Finding AncestorsBefore Emancipation · 1865
Ancestry Research Hub

A path to your enslaved ancestors

Research before 1865 requires a different approach. Begin with the state where your ancestors were held (from the first arrivals of the 1600s to Emancipation), then work backward from the 1870 census — the first to name formerly enslaved people.

DE

Delaware

Statehood 1787 · Border States & D.C.

Slavery 1639–1865 Emancipation: December 6, 1865 (13th Amendment)

Slavery in Delaware dates from Swedish and Dutch settlement. By 1860 most Black Delawareans were free, but slavery lasted until the 13th Amendment. Delaware was a key route on the Underground Railroad.

Slavery Research Institutions

Delaware Public ArchivesProbate, manumission and court records.Hagley Museum & LibraryBusiness and family papers of the region.Delaware Historical SocietyManuscripts and African American history collections.

Where to Search Delaware Records

Open a pre-filled Delaware search on each repository. You don't need an account to start.

Delaware Public ArchivesFamilySearch: Delaware recordsAncestry: search DelawareNARA — Freedmen's Bureau Records

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Key Records

  • Orphans' Court and probate records (Kent, New Castle, Sussex)
  • Manumission records and certificates of freedom
  • Recorder of Deeds records of sales and manumissions
  • 1850 & 1860 Slave Schedules and free Black census entries
  • Quaker meeting records documenting manumission

Research Tips

  • Search both enslaved and free households, since families often had members in each status.
  • Delaware Public Archives has indexed manumissions online.
  • Check Maryland Eastern Shore records for families who lived across the border.

National Resources, 1600s to Emancipation

Databases that cover every state, from the Atlantic crossings to the search for family after freedom.

SlaveVoyages: Trans-Atlantic & Intra-American DatabasesShip voyages 1514–1866, including the coastwise trade between U.S. ports.Enslaved.org: Peoples of the Historical Slave TradeLinked records of named enslaved individuals drawn from many databases.Freedom on the Move: Runaway AdvertisementsThousands of transcribed fugitive notices from newspapers, 1700s–1865.Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery'Information Wanted' ads placed by freedpeople searching for family.Library of Congress: Born in Slavery (WPA Narratives)More than 2,300 first-person accounts of formerly enslaved people.National Archives: African American ResearchFreedmen's Bureau, Freedman's Bank, slave manifests, USCT service records.FamilySearch: Freedmen's Bureau RecordsFree indexed labor contracts, marriages and rations records, 1865–1872.

General Methodology