A History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware…

The Delaware Genealogy Society has generated several printed publications of Delaware genealogical data in past years.  We are now starting the process of moving many of those publications online when possible.  Posted below is the name index, first published by DGS in 1987, of the classic book by Benjamin Ferris “A History of Original Settlements on the Delaware… & A History of Wilmington”.

About the book

The Author

This Name Index

Searchable Name Index

The Book

Original Settlements on the Delaware… covers the history of Delaware in three sections. The first part covers the early explorations along the Delaware River and settlements by the Dutch, Swedes, and English during the 1600s. The second part covers the ecclesiastical affairs of the Swedes, focusing on the records of the Old Swedes (Holy Trinity) Church in Wilmington starting in the late 1600s. The third section covers the history of the city of Wilmington, from the early settlements in the 1600s to the 1840s.

Copies of the 1987 reprint edition with the name index can be found in the Delaware library system using the Delaware Library Catalog. A reprint of the 1846 original, without the name index, can be purchased at amazon.com or viewed online in digital format at University of Pittsburgh’s ULS Digital Collections and the Internet Archive.

Below we have reproduced the Acknowledgements and Notes from the 1987 printing:

“Reprinting this book at this time seems particularly appropriate. Nineteen eighty seven marks the 200th anniversary of the nation’s ratification of the United States Constitution. Next year will see the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Swedes and Finns at what is now Wilmington, Delaware, and activities preparing for commemorating that arrival are under way. Both of those events have special significance for Delaware, “The First State” to ratify the Constitution, and for the Delaware Genealogical Society.

The Delaware Genealogical Society acknowledges with thanks the financial participation of the Delaware Heritage Commission in helping to fund this project through a conditionally repayable challenge grant.

With her permission to use them, working from notes prepared earlier by Helen Zippe, members of the Delaware Genealogical Society have prepared the surname index for this reprint. Several comments about the index should be noted:

• The index is a surname index; places, events, and other matters are not indexed.

• Names in the index are as spelled in the book at the page reference. A person may appear in the book and in the index under several names or under a name and several variants of it.

• The book has been reprinted with the pagination of the edition used to make the reprint. Index references are to pages in the reprint.

We believe that this reprint and the index to it will be invaluable to many people for years to come.”

The Delaware Genealogical Society

505 Market Street Mall

Wilmington, Delaware

March, 1987

The Author

Benjamin Ferris (1780-1867) lived his entire life in Wilmington, DE, except for nine years in his youth, when he learned the watchmaking trade in Philadelphia. His grandfather, John Ferris, moved his family from Connecticut to Wilmington in 1748 as one of the early settlers of the city.

Benjamin became the city surveyor in 1820 and was an active member of the Religious Society of Friends. He was especially interested in preserving the history of Wilmington and learned Swedish in order to read the early records of the Old Swedes Church in Wilmington. The results of his research were originally published in 1846.

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About this Name Index

The table below is a list of names with the page numbers on which they appear in Original Delaware Settlements… Copies of the 1987 reprint edition with the name index can be found in the Delaware library system using the Delaware Library Catalog. A reprint of the 1846 original, without the name index, can be purchased at amazon.com or viewed online in digital format at University of Pittsburgh’s ULS Digital Collections and the Internet Archive.

Searchable Name Index

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