Genealogical Resources

Census, Taxes, Directories, etc. Records Can Be Found By Clicking on Township Links.

  Before September 30, 1885 marriage licenses were not required in Pennsylvania. Licenses were recorded in churches and meeting houses. Besides church records that is about the only place to find marriage records. Occasionally the happy couple put in a announcement in the local newspaper, though not all the time. Recently a friend gave me a copy of research done on the Delaware County Republican Newspaper which was first published in the 1830's. Some one went thru copies of the paper almost 100 years ago and wrote all the marriage licenses that were in the newspaper for Delaware County residents. I and my helpers are starting to type the list now. The list is not complete some newspapers years are missing but there are 1000's of names. This will be a long project, names will be added over the next several months and it will be searchable. Click on the link below for the first few marriages.

The 18th Century Tax Lists on this Web Site took several years to transcribe from 60 year old microfilm. The original records are at the Chester County Archives at West Chester Pa. Delaware County was part of Chester County till 1789. The tax records begin in 1715 and on this site will go to 1850. Right now the tax records go to the year 1816. Many tax records are missing in the 1720's thru the 1740's and some are simply unreadable.Tax records from 1741 thru 1747 are missing along with 1757, 1777 and 1796 thru 1801 with few exceptions. Every effort was made to decipher the names. In all cases, misspellings were corrected. Dix was changed to Dicks and Nuzum changed to Newsome, for example. In some cases names such as Lindsay and Lindsey were left the same, because both spellings were used. Before 1764, only names and tax amounts paid were recorded. Beginning in 1764, acres, slaves and servants and in many cases, occupations were listed for the first time. The tax lists can be viewed on each Township web page.  To get a better understanding of what the numbers etc. mean in the early tax records, click below for more insight.

History of Delaware County by George Smith 1862

The first book about Delaware County and it's history was published in 1862 by George Smith.
The book contains biographies of early families etc. Well worth the look. You can see the entire book
by clicking the link above.

History of Delaware County by Henry G. Ashmead 1884

After 125 years, Henry G. Ashmead's 1884, History of Delaware County is still the bible.
The book can be viewed on line by clicking the link above.

Cyclopedia of Delaware County by Samuel Wiley 1894

In 1894, Samuel Wiley, published his Cyclopedia of Biographies of Delaware County.
The book featured a brief history of the County and almost 400 biographical sketches of prominent men and families of Delaware County. It is on line for the first time and can be viewed by clicking the above link.

Chester and it's Vicinity in Delaware County Penna. by John Hill Martin 1877

Lawyer and author John Hill Martin{1824-1906} grew up on his grandparents farm in
Ridley Township and attended school there. Related to several early Delaware County Families, Martin wrote this book based on research, interviews, reminisces and just plain gossip. The book deals with families in Chester and the surrounding area, mainly Ridley Township. The book can be seen by clicking the above link.

Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties by Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead 1904

Historians, Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead, together published this massive two volume set on the history of both Chester and Delaware Counties in 1904. Published by the Lewis Publishing Company of New York, the set contains Genealogical Records of families from both counties. A wealth of information on early families, the book can be reached by clicking the link above.

A History of Delaware County Pennsylvania by John W. Jordan 1914

Jordan, the Librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, published this three volume of history and genealogy in 1914. Published by the Lewis Historical Publishing Company of New York, this well illustrated contains two volumes of Delaware County of Genealogy. Here on line for the first time it can be reached by clicking the link above.

Delaware County Booklets and Business Directories

This page is for the booklet about general Delaware County History and Business Directories . Many booklets cover the entire county or specific topics and can not be linked to just one town or place. Those books will be found on this page. Example "Catholicity in Delaware County" from 1918 gives a brief history of all the catholic churches in the county up to that time. It was privately published and is hard to find today. It is now on this page, other booklets about general Delaware County History have been added.

Registration and Mapping of Graves in Delaware County by W.P.A. in 1936

In 1936 the Federal Works Project Administration did a survey of all the Delaware County Cemeteries. For any Private, Family or Public Cemetery, that did not have a list of who was buried, the W.P.A. made a list, by copying the tombstones in those cemeteries. Over 13,000 names were recorded. Upper Darby Historian, Tom DiFillippo, transcribed all the last names, and they can be viewed by clicking the link below. The cemeteries are now being added to each web page and are nearly complete.

The link below features a site that has partial burial records for several large cemeteries in the county.

Other Delaware County Cemeteries

Arlington Cemetery Upper Darby

Delaware County Genealogy

Delaware County Who's Who 1926

In 1926 the Chester Times Newspaper published a Who's Who of Delaware County featuring prominent business, civic and political leaders. The book is on line for the first time and can be seen by clicking the link above.

Who's who Delaware County 1925

In 1925 the Chester Times Newspaper published a Who's Who of Delaware County featuring prominent business, civic and political leaders. The book is on line for the first time and can be seen by clicking the link above.

Dalton Family History

History of the Eyre and Ashmead Families

Delaware County Genealogy

Broomhall Family History

Family Record of the Sharpless Family by Joseph Sharpless published 1810

Horne Family Genealogy

Who's Who in Pennsylvania by Lewis Hamersly published 1904

Delaware County Bibliography

This list is from my own private collection from thirty years of collecting. This list of over 500 books and pamphlets can be viewed by clicking the link below. If there is a booklet you may want to view or get copies of, email me.

Delaware County Pa. Archives

Below is the link to the archives of Delaware County. This link states the hours and what records are available to the public.

Chester County Genealogy

The Chester County Genealogy Web Site has links to just about every Web Site in the area. The Site features links to Family Website's, Civil War Records, Etc. Well worth the visit. Click on the link Below

 

Other Delaware County History Links will be added in the future.