RESEARCH FACILITIES IN DELAWARE COUNTY The following outline was devised for a lecture, I did, a few years back for the Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's Seminar at Neumann College: DELAWARE COUNTY ARCHIVES (610) 891-5620 Fair Acres - Building #19 340 North Middletown Road (Rt. 352) Lima, PA 19037 Archivist: Robert J. Plowman, Ph. D Mailing Address: 201 West Front Street, Media PA 19063. E-mail: archives@co.delaware.pa.us ADMINISTRATIONS – 1790-1900 BIRTH RECORDS – 1893-1906 [Birth records are on microfilm] CIVIL DOCKET BOOKS (CONTINUANCE & APPEARANCE) 1797-1929 CIVIL CASE FILES (ORIGINAL WRITS) – 1797-1929 CRIMINAL DOCKET BOOKS – 1806-1929 CRIMINAL CASE FILES – 1823-1929 DEATH RECORDS – 1893-1906 [Death records are on microfilm] DIVORCE -- see CIVIL CASE FILES EQUITY CASE FILES – 1856-1897 LICENSES FOR PEDDLERS – 1935-1970. MARRIAGE RECORDS – 1885 – 1929 [Both marriage license & application.] NAME CHANGE -- see CIVIL CASE FILES NATURALIZATION RECORDS – 1795-1926 Indexed NATURALIZATION RECORDS – Indexed 1927-1990 ORPHANS’ COURT DOCKET BOOKS - 1790-1925 ORPHANS’ COURT ESTATE CASE FILES – 1790-1925 (Index 1789-1829) PETITION BOOKS for NATURALIZATION -- 27 Feb 1860-23 Sep 1906 PHYSICIANS’ REGISTRATIONS – 1881-1900 TAX VOLUMES --1791-1903 (Owner and amount of tax paid) WILLS – 1789-1900 DELAWARE COUNTY COURT HOUSE Front & Orange Streets Media, PA 19063 http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/ NOTE: Most of the early records from the Delaware County Court System you can now view or get copies of from -- The Delaware County Archives! Register of Wills Office: * Births: 1893-1906 Docket (610) 891-4405 Delayed Birth Records -- prior to 1906 (registered c1941-c1965) * Deaths: 1893-1906 Docket Marriages: 1930-present (micro film) Probate Records (610) 891-4400 or 10 Wills & Letters of Administration (1901 to present) Guardianship Papers Note: * The Birth & Death Records do not include those who were born & died in the City of Chester. Orphans Court Office: Adoption Records (610) 891-4419 1789-1865 Docket * 1865-1921 Docket (missing, maybe in Chester) 1921-present Recorder of Deeds Office: Deeds (1789-present) (610) 891-4155 Office of Judicial Support (OJS): Divorce Docket (Index): #1 to # 17 Vol. * Murder Docket (c1940-present) (missing March 2000) Naturalization Index Books: Book #1 1795 - 1860 * Book #2 1860 - 1906 Book #3 1906 - 1926 Veterans Affairs Office: (610) 891-4646 Info on Veteran’s & their places of burial & gravestones DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (DCHS) (610) 359-1148 c/o Delaware. Co. Community College Annex Malin & James Roads Hours: Tues. 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM Broomall, PA 19008 Wed. 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM http://www.delcohistory.org/dchs/ Sat. ? Admittance: $5.00 Delaware. Co. Census 1790-1930 (micro film) Delaware. Co. Directories Boyd's directory of Delaware County, Penna., 1897-'98: containing a general directory of Chester City, and of the towns of Clifton Heights, Darby, Eddystone, Lansdowne, Media, Sharon Hill, Upland and Wayne, and a business directory of the county, to which is added a large list of farmers and an appendix of useful information. Boyd's directory of Delaware County, Penna., 1899-1900: containing a general directory of Chester City, and of the towns of Clifton Heights, Darby, Eddystone, Lansdowne, Media, Ridley Park, Sharon Hill, Upland and Wayne, and a business directory of the county, to which is added a large list of farmers and an appendix of useful information. Church Records Cemetery Records -- “Chester Rural 1863” Newspapers, (Chester Times, now Delaware County Daily Times 1876-1971) Deeds Maps Books: PENNSYLVANIA ARCHIVES (Revolutionary War, Fifth Series, Volume V) BATES (PA in the Civil War) ASHMEAD (War of 1812) Record of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR Family Genealogies Chester F. BAKER (Collection) Chester County Records (Wills) Computer: CD (Newspapers Delaware & Chester Co.) (NEW) Naturalization Index: Book #1 1795 - 1860 Book #2 1860 - 1906 Book #3 1906 - 1926 DELAWARE COUNTY INSTITUTE of SCIENCE (610) 566-5126 11 Veterans Square Media, PA DELAWARE COUNTY DAILY TIMES (newspaper) (610) 622-8821 Library -- (Not open to the public) 500 Mildred Avenue Primos, PA The Chester Times (now the Delaware County Daily Times) can be found on micro film at the following libraries: 1876-present Place Newspaper Year(s) Widener University Library Daily Times 1970-present Cheyney University Library Daily Times ? - ? Ridley Twp. Library Daily Times 1985-present MORMON LIBRARY (free) (610) 356-8507 721 Paxon Hollow Road Broomall, PA 19008 Hours: Tues., Wed & Thurs. 