Kent County DEGenWeb is a proud member of The USGenWeb Project®. Our Project's network of sites provide free genealogical information for every state and county in the US. Our goal is to keep genealogy free for family historians and researchers who wish to learn more about where they came from.
I'm Linda K. Lewis, County Coordinator for Kent Co, DEGenWeb. I grew up in Philadelphia and have personal ancestry throughout PA, DE, and NJ. I hope you will find resources here to help you with your family research. We readily accept contributions of lists of data, like wills, deeds, cemetery listings, surname lists, etc. Contact me if you'd like to contribute resources to this site to help keep genealogy research free. We accept any an all resources such as photos, County surnames, family trees, family histories, historical information, family Bible info, cemetery transcriptions, and pretty much anything of value to genealogy research!
Gayle Triller, former DEGenWeb State and County Coordinator, recently retired after over two decades of project management. We are deeply appreciative of all her many contributions to DEGenWeb. With this transition, I am working to organize and update Kent County. New content is added periodically, so be sure to see What's New to find updates amd new resources, and you can also Search this site. If you would like to help manage this site or contribute content, review the information on Contribute. We'd love to have you Join Us to help keep genealogy free!
Melvin Family - 3 Generations
Delaware has a long and volitile history of shifting control. The area was originally inhabited by the Lenape Delaware tribe, who hunted and farmed throughout the Delaware valley, and were organized into the Wolf, Turkey, and Turtle clans. The Dutch arrived in early 1631 amd formed the New Netherlands settlement. The Swedes arrived, gained control, and colonized New Sweden in 1638. The Dutch regained control from the Swedes in 1655, but then the English took final control in 1664, and Wolf Creek, hunting ground for the Wolf clan, became known as St. Jones river. And throughout this period, the Lenape continued to fight for the place that was their generational home. In 1682, the Duke of York granted the Delaware territory to William Penn, and in 1684, Penn made a treaty with the Lenape for peace.
Kent county was formed from part of New Castle (New Amstel) and Hoerenkill (Sussex) counties. A courthouse was built in 1697. In 1717, the town of Dover, named for Dover, England, was laid out and and became the capital of Delaware in 1777. See City of Dover. Also see the Kent County Levy Court.
Census & Tax
The Federal Census begins in 1800 for this area and goes to 1920. The 1790 is missing but has been reconstructed using tax records. There are statewide indexes from 1800 to 1870 which will make location of the family easier. Colonial records are available through various sources. Over time, Delaware has been considered over time part of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. After 1681 records, some were stored in the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, and some can be found in the Delaware Public Archives in Dover.
Miscellaneous
For 1680 to present, the Delaware state archives have cards which index births, baptisms, marriages, and church and Bible records, newspaper notices, etc. Land records after 1785 can be found in the county courthouses. Land grants were given by William Penn until the Revolutionary War. There are Deeds for Kent County from 1680 to 1850, which are indexed, indicated in the FHLC. The Delaware State Archives have a card index of original land patents, warrants, and surveys, arranged by county. The original deed and mortgage volumes or microfilms of them, are also at the Delaware State Archives. Early probate records are available from 1676 to the twentieth century. The University of Delaware also curates a number of books and microfilm covering wills and probate records for all three counties. The largest file of grave marker transcriptions and abstracts can be found at the Delaware State Archives. Another good resource for cemetery records is the book by Raymond Walter Dill, and others, "Souls in Heaven, Names in Stone: Kent County Delaware Cemetery Records", 2 vols.
All contributions are attributed to the submitter, and will be curated on this site. Copyright of submissions belong to those responsible for their authorship or creation unless otherwise assigned.
Page updated:
County Coordinator: Linda K. Lewis
State Coordinator: Linda K. Lewis
Asst. State Coordinator: Norma Hass
USGenWeb® Advisory Board