Sussex County, Delaware Genealogy

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

Description
Sussex County was created on 8 August 1683 and named for Sussex, an English county. Its county seat is Georgetown. It is located in the southern part of the state.

County Courthouse
Sussex County Courthouse 1 The Circle Georgetown, DE 19947 Phone: 302-855-7055 Sussex County Courthouse

The Recorder of deeds has land records from 1693. Register of Wills houses the probate records.

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
1683  The border between Sussex and Kent Counties, Delaware was set in 1683 and has not changed since then. 1710 Because of the ongoing boundary disputes between Lord Baltimore of Maryland and William Penn of Pennsylvania, much of Sussex County (excepting a few miles inland from the coast) was also recognized as part of Maryland's Somerset County up through 1760.Both Pennsylvania (and, after 1710, Delaware) and Maryland issued land patents for the area, sometimes in conflict with each other. 1760 The British Crown ordered the dispute to be settled in 1760, and commissioned Charles Mason and Jermiah Dixon to survey the boundary. In 1769, the survey was completed, defining the border between Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania that exists today.

Bible Records
Wiltbank Family Bible, published in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 29, p.339, available online at Family Search.

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American

Delaware: Enslaved and Free Persons, and Slaveholders at American Origins.org is a database of enslaved and free African-Americans extracted from Sussex County, Delaware will books from 1836-1851, with ongoing updates. Slaveholders occasionally provided surnames or exact birthdates in their wills.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Some Records of Sussex County, Delaware. By Charles Henry Black Turner. Philadelphia : Allen, Lane & Scott, 1909. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

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

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

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

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1802-1943 Delaware, Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1943 at Ancestry - index and images ($)

Newspapers

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1680 -1800 Sussex County, Delaware Probate Records, online at Ancestry ($)
 * 1680-1800 DeValinger, Leon. A Calendar of Sussex County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800. Dover, Delaware: Public Archives Commission, 1964.
 * 1800-1869 Moore, Marguerite R. indexes for Sussex 1800-1869, three volumes (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1995-97.)
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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 at Ancestry - index ($)


 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1650-1974 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 ($)

Death

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Annapolis Maryland FamilySearch Center
 * Dover Delaware FamilySearch Center
 * Salisbury Maryland FamilySearch Center
 * Winterthur Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Laurel Public Library 101 E 4th St Laurel, DE 19956 Phone: 302-875-3184 Website Facebook

Societies
Georgetown Historical Society 510 S. Bedford Street Georgetown, DE 19947 Phone: 302-855-9660 Email: [mailto:marvelmuseum@gmail.com marvelmuseum@gmail.com] Facebook Lewes Historical Society 110 Shipcarpenter St. Lewes, DE Phone: 302-645-7670 Website Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society  Box 3602 Salisbury, MD 21802-3602 Email: [mailto:info@ldgs.org info@ldgs.org] Website (Kent and Sussex Counties) Sussex County Genealogical Society c/o Rehoboth Beach Public Library 226 Rehoboth Avenue Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 Email: [mailto:info@scgsdelaware.org info@scgsdelaware.org] Website

Websites

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