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Sat. 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM SWARTHMORE COLLEGE (610) 328-8496 The Friends Historical Library Swarthmore, PA Quaker Records of Delaware Co., PA c1690-present Hicksites Records Nicholites (DE & MD) Quaker Records from across the USA WIDENER UNIVERSITY (610) 499-4066 Wolfgram Library 14th & Chestnut Streets Chester, PA 19013 New York Times Obit. Index Vol. I 1858 -1968 Vol. II 1969 -1978 Newspapers New York Times 1851- present (micro film) Philadelphia Inquirer 1979 - present Daily Times 1970 - present Washington Post Los Angels Times & others Books Delaware Co. History Pennsylvania History Surnames & Given Names Pennsylvania Gazette early 1700s-present Maps (numerous) NEUMANN COLLEGE (Library-Archives) (610) 558-5545 Bachmann Bldg. One Neumann Drive Aston, PA 19014 http://www.neumann.edu/academics/library.asp (All of the family genealogy collection & the city & county atlases remain with us at the TOP of the hill in the main library located in the Bachmann Building) Absinio Building (located at the BOTTOM of Neumann Hill, right off the Concord Road entrance) Archives: Family Genealogies (only a few) Old Atlases (numerous) Reference Section: Chester Co. Deed Books 1688 until 1789 Chester Co. Grantor Index to Deeds 1688-1922 Chester Co. Tax Transcripts 1715-1753 U.S. Direct Tax 1798-1866 Delaware Co. Wills 1789-1892 Census of Delaware Co. 1790-1910 New York Times 1981-1998 (all the above on micro film) Questions concerning genealogical subjects should be directed to one of the following: -Sr. Marie Therese Carr, O.S.F. (Archives) 610-361-5206 -Ginny Blair (Technical Services/Systems and local genealogy specialist) 610-558-5543 -Barbara Selletti, S.F.O. (Interlibrary Loan/Reserves and long distance genealogy specialist) 610-361-5216 -Larry Milliken is our head of Reference Services and can also assist individuals with general research & reference questions. DELAWARE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Library (DCCC) Media, PA (610) 359-5146 New York Times (micro film) starts 1850 German & Pennsylvania Genealogy (book) Passenger Ship List (book) MEDIA BOROUGH HISTORICAL ARCHIVES COMMISSION Media Library (610) 566-1918 Front & Jackson Streets Media, PA Genealogies of prominent families of Delaware Co., PA (20 books) Obit’s of people from the Media area late 1800s-present VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY (Library) Lancaster Avenue Villanova, PA The London Times (micro film) starts 1785 Irish Newspapers (micro film) Passenger Ship List (books) UPPER DARBY SELLER’S LIBRARY 76 S. State Street Upper Darby, PA 19082 Genealogical collection (books & maps) CHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (610) 692-4800 225 N High Street West Chester, PA 19380 http://www.chestercohistorical.org/genealogy.html Note: In 1789 Chester County split, & Delaware County, PA, was established. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) (215) 732-6200 The Genealogical Society Of Pennsylvania (GSP) (215) 545-0391 Helen M. Imburgia 396 Derry Drive Aston, PA 19014 (610) 358-1102 HMWEBBER@aol.com Professional Genealogist Local Historian Founder of the     Delaware County Genealogical Society (DCGS) Index for Wills in Delaware Co., PA 1789 - 1900 Index for Administrations in Delaware Co., PA 1789 - 1900 Index for Naturalization Records in Delaware Co., PA 1795 - 1926 Index to Estate Case Files in Delaware Co., PA 1789 - 1829 (Orphans' Court.) Index to Criminal Cases 1791 - 1865