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Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. The county seat is Dover, the state capital. It is named for Kent, an English county. In about 1670 the English began to settle in the valley of the St. Jones River earlier known as Wolf Creek. On June 21,
1680, The Duke of York chartered St. Jones County, which was carved out of
New Amstel/New Castle County and Hoarkill/Sussex
County. St. Jones County was transferred to William Penn on August 24, 1682, and became part of
Penn's newly chartered Delaware Colony. Penn ordered a court town to be laid out, and the
courthouse was built in 1697. The town of Dover, named after the city of Dover in England's Kent, was finally laid out
in 1717, and became the capitol of Delaware in 1777. In 1787 Delaware was
first to ratify the U.S.
Constitution, and
became "the First State." Kent County was a small grain farming
region in the 18th Century. Counties adjacent to Kent County are New Castle County (north), Salem County, New Jersey (northeast), Cumberland County, New Jersey (east), Cape May County, New Jersey (east), Sussex
County (south), Caroline County, Maryland (southwest), Queen Anne's County, Maryland (west), and Kent
County, Maryland (west). |
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gen tool-kit
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Our “Gen-Tool Kit” has been primarily designed for those researchers who may be traveling to this location to perform on-site studies of their family history, or to just visit some of the interesting historical sites located in the area. It can be very satisfying to mix research with sightseeing at historical and scenic spots. Such activity not only gives you an understanding of the land but a needed break from intense research sessions. When visiting an ancestral county for genealogical research we’ve found that the three most important places to visit are the county courthouse; the county library; and the county historical and/or genealogical societies. It is also good to plan ahead by contacting any site you intend visiting in order to ascertain where it is and when it will be open. This is especially true with regard to historical and genealogical societies. We hope that the following information will provide you with a better idea of what resources are available, within this county, to the family historian. |
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All Departments below are
in the Kent County Courthouse
555 Bay Road, Room 113, Dover, DE 19901, unless otherwise noted below. The
Official County website is located at http://www.co.kent.de.us/. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to
present time. Most
earlier records and
many into the twentieth century have been transferred to the Delaware State Archives . ·
Kent County Clerk of Chancery Court has Court Records from 1681and is
located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (302) 736-2040 ·
Kent County Clerk of
the Peace has Marriage Records from 1829-1898
and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: 302) 744-2346. ·
Kent County Register
of Wills has Probate Records from 1766 and is
located at courthouse. Phone Number: 302-744-2330. |
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Your
LINK to the Historical Places and
Districts in KENT
County
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surnames
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The following are names of persons, found within our databases, as having been either born, married or died
in this location. To find out more about each surname listed above click on the corresponding Link. |
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Vanderford |
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Additional information regarding these and other
surnames may also be found at: |
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Use this free genealogy site to help you
get the best genealogy searches from Google™
by using your family tree, for your research. It
will create a series of different searches
using tips or "tricks" |
that will
likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many
different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or
any other Surname. |
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Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of any
surname. You can |
get greater detail for any of the maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in. |
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ancestral
gen-sites
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Map of the county
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The |
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from the keyboard you can increase or decrease the zoom value in 10%
increments. To zoom |
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Family history notes
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Our 7th
great-grandfather, Thomas Vanderford, came to Kent
County, Delaware with his elder brother George around 1740 and settled in
that area of the county known as Murderkill
Hundred, (see map above). In 1745 George purchased 233 acres in the
middle of "Great Geneva,." located on the
south side of Tibdury Branch of Dover River. Thomas Vanderford
appears in 1748 land records for Gum Pond, Horse Head Neck, Murderkill Hundred. In 1751 Thomas bought 350 acres in the
Forrest of Murderkill Hundred on the southeast side
of Tappahanna Marsh. He then gave 175 acres of this the tract
called “Tappahanna” to his son Charles. When George died in 1758 he left to his three
sons, Hollingsworth, John and Matthew, 150 acres in the "Great
Geneva." Thomas passed away in 1767without a will and his estate was
settled by his son Charles. The following gen-sites have been
identified as places located within this county where our direct ancestors
are known to have been, born, married, died or resided. |
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Gen-site profiles
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Dover
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LOCATION: |
The Kent County Courthouse located on the
Green in Dover. Click on thumbnail for larger image |
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DESCRIPTION: The city of Dover
is the capital of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County. It is located
on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain. It was named by William Penn for Dover in Kent, England.
