African American Resources for Delaware

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[edit | edit source]

Freedman’s Bank[edit | edit source]

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:

Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]

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.^[1] 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:

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.

School Records[edit | edit source]

Slavery Records[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Birth[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

Death[edit | edit source]

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

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Voting Registers[edit | edit source]

Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

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

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.

[1] "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.

[1]

African American Resources for Delaware

Contents

Introduction[edit | edit source]

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

Research Strategy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Emancipation Records[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Plantation[edit | edit source]

Oral Histories[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]