New Castle County, Delaware Genealogy

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

Description

 * The county was named for the English city of Newcastle. The county seat is Wilmington and the county was created August 8, 1637.
 * The County is located in the north area of the state.
 * Previously known as New Amistel County, by 31 December 1674 the name had been changed to New Castle.

County Courthouse
New Castle County Courthouse 800 North French Street Wilmington, DE 19801 Phone: 302-571-7545


 * Clerk of Peace has marriage records from 1911.
 * The Prothonotary has divorce and court records.
 * Register of Wills has probate records
 * Recorder of Deeds has land records.
 * The New Castle County Government Center 87 Reads Way New Castle, DE 19720-1648

Most records of the older county records have been transferred to the Delaware Public Archives

Record Loss
The British army confiscated many county records during the Revolutionary War. Most were eventually returned, but some were never recovered.



Boundary Changes

 * Parent County: New Castle County was created 8 August 1673 from New Amistel (old) County.
 * County seat: Wilmington


 * 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.

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
1638 Swedes and Finns settle at Fort Christiana (now Wilmington). They eventually spread as far north as Philadelphia. See New Sweden wiki article for more details. 1651 Dutch build Fort Casimir and Sandhook (now New Castle City). See New Netherland article for details. 1654 New Sweden captures Fort Casimir without a fight. It is renamed Fort Trinity (Trefaldighets). 1655 New Netherland returns a large army and forces all of New Sweden to submit to Dutch rule. 1664 As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War New Netherland is surrendered to England. 1673 A new war breaks out. The Dutch send a huge armada to recapture New Netherland, but at the end of 1674 it is finally ceded to England. Nieuw Amstel is renamed New Castle after the English take control.

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


 * Delaware Interment


 * Catholic Cemeteries Burial Database for All Saints, Cathedral and Gate of Heaven Cemeteries Courtesy of the Diocese of Wilmington

Church Records

 * 1708-1985 - Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.

Contains church records of:


 * Wilmington: Central Presbyterian Church; First Presbyterian Church; Holy Trinity Church; St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
 * Swedes Church
 * Christina Parish was located in what is now Wilmington. A 1754 membership list is preserved in Archivum Americanum at the Consistory Court of the Archbishop of Upsal in Sweden. A copy is held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Court Records
Synopsis of Delaware Courts

Emigration and Immigration
Large numbers of Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania, probably arrived at the port of New Castle in the early 1700s.

Local Histories
Online County Histories


 * Fort Casimir : the Starting Point in the History of New Castle. By Alexander B. Cooper. 1905. Wilmington, [Del.] : n.p. Digitized by FamilySearch, 2011, and Online at: ; Hathitrust; Internet Archive; Google Books; Ancestry ($).
 * The Old Hollingsworth Plantation. By Clinton Alfred Weslager. n.d. Wilmington, Delaware : Historic Red Clay Valley. Digitized by FamilySearch, 2009, and Online at:.

American Revolution

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Delaware, New Castle County on page 126.]

Civil War
Civil War service men from New Castle County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in New Castle County.


 * - Nield's Independent Battery, Delaware Light Artillery


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Delaware Public Archives has placed the New Castle County Naturalizations Original petitions and other legal documents of immigrants wishing to become American citizens on-line. There is an alphabetical listing of the names and dates.The date listed reflects the year of the file and may vary from the document displayed. The file for each individual may contain more documentation.

Probate Records

 * A Calendar of Delaware Wills, New Castle County, 1682-1800. New York, NY: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1911; Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. (Family History Library book .)

Tax Records
The 1676 list of taxables has been published:


 * Dickson, Taylor L. and P.S.P. Conner. "Some Data Concerning the Taking of Wolves in New Castle County in 1676, and a Reprint of the Taxables of that Year," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan. 1895):29-34. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Vital Records

 * 1650-1974 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1847-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * See also How to order Delaware Vital Records, order electronically online $ Delaware

Birth
Download an application for Delaware Birth Certificate to mail

Marriage

 * 1784-2007 Delaware, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * Download an application for Marriage Certificate to mail

Death

 * New Castle County, Delaware Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Wilmington, Newark, Elsmere, New Castle, Middletown, Delaware City, Newport, Bellefonte and Odessa areas.
 * Download an application for Death Certificate to mail

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Newark Delaware Family History Center
 * Newark, Delaware
 * Wilmington Delaware Family History Center
 * Wilmington, Delaware

Societies, Libraries, and Museums

 * Delaware Genealogical Society Center for African American Heritage 505 N. Market Street Wilmington, Delaware 19801-3091 302 655-7161 E-Mail: [mailto:president@delgensoc.org president@delgensoc.org] Website


 * Jewish Historical Society of Delaware 505 North Market Street Wilmington, DE 19801-3091 Website


 * New Castle Historical Society 30 Market Street New Castle, DE 19720 302-322-2794 Fax: 302-322-8923 Email: [mailto:nchistorical@aol.com nchistorical@aol.com] Website


 * Fort Delaware Society P.O. Box 553 33 Staff Lane, Fort DuPont State Park Delaware City, DE 19706 302 834-1630 E-Mail: [mailto:society@fortdelaware.org society@fortdelaware.org] Website


 * Winterthur Heritage Association Winterthur Museum, Garden &amp; Library 5105 Kennett Pike Wilmington, DE 19735 302.888.4681 E-Mail: [mailto:reference@winterthur.org reference@winterthur.org] Website

See also a List of Delaware Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Websites

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