Delaware, Wilmington Vital Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The collection covers the years 1881 to 1954.

Record Description
The records consist of vital records and indexes from Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. Some of these records may be duplicated in the New Caslte County registers. The records include:


 * Births (1881-1919)
 * Marriages (1881-1954)
 * Deaths (1881-1954)

For a list of records by date and event currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record History
Statewide registration of births began in 1861, was discontinued in 1863, then resumed in 1881 and was generally complied with by 1921.

Delaware counties began keeping marriage records as early as 1832. These records have been transferred from the counties to the Delaware Public Archives. These early county marriage records are not available at the Family History Library; however, the library has records of some pre-1847 marriage bonds. State registration of marriages began in 1847 and was generally complied with by 1913. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the marriage bonds for 1744-1836 and 1855-1861, and licenses for 1889-1894. You can obtain marriage records for the most recent 40 years by writing to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. For marriages recorded more than 40 years ago, contact the Delaware Public Archives.

Marriages of Delaware residents may also be recorded in adjoining states, such as Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Although some deaths were recorded as early as 1855, state registration of deaths officially began in 1881 and was generally complied with by 1890.

The Delaware Bureau of Vital Statistics has death records for the most recent 40 years. For deaths recorded over forty years ago, contact the Delaware Public Archives.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Record Content
The following important biographical facts may be found in the birth records:






 * Child’s name
 * Child’s sex
 * Birth date
 * Birth place
 * Registration date
 * Race
 * Parent’s names
 * Parent’s address
 * Parent’s birth places
 * Father’s occupation

The following important biographical facts may be found in the marriage records:






 * Full name of bride and groom
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place
 * Residence or address of bride and groom
 * Age of bride and groom
 * Groom’s occupation
 * Birth place of bride and groom
 * Parents of bride and groom
 * Number of marriage for bride and groom
 * Officiator

The following important biographical facts may be found in the death records:




 * Name of deceased
 * Death date
 * Death place
 * Age or birth date
 * Marital status
 * Cause of death
 * Occupation
 * Birth place
 * Name of parents
 * Surviving spouse
 * Race
 * Last known address
 * Parent’s names
 * Informant’s names
 * Informant’s residence

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The approximate date the event occurred
 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the bride and groom, the infant, or the deceased

Search the Collection
From the search page of the collection, select the appropriate Record Type and Date Range. Browse through the images until you find the record for your ancestor.

Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the birth date along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * The parent’s birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile birth entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.
 * The information in vital records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning or end of record collections. You may also want to check with a local historical or genealogical society as they often create indexes to local records.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Why This Record Was Created
Birth and deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs.

Counties in Delaware recorded marriages to safeguard the interests of the wife and other legal heirs by documenting marriages and property ownership.

Record Reliability
Vital records are considered to be primary source records. Information in these records is usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant.

Related Websites
Delaware Vital Records

Guide to Vital Records

Requesting Vital Records

This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles

 * Wilmington Delaware Family History Center
 * Delaware
 * Delaware Vital Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Delaware, Wilmington Vital Records, 1847-1954" digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 13 January 2012). entry for John Matthew Murphy, born April 15, 1904; citing Vital Records, Births, 1904-1909&gt; Image 7; Delaware Public Archives, Wilmington, Delaware, United States.