Sussex County, Delaware Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Formerly known as Deale County, the name was changed to Sussex on 4 Dec 1682. The Recorder of deeds has land records from 1693. Register of Wills houses the probate records

Parent County
1673--Sussex County was created 8 August 1673 from Deale (old) County. County seat: Georgetown

Description
The county seat is Georgetown and the county was created August 8, 1683. The County is located in the south area of the state.

Boundary Changes
Because of the ongoing boundary disputes between Lord Baltimore of Maryland and William Pitt 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.

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.

The border between Sussex and Kent Counties, Delaware was set in 1683 and has not changed since then.

For animated maps illustrating Delaware County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Delaware County Boundary Maps" (1673-1841) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
Cities

Towns:

Hundreds: More information can be found at Delaware Hundreds.

Unincorporated communities:

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

Cemeteries
The following web sites may have additional information on Sussex  County cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Delaware cemetery records by County.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
1804-1839, 1907-1959 Delaware, County Naturalization Records at Family Search - free

Probate

 * DeValinger, Leon. A Calendar of Sussex County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800. Dover, Delaware: Public Archives Commission, 1964.
 * Moore, Marguerite R. indexes for Sussex 1800-1869, three volumes(Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1995-97.)

Vital Records
See also How to order Delaware Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Delaware Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Death Certificate to mail.
 * 1650 - 1974 at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Georgetown Historical Society 510 S. Bedford Street Georgetown, DE 19947 302 855-9660 302 855-1030 (Fax) Facebook

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

Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society  (Kent and Sussex County) Box 3602 Salisbury, Maryland 21802-3602 E-Mail: [mailto:lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com] Website

Sussex County Genealogical Society c/o Rehoboth Beach Public Library 226 Rehoboth Avenue Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Sussex County, DE History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Delaware Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Delaware Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Sussex County DEGenWeb Project, an member of The DEGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Sussex County
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Sussex County
 * Sussex County, Delaware Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sussex County Genealogy (Delaware Genealogy)