Subscription Databases (Not at UD)
Indicates a fee-based site
Indicates a fee-based site with significant free content
- HeritageQuest
Fee-based genealogy resource. Includes a digital book collection: Genealogy and local history books. Also Digital collections of: U.S. Census, Revolutionary War materials, Freedman’s Bank records, and U.S. Serial Set (memorials, petitions, and private relief acts). - Fold3.com
Fold3 specializes in digitizing US military records, Coverage is Revolutionary War onward. Many of the collections are from big libraries and institutions which would otherwise not be able to digitize their records. Users are able to tag records and write notes. Most resources are available only by subscription, but some are freely available. Example: View free images from the different NARA collections. - Findmypast
UK-based online genealogy service. Subscription includes PERSI (Periodical Source Index) an invaluable index to records from over 8,000 genealogy and history societies from all over the world.
Offers Free Records, including all U.S. Census records (easier interface than Ancestry).
Databases
- 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. - FamilySearchA service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The website has learning guides, the catalog of the Family History Library, full-text original records, and Family History Books, a full-text collection of genealogy reference books and family histories. Requires free registration which allows viewing records, creation of family trees, uploading images, and sharing information.
Most resources and services on FamilySearch are free. There are some cases where a FamilySearch link will go to a partner site which is a fee only source, such as Ancestry.com - Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (National Archives)Searches electronic records at National Archives. There are databases and indexes from more than 30 archival series, including over 350 data files totaling well over 50 million unique records; this number will continue to grow. Search by person, geographic areas, organizations, or dates. Note: this represents a small portion of the National Archives collections, most of which are not digitized.
- Genealogy LibGuide (Delaware Division of Libraries)Ancestry Library Edition is available at other locations, including the Delaware public libraries. See the section of the guide: "Where to find Ancestry.com".
- FindmypastUK-based online genealogy service. Subscription includes PERSI (Periodical Source Index) an invaluable index to records from over 8,000 genealogy and history societies from all over the world.
Offers Free Records, including all U.S. Census records (easier interface than Ancestry).
Featured Resource: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Newark, New Castle County, Delaware. Sep 1891. Sheet 2. (Library of Congress) (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3834nm.g012211891) List of Delaware maps
A collection of maps which depict the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of some twelve thousand cities and towns in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and date from 1867 to the mid 1960s. The maps were used to gauge the fire risks for urban structures and display detailed information about buildings, including the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, the function of structures, street names, and house and block numbers. The maps were hand-drawn and colored. These were published by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps.
- Sanborn Maps (Fire Insurance Maps: About this Collection) (Library of Congress)
An online database containing digitized fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company. This collection is freely available on the internet. The maps are large-scale plans of urban structures and were used to gauge the fire risks. The maps were hand-drawn and color coded. Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for historians, geographers, genealogists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Start with: About this Collection. Then select: Collection Items. Use the left menu to filter by various aspects, such as location. NOTE: the states are not in alphabetical order; be sure to select "More Locations" and use the Sort Alphabetically option. Maps are still being added to the collection. Note: Print copies of the original hand-drawn color maps are available at the University of Delaware Library and the Library of Congress. - How to Use the Library of Congress' New Sanborn Maps for Genealogy (genealogy insider)A a step by step guide to using the Sanborn Maps.
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Geography & Map Reading Room, Library of Congress)Research Guide that offers The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Online Checklist, essays about uses of the Sanborn Maps, and other resources. Link to checklist of Delaware maps in list format. The online checklist is a searchable database of all the maps published by Sanborn and available at the Library of Congress.
The checklist replaces an earlier publication Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress and will be continually updated. - Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps : DelawareList compiled by Philip Hoehn, Earth Sciences & Map Library, University of California Berkeley.
- Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 (Delaware) This link opens in a new window
Sanborn maps, produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years, are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The maps are large scale and were used to gauge the fire risks for urban structures.
The maps in the database are black and white. Print copies of the original hand-drawn color maps are available at the University of Delaware Library, the Delaware Historical Society, and the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress has the maps as an online digital collection.
Sanborn maps, produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years, are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The maps are large scale and were used to gauge the fire risks for urban structures.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.
Additional Resources
- AccessGenealogyOne of the largest directories of genealogy websites. Many of the sites are free. Strengths are Native American and Black Genealogy. Also has Cemeteries, Census, Databases, DNA, Military, Vital Records. A partner of Fold3.com
- Delaware Public Archives Resources on Ancestry.comFree with your Delaware Library Card. Log in to the Delaware page on Ancestry.com.You can have free access ONLY to the records Ancestry has digitized for the Delaware Public Archives.
Delaware Public Libraries
Do you have a Delaware public library card?
If you do, you have free access to additional genealogy books and databases.
Digital Book Collections
- Genealogy GophersFree searching and downloading of 80,000 digital genealogy books.
- Delaware Heritage CollectionDocuments, artwork, maps, newspapers, slides, photos, audio/video and other important items documenting Delaware’s rich history and culture are available online in the Delaware Heritage Collection.
- eBooks & PDFs (Delaware Public Archives)Full text of important Delaware publications, some of them out of print.
- Family History Books (FamilySearch)A collection of more than 200,000 digitized genealogy and family history publications from the archives of some of the most important family history libraries in the world. The collection includes family histories, county and local histories, genealogy magazines and how-to books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees. Search for the title of a book, for surnames, or for topics, such as, "delaware genealogy."