Genealogy Resources at the University of Delaware Library
Although not aimed at genealogy and family history, the collections of the University of Delaware Library (Morris Library) include materials useful to genealogists and family historians.
This Genealogy Research Guide is provided as a service for genealogists. It presents topics and resources to assist researchers.
The UD Library does not specialize in genealogy and does not have staff responsible for genealogy. Library staff cannot conduct research.
For questions about library resources and holdings, use the Ask the Library service.
For questions about getting research assistance, see the suggestions on the home page of this guide or on the topic/resources pages.
Resources on Arrivals by port
- Immigration Guides (Ancestry.com)Free research guides from Ancestry. See especially: Major U.S. Immigration Ports.
Delaware and Regional
- "Three Lists of Passengers to New Amstel" byCall Number: F161 .D47In Delaware History 8, no. 3 (March 1959), pp. 310-311.
- Delaware Genealogical Society JournalCall Number: F163 .D35xPublishes transcripts of original records. Published since 1980.
- Ship Passenger Lists: Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825) byCall Number: F148 .B76Lists about 8,000 early arrivals.
- "Early Immigrants to New Netherland, 1657-1664" byCall Number: F122 .D63Vol. 3 of The Documentary History of the State of New-York. See pp. 33-42 and 52-63.
- "Documents Relative to the History of the Dutch and Swedish Settlements on the Delaware River" byCall Number: F122 .D66Vol. 12 of Documents Relative to the Colonial History of New York. Available online in Internet Archive.
Resources on Ethnic and National Groups
- Search & Records (Ancestry.com)Includes Free Research Guides on topics and on various ethnic groups
Arrivals by Port
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There were two official immigration reception centers in New York: Castle Garden and Ellis Island.
The five major U.S. arrival ports for immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries: New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New Orleans.
- Castle GardenCastle Garden was America's first official immigration center. It was designated in 1855. The website provides online access to the index cards for the records.The records cover 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened. Now called Castle Clinton National Monument.
- Ellis IslandStatue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF). Information on 22 million immigrants and ship's crews who arrived at Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924. Searchable by name, including alternate spelling, results provide date of arrival, age, marital status, ethnicity, residence, gender, ship, and port of departure. Contains information on each ship and ship manifests. “Immigrant Experience” includes The Peopling of America, which covers pre-1790 to 2000 with a “timeline showing forces behind immigration and their impact on the immigrant experience.” Free registration.
Note: many of these records are available as digitized images in Ancestry Library Edition - Ancestry Library EditionA massive online website which provides collections of historical and genealogical information. U.S. Census, records, vital records, immigration, military, and much more. Some of collections are full text images and fully searchable. Others are indexes or read-only image files. Additionally, there are eBooks of histories and family genealogies, reference books, information about the sources and tips for using them. Ancestry Library Edition is produced by Ancestry.com, a fee-based service. Ancestry Library is a smaller version and the one that Ancestry.com makes available for institutional subscriptions. Many of the functionalities and collections offered to individual users on Ancestry.com aren't available on Ancestry Library Edition.
Available remotely only to persons currently affiliated with the University of Delaware and students at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes. - FamilySearch: Historical Record CollectionsList of the digitized collections of records relating to Migration & Naturalization.
- Microfilm Publications and Original Records Digitized by Our Digitization Partners (National Archives)National Archives digitization partners, Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and Familysearch.org, have digitized selected NARA microfilm publications and original records and made them available on their web sites.
- Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts ..., 1820-1873 (microfilm) byCall Number: Microfilm no. 4149National Archives Microfilm M575, Record Group 036. The Library has roll 16 only, which includes arrivals at Wilmington, Delaware, 1820-48. The microfilm is arranged by port, then by date; there is no index. See the description
on the National Archives website.
Note: in Ancestry Library Edition. - Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1834: From Customs Passenger Lists byCall Number: CS68 .T46 1982Transcribed from Customs lists. Contains records for 50,000 people. Most of the passengers were German; also large numbers were British or Irish. Also see NARA guide at Microfilm Roll Numbers for USA Passenger Arrival Records. Note: also available in the Ancestry Library Edition database.
- Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1819: The Philadelphia Baggage Lists byCall Number: CS68 .T464 1986The oldest federal passenger lists. Known as the "baggage lists" since they were compiled in accordance with a law to exempt in-coming passengers from paying duty on their personal belongings. This books contains transcriptions of about 40,000 passenger names taken from 4,767 ship lists. Most of the passengers were from Great Britain and Germany. (Also available in the Ancestry Library Edition database titled: Philadelphia, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1800-1850).
National/Ethnic Groups
- Dutch Immigrants in U. S. Ship Passenger Manifests, 1820-1880: An Alphabetical Listing by Household Heads and Independent PersonsCall Number: E184 .D9 S95 1983 v. 1-22 vols. Arranged by name. Includes ports of Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and some smaller ports. Extracted from NARA M237. Note: also available in the Ancestry Library Edition database.
- History of the Huguenot Emigration to America byCall Number: DC111 .B23Considered the standard work on Huguenot emigration. Contains narratives and records.
- Swedish Passenger Arrivals in New York, 1820-1850 byCall Number: E184 .S23 O43
Emigration from the United Kingdom to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports by Call Number: E184.B7 E45 200616 vols.- The Boston HIAS Database, 1882-1929: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Boston -- Individual Arrival CardsLDS (Mormon) Family History Library microfilmed the 21 boxes of arrival cards located at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in Boston. The microfilm consists of nine reels. The microfilm title in the Family History Library collection is "Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Card File I-96, 1882-1929". The webpage on the HIAS site is an index to the microfilm, not to individual names. The majority of the collection dates from 1882-1929, with some entries covering 1850’s and up to 1956.
- Names of Foreigners Who Took The Oath Of Allegiance To The Province and State of Pennsylvania, 1727-1775, With The Foreign Arrivals, 1786-1808 byCall Number: Not at University of Delaware Library. Available through Interlibrary Loan.Title on spine: Pennsylvania oaths of allegiance. Reprint of the 1892 ed. "Originally published as Pennsylvania archives, second series, vol. XVII, 1890." Description: 788 pages. Other Titles: Pennsylvania oaths of allegiance. Also available in Ancestry Library Edition database. The publication Index lists only last names, which makes it awkward to use.
- Names of Foreigners Who Took The Oath Of Allegiance To The Province and State of Pennsylvania, 1727-1775, With The Foreign Arrivals, 1786-1808 (online) byIndex lists only last names, which makes it awkward to use. From Archive.org
- Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at US Ports 1850-1897 (Description) (Joe Beine and German Roots)Description of the Germans to America series, the creation of it, and tips on using it. Transcribed by the Balch Institute. Links to the other Balch Institute titles. These lists are the basis of some of the Immigration collections in National Archives, Ancestry, and FamilySearch.