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Colonial Delaware
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Delaware
Originally New Sweden
The Delaware River and Delaware Bay were
named after the governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr in
1620 by explorer Samuel Argall. The state of Delaware took its
name from the river and bay.
Dutch traders led by Captain David
Pietersen de Vries established the first settlement in Delaware in
1631. The expedition consisted of approximately 30 individuals who
sailed from the town of Hoorn on the ship De Walvis (The Whale).
The settlement was called Zwaanendael (valley of swans), and was located
near the present town of Lewes on the west bank of the Lewes
Creek. Captain de Vries returned to the New World to visit
the colony in 1632 only to find that the settlers had been killed and
their settlement burned by the Indians.
The second settlement was made in 1638
when Swedish colonists established their colony at present-day
Wilmington. They arrived in two ships, Kalmar Nyckel (Key of
Kalmar) and Vogel Grip (Griffen). Led by Peter Minuit, they landed
in March and established their settlement at "The Rocks" on
the Christina River, named for the queen of Sweden. Here they
built Fort Christina. The Dutch gained control of the colony in
1655, and in 1664 the English defeated the Dutch and obtained
Delaware.
Delaware was given to William Penn in
1682. The colonists took and oath of allegiance to the new
proprietor, and the first general assembly was held in the colony.
Nearly 4,000 men enlisted for service in
the Revolutionary War from Delaware. The only revolutionary battle
fought in Delaware was the battle of Cooch's Bridge, near Newark on
September 3, 1777. Delaware was the first state to ratify the
Constitution and became a state in 1787.
Other Resources:
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New England Early Genealogy Database
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England period of 1600+/- to 1700+/- to see if your ancestors are
included. The index of this database is free and will show the names
included, however, a subscription is required for full access.
Search Revolutionary War Rolls
See images of the actual regimental
rolls from the National Archives. They are being put online
through the joint project of National Archives and Footnote.com.
Search Revolutionary War Service Records Images
 Images of the records from the National Archives.
Search the images to see if your ancestors' records have been added
yet. If they are not be sure to check back since this is an
in-process project. Footnote.com is in the process of working with
the National Archives to put images of these records online to be
searched.
Search Revolutionary War Officers
Collection of Revolutionary Officers Information
Search Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-83
This database is a collection of records kept by the National
Archives listing men who fought for the colonies during the war.
This database contains only those records available in the National
Archives and may not include all persons involved in the American
Revolutionary War. Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR)Each
volunteer soldier has one Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) for
each regiment in which he served.
Search Colonial Families in the U.S.
This database covers the families of the early
English colonies in America. Beginning with the first landing at
Jamestown this series covers families up through the start of the
American Revolutionary War and beyond into the Nineteenth Century. Many
vital records are included, as well as locations of births, marriages,
and deaths. In addition to containing family genealogies this database
also contains armorial bearings, or coats of arms, for some of the more
prominent families from England and Scotland.
Old Colony Ancestors Online
Access this database of
nearly 200,000 names with roots in Southeastern Massachusetts, complete
with citations, containing information on over 57,000 marriages, with a
total of more than 950,000 text records. Some families are followed for
only 2-3 generations, but many are traced for up to 15 generations. Once
a family moved beyond the Southeastern Massachusetts area, most reports
stop. Some are followed as they migrated westward into the Berkshires
and up into Vermont and upstate New York.
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