We extend a warm welcome to all who share an interest in family history
and in Delaware's people, past and present. -- Margaret David, President of the DGS

Upcoming DGS Events

Future Meetings


PROGRAM: Delaware Civil War African American Soldiers: Who Were They?
WHEN: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
WHERE: Delaware Historical Society (see location)
SPEAKER: Sylvester Woolford. A native Delawarean, Syl Woolford currently resides in Newark. He is a graduate of Delaware State University and also received an MBA from Rutgers. He is recently retired from a career in accounting and sales. Most recently he worked for and retired from AAA MidAtantic in Wilmington. Syl's interest in history began with the researching of his own family history. He traced his mother's family for 200 years in the city of Newark, Delaware. With the upcoming celebration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, he switched his research to the little told story of the United States Colored Troops who served in that conflict.


PROGRAM: The 1940 Census
WHEN: March 20, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
WHERE: Delaware Historical Society (see location)
SPEAKER: Beth Bensman, a Certified Archivist, is currently an Archives Specialist for the National Archives at Philadelphia and also presents workshops on archival basics for the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts. She has previously held positions at the Presbyterian Historical Society, Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Georgia, and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. While her career has encompassed all areas of archival management, Beth has a particular affinity for outreach, access, and reference.


PROGRAM: Breaking Down Brick Walls
WHEN: April 17, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
WHERE: Delaware Historical Society (see location)
SPEAKER:Michael Hait is a professional genealogist living in the Delaware / Maryland area. Hr has over ten years of research experience on families from Connecticut to South Carolina to Tennessee. Michael is currently serving as the Vice-President of the National Capital Area (Washington, D. C.) chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). His specialties include Maryland genealogy, Delaware genealogy, Civil War research, and African-American genealogy. He has done extensive research on slave families in Maryland, and the U. S. Colored Troops during the Civil War.



Online Access to Images of Vital Records
in the Delaware Public Archives

You can now search, view, and print these images for Delaware (and other states) if you have (A) an Ancestry.com subscriber's account OR (B) a Delaware public library card. and register for a free Ancestry.com trial account. To get this free account (which will allow you to view only vital records from Delaware) do the following:
  1. Go to the Delaware Library Catalog page at http://ilsapp.lib.de.us/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/x/0/49/

  2. In the upper right corner of the Delaware Library Catalog log onto that site with your library card number and PIN. This will give you a new Delaware Library page.

  3. Click on Delaware Genealogy Online in the menu at top of the page. This will take you to the Delaware page of Ancestry.com.

  4. You may now search the vital records, but in order to view and print the record you must click the link to sign up for a free Ancestry.com trial account. Ancestry.com will ask you for your name and an email address. Ancestry.com will then email you a user name and password. Based on the Web path you took to get here Ancestry.com knows that you have a Delaware library card and will issue a non-expiring free membership limited to Delaware vital records.

  5. Once you have received your user name and password, you can not only search but also view the digitized records from the Delaware Public Archives anytime.
To see the list of vital records that are available on Ancestry.com, log onto that site, go to the Card Catalog, and (in the left menu column) select Birth, Marriage & Death, then (under the heading Filter by Location), select USA and then the state where your ancestor lived. You do not need to have an account at Ancestry,com to view the list of vital record databases for the various states that are now available through Ancestry.com.


The DGS provides Free Family Research Help

Two DGS volunteer helpers will be available at the Delaware Historical Society Research Library on the third Saturday of each month from 10 AM to 4 PM except for holiday conflicts.
See Help Sessions for details.


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© Delaware Genealogical Society -- July 7, 2011 -- delgensoc.org