Delaware State Birth Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Delaware 

What is in the Collection?
The collection "Delaware, State Birth Records, 1861-1922" consists of an index and images of birth records. Some images have one record, and others have two records. It is arranged in alphabetical order.

Digital Folder Number List
This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at Delaware Marriage Records, 1913-1954 Digital Folder Number List. The list can be sorted by DGS number, record type, and year.

Sample Image
Birth records were turned into the State by county clerks from 1861 until statewide registration began to be enforced. Returns and birth certificates were recorded on pre-printed forms.

Statewide birth records were collected by the State sporadically from 1861, with the majority of the State collection beginning after 1920.

Statewide registration of births began in 1861, was discontinued in 1863 and resumed in 1881 when physicians and midwives were required to register births with the county Recorder of Deeds. By 1901 returns and certificates began to be reported to the State Board of Health, but that process was not generally complied with until 1921.

In 1913 the Bureau of Vital Statistics was created as an agency of the State Board of Health. It houses some birth records but others have been transferred to the State Archives. Records housed at the Delaware Bureau of Vital Statistics are restricted to those with an interest or a need to prove ownership rights.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Delaware birth records may include and of the following:


 * Child’s full name
 * Date and place of child's birth
 * Child's gender and race
 * Whether living or stillborn
 * Father's name, age, occupation and place of birth
 * Mother's maiden name, age and place of birth
 * Child's place of order in family
 * Parents' place of residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name
 * Other identifying information such as date and place of birth

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To view images in this collection look at the Delaware State Birth Records, 1861-1922 Digital Folder Number List article to determine the folder number for the images you want to see. Then visit the Browse Page and select the appropriate Film number to go to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s birth 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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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 other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * 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 birth 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.
 * The city of Wilmington also has a register of vital statistics.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the related collection Delaware, Vital Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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