Delaware Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Delaware; Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1820-1870 Atlantic and Gulf Ports, Passenger List Card Index, 1820-1870 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1820-1874 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1820-1874 (browse images) for United States Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874 at FamilySearch; images only
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage - index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Delaware
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage - index only ($)

Cultural Groups

 * British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812 at Ancestry ($)
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Delaware
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Delaware
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Delaware
 * The Swedish settlements on the Delaware : their history and relation to the Indians, Dutch and English 1638-1664 with an account of the South, the New Sweden, and the American companies and the efforts of Sweden to regain the colony. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1795-1925 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Index and images, at Ancestry ($)

Offices to Contact
Although many records are included in the online records listed above, there are other records available through these archives and offices. For example, there are many minor ports that have not yet been digitized. There are also records for more recent time periods. For privacy reasons, some records can only be accessed after providing proof that your ancestor is now deceased.

National Archives and Records Administration

 * The National Archives (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival (See Part 5).
 * You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.


 * Some National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.
 * Libraries with large genealogical collections, such as the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Allen County Piblic Library also have selected NARA microfilm publications.
 * Order copies of passenger arrival records with NATF Form 81.

Delaware Ports in NARA Records

 * Delaware (District of), 1820
 * Wilmington, Delaware, 1820-1848

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program
The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.

Immigration Records Available

 * A-Files: Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
 * Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s): Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
 * Registry Files:''' Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
 * Files:''' Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Requesting a Record

 * Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
 * Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions

Finding Town of Origin
Records in the countries emigrated from are kept on the local level. You must first identify the name of the town where your ancestors lived to access those records. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
 * U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin

Background

 * The first Europeans in Delaware were Dutch who settled in 1631 at New Zwaanendael (later Lewes, Sussex, Delaware) as part of New Netherland.
 * The Swedish started a settlement in 1638 at Fort Christina (Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware) as part of New Sweden. The New Sweden area was conquered by the New Netherland Dutch in 1655 and then by the English (British Empire) in 1664.
 * Lord Baltimore's Maryland Colony claimed as far north as Philadelphia from before the English conquest of New Netherland. From 1682 to 1776 the "three lower counties on the Delaware" River were part of the colony of Pennsylvania.

Immigration Records
Immigration refers to people coming into a country. Emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Immigration records usually take the form of ship's passenger lists collected at the port of entry. See Online Databases and Resources.

Information in Passenger Lists

 * Before 1820 Passenger lists before 1820 included name, departure information and arrival details. The names of wives and children were often not included.


 * 1820-1891 Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin, but not the city or town of origin.


 * 1891-1954 Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
 * name, age, sex,
 * nationality, occupation, marital status,
 * last residence, final destination in the U.S.,
 * whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long),
 * if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship,
 * whether able to read and write,
 * whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage,
 * amount of money the immigrant had in their possession,
 * whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane,
 * whether the passenger was a polygamist,
 * and immigrant's state of health.


 * 1906-- In 1906, the physical description and place of birth were included, and a year later, the name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin was included.

Information in Passports
Over the years, passports and passport applications contained different amounts of information about the passport applicant. The first passports that are available begin in 1795. These usually contained the individual's name, description of individual, and age. More information was required on later passport applications, such as:


 * Birthplace
 * Birth date
 * Naturalization information
 * Arrival information, if foreign born

In-country Migration

 * The Delaware River brought the original European settlers to Delaware. For more than three centuries, it served as a waterway connecting many Delaware towns to each other and to Philadelphia.
 * A frequently used land migration route was from Philadelphia to Wilmington and then on to Baltimore. There was very little migration from New York and New Jersey to Delaware, but many people migrated back and forth among Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

For Further Reading
The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog: