217; another filming 1000156 item 4.) This book contains English translations and abstracts from the original church records. It also includes traditions, names, and dates.

Clark, Allen B. This Is Good Country: A History of the Amish of Delaware, 1915-1988. Gordonville, Pennsylvania: Gordonville Print Shop, 1989. (FHL book 975.1 K2c.) This book has information about the European beginnings of the Mennonite and Amish groups, their migration, and settlement in Delaware. Includes traditions, names and dates.

Clark, Raymond B. Delaware Church Records. St. Michaels, Maryland: R. B. Clark, 1986. (FHL book 975.1 A1 number 14.) This contains baptisms, marriages, deaths, and tombstone inscriptions from several churches including Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Quaker churches for the period 1686-1880.

Weis, Fredrick Lewis. The Colonial Clergy of Maryland, Delaware, and Georgia. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1978. (FHL book 975 D3w.) This is an alphabetical listing of the clergy in Delaware from 1638-1776, and includes names, dates, and places.

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. The following are addresses of regional archives:

Baptist
American Baptist-Samuel Colgate Historical Library 1100 South Goodman Street Rochester, NY 14620 Telephone: 585-271-1320 (Closed to researchers until 2008) Internet: http://crcds.entrexp.com/orgMain.asp?orgid=165&amp;storyTypeID=&amp;storyID=&amp;sid =&amp;

American Baptist Historical Society: http://www.baptisthistory.us/index.php

Methodist
United Methodist Archives Center Drew University 36 Madison Ave. Madison, NJ 07940-4007 Telephone: 973-408-3125 Fax: (973) 408-3770 Internet: http://www.drew.edu/depts/library/methodist/umac.aspx

Presbyterian
The Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 Telephone: 215-627-1852 Fax: 215-627-0509 Internet: http://www.history.pcusa.org/

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Wilmington Archives P.O. Box 2030 Greenville, DE 19899 Telephone: 302-655-0597 Internet: http://www.cdow.org/archives.html

Society of Friends (Quaker)
Friends Historical Library Swarthmore College 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399 Telephone: 610-328-8496 Fax: 610-690-5728 E-mail: [mailto:friends@swarthmore.edu friends@swarthmore.edu] Internet: http://www.swarthmore.edu/fhl.xml

Websites

Delaware Catholic Church registers: http://www.cdow.org/registers.html

Transcribed church records: http://www.awesomegenealogy.com/churchrecords.shtml