Dover was founded as the court town for newly established Kent County in 1683 by William Penn, the Proprietor of the territory generally known as
the "Lower Counties on the Delaware." Later, in 1717,
the city was officially laid out by a special commission of the Delaware General Assembly. The capital of the state of Delaware was moved here from New
Castle in 1777 due to
its central location and relative safety from British raiders on the Delaware River. It became the
permanent capital city of Delaware October 1781. The city's central square,
known as The Green, was the location of many rallies, troop reviews, and
other patriotic events. To this day, The Green remains the heart of Dover's
historic district and is the location of the Kent County Courthouse. |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: see
history notes above |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(s): Kent
County & Greater Dover Convention and Visitors Bureau |
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Murderkill Hundred
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LOCATION: |
A bridge over Murderkill
Creek in Killens Pond State Park, Felton, DE 38° 58' 47.67" N 75° 32'
41.41" W Click on thumbnail for larger image |
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DESCRIPTION:
Murderkill Hundred was a hundred in Kent County. Murderkill Hundred was created in 1682 as one of the
original Delaware Hundreds. It was divided into North
Murderkill Hundred and South
Murderkill Hundred in 1855.
Original boundaries were St.
Jones Creek on north, and Murderkill
Creek on south, extending from Delaware River to Maryland line. |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: Thomas
Vanderford (c. 1690-1767); George Vanderford (c.1684-1758), see “Family History Notes”
above. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(s): David Rumsey Historical Map Collection:
North & South Murderkill; North
Murderkill Hundred (in Kent County, DE); South
Murderkill Hundred; |
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LOCATION: |
Click on thumbnail for larger image |
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DESCRIPTION: |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE:
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INTERNET WEB LINK(s): |
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populated places
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gazetteer
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The
list below will assist in your research regarding the matching of your
ancestor’s birth, marriage, death dates and the place(s) within this locality
at which these events may have occurred. |
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Kent County Physical, Cultural &
Historic Features Kent County ZIP Codes | Area Codes Kent County Land - Property, Farms &
Ranches Profiles for 390 cities, towns and other
populated places in Kent County Delaware |
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Links To Populated Places Within This County |
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Cities
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Towns
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Census-designated places
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Other localities
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Find Physical Features* Within This County |
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* includes but not limited to Cemeteries, Churches,
Locales, Military Installations;
Populated Places, Post Offices, Schools, Streams, and Trails |
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State-Wide
Resources
For more information about the U.S. State in which this
county is located click on
these LINKS: |
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Where in
the world
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Resources
which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are
almost as important as their names.
The LINK |
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to
the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers, and other helpful resources
that will assist you in discovering Ancestral Locations. |
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resources
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This search engine may provide you with additional |
information to assist with your
research about this topic. |
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·
Our Genealogy Reference Library (USA Locations) ·
Genealogy Forum: U.S. States ·
Family Search, IGI Batches, Localities ·
Genealogy.com: Resources by county ·
Rootsweb.com – U.S. Message Boards |
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·
Kent County, Genealogy
Forum ·
Cyndi's List - U.S. – Kent County, Delaware |
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The
following Link
will take you to our library of genealogy reference books. Here you may find books about the history
and records of this county and other places such as towns
and churches. The collection also
contains research works about military units and personnel during America’s
wars, in addition too resource texts about the ethnic and religious groups
who may have settled in this locality. |
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Gallery
During our research we have collected images and
photographs that are of general interest to a variety of localities. Some of them are presented on this website
because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional
information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives. |
Barratt's Chapel, located in Kent County,
was built in 1780, on land donated by Philip Barratt. Barratt who had recently become a Methodist, wanted to
build a center for the growing Methodist movement in Delaware. Barratt's
Chapel is the oldest surviving church building in the United States built by and for Methodists. |
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Use the following LINK to ascertain whether
we have any images that pertain to this location. ANCESTRAL
LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHS and IMAGES |
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Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. A Click on this button will link you to the Google Images Search page. Enter the |
topic you are
searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display
page you will see the image, as well as the website to
which it is linked. |
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Contact information
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Snail mail: Fred
USA |
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Pony
Express: Tom |
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