African American Resources for Delaware

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Online Resources

Record Collections

• Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)
• Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)
• Maryland and Delaware, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 Images only.
• Delaware, Birth Records, 1800-1932 ($)
• Delaware Marriage Records, 1913-1954
• Delaware Deaths and Burials, 1815-1955

Digital Archives

• Center for African American Heritage

History

• Black Americans in Delaware: An Overview

Resources

Census Records

• Selected African Americans in Delaware, 1890 U.S. Census - lists name, occupation, enumeration district, and residence

Church Records

A few parish registers list slaves who attended church with their masters (see Church Records).

Land and Property

Slaves in Delaware are sometimes mentioned in deeds (see Land and Property).

Military Records

• List of African American Men from the State of Delaware, 1864-1865. NAID 2802316 - National Archives

Probate Records

Slaves in Delaware are sometimes mentioned in wills (see Probate Records).

Delaware: Enslaved and Free Persons, and Slaveholders is a database of enslaved and free persons extracted from Sussex County, Delaware will books from 1836-1851, with ongoing updates. Slaveholders occasionally provided surnames or exact birthdates in their wills.

Reconstruction Records

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872
• United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872
• Maryland and Delaware, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 Images only.
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.

Slavery Records

Slaves in Delaware are sometimes mentioned in deeds (see Land and Property), in wills (see Probate Records), in tax records (see Taxation), and in court order books (see the Court Records pages of these Delaware Wiki pages). A few parish registers list slaves who attended church with their masters (see Church Records).

For more information about slaves see the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

DELAWARE - MINORITIES

DELAWARE - COLONIZATION

DELAWARE - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

Vital Records

Birth

• Delaware, Birth Records, 1800-1932 ($) - information usually includes name; birth date and place; gender; race; father's name, age, occupation, and birth place; mother's name, age, and birthplace; and child's number in the family

Marriage

• Delaware Marriage Records, 1913-1954 - lists names, marriage date and place, residence, age, race, occupation, birthplace, marital status, and parents

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Death

• Delaware Deaths and Burials, 1815-1955 - lists name, death date and place, age, birthplace, race, and parents and their birthplaces

Societies

Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage
Delaware Historical Society
504 N. Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware, 19801
Phone: (302)656-0637
Website: Center for African American Heritage