Are you headed to one of our incredible beaches this weekend? Then why not share your Delaware beach photos with us for our latest online exhibit. Not many people send postcards anymore. With today’s technology we send pictures from our phones. We’d love to see what was happening at the beach and around Delaware at the official kickoff to summer. Hope to see your pictures soon!
If you were born, married, or attended public school in Delaware, eventually the Delaware Public Archives will have a record of you. On Saturday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m. the staff of the Delaware Public Archives will conduct a tour of this remarkable facility. This annual “behind the scenes” tour of the building, conducted by Tom Summers, offers the public a rare opportunity to learn more about the role of the Archives, and see how the Archives preserves and protects the records that are important to every Delawarean. Archives Director Stephen M. Marz notes that “many people who have toured the Archives are surprised by the amount of documents and photographs that are stored at the facility. Because the Delaware Public Archives serves as the official government repository for state, county and local government records, the Archives is well known as a valuable resource for researchers, genealogists, and historians.” Part of the tour will include a viewing of the new exhibit featuring the George and Irene Caley Postcard Collection. The tour is free to the public. No reservations are required.
A native of Milford, Tom Summers is a 13th generation Delawarean and has been with the Delaware Public Archives for more than 20 years. Currently the Manager of Outreach Services, Summers has conducted more than 500 tours of the facility since it opened in 2001.
Come on a tour of the Archives and learn what popular phrase has its origins in the type of documents seen in the photograph.
George Luther Caley was a well-known genealogist, author, local historian and an avid postcard collector. During his lifetime, George supported many causes to preserve and share history on the Delmarva Peninsula. He and his wife, Irene, were Friends and volunteers at the Delaware Public Archives. When George passed away in 2005, the future of his life’s work was uncertain. Irene Caley generously donated George’s collection of Delaware and Delmarva postcards to The Delaware Public Archives to ensure public access to the images and for long-term preservation. View Collection
Postcards are a charming relic of a world without digital cameras and mobile internet. With the tap of a finger, people are now sharing their images in real time. Smartphones and social media have changed the way we tell our stories. Postcards have been replaced by photo text messaging, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just to name a few.
Share your stories, adventures and everyday life with us as we build a collection of digital images of life in Delaware. Upload your images to our Facebook page, use #PostcardDE on Twitter, or email us at: PostcardDE@state.de.us. We’ll add your images to our Flickr album and we might even feature your images as part of our exhibit. Don’t forget to include your name and where you took the photo – just like a postcard! And of course, don’t send us anything you wouldn’t send your mother.
A proclamation signed by President Obama yesterday designated three sites in Delaware as a National Monument. The Dover Green, New Castle County Court House Complex and Woodlawn, a scenic tract of land east of the Brandywine River and north of Brandywine Creek State Park, make up The First State’s first National Monument. The President designated these sites as a National Monument under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The act, signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt, gives the President of the Unites States authority to restrict use of public lands owned by the federal government by executive order.
These three sites were selected to highlight Delaware’s colonial and industrial history as well as Delaware’s role as the first state to ratify the Constitution. Get to know Delaware’s first National Monument a little better by checking out some of these images from our holdings. Celebrate our new national designation by visiting these historic sites soon.
For more pictures of the national monument sites, explore the Delaware Public Archives Facebook Page:
On Wednesday, February 27, Governor Jack Markell presented the Governor’s Heritage Award to former Delaware Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of State William T. Quillen at a ceremony at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover. The Governor’s Heritage Award is given to those Delawareans who have contributed significantly to the recognition, preservation, and celebration of Delaware’s heritage. Quillen is the ninth person to receive the distinction. As Secretary of State, Quillen was a strong advocate for the new public archives building which is enjoyed today by citizens from across the nation.
The Delaware Public Archives will be hosting a genealogical summit featuring two prominent speakers on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. Shamele Jordon, genealogical lecturer and podcaster, will be presenting a program entitled Tips and Techniques for Using Technology in Genealogy Research. Sabrina Petersen, Director of Global Imaging for Ancestry.com will be offering a presentation on Using Ancestry.com to Find Your Family Roots.
The first program, entitled Tips and Techniques for Using Technology in Genealogy Research, features Ms. Jordon as she presents how family history research techniques remain unchanged, but can be more successful with the addition of today’s technology. This session will cover organizing information on computers and mobile devices, using lineage software, storing in the cloud and other tips to maximize one’s ancestral search.
For the second presentation, Using Ancestry.com to Find Your Family Roots, Ms. Petersen will be exploring the popular genealogical website to show researchers how they can use the program to gather important information about their ancestry and make contact with other genealogists worldwide who may be related and want to share their research.
Shamele Jordon is a researcher, lecturer, and podcaster. Her biographical highlights include being a researcher for the PBS series Oprah’s Roots: African American Lives Special and African American Lives II; former president of the African American Genealogy Group in Philadelphia, lecturer at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in Birmingham, Alabama, and board member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.
Sabrina Petersen currently serves as the Director of Global Imaging for Ancestry.com. A professional genealogist, she is a member of the National Genealogical Society and Association oProfessional Genealogists. Petersen has contributed works to Ancestry Magazine and her lectures are part of the “Know Your Records” series at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and College Park, Md. Her areas of expertise include Mid-West research), NARA research, and online research.
The program is free to the public. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Tom Summers (302) 744-5047 or e-mail thomas.summers@state.de.us.
This week the Delaware Public Archives officially opened our new exhibit entitled, “Houses of Worship: The African American Experience in Delaware”. Governor Jack Markell made an appearance and even signed a proclamation declaring February, African American History Month. The opening of the exhibit felt more like a celebration than just a simple meeting. A powerful opening prayer began the event, a choir sang beautifully, and all those who attended could swear they heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the vocal cords of Reverend Moore. After the presentation ended, the guests were treated to light refreshments and were then welcomed to view the exhibit. The exhibit features key figures in the African American religious movement in Delaware. It is an amazing story of how the independent African American Church began in the First State and we here at the Archives are proud to help pass it on. Come help us celebrate this great piece of history that is not just African American history, but Delaware and even national history all this month at the Delaware Public Archives. Visit our Website for links to hours of more information including eBooks, Documents, and Multimedia.
On February 2 at 10:30 a.m., the Delaware Public Archives will, as part of its celebration of African American History month, be hosting a program by Syl Woolford of Newark entitled “The History of Black Methodism in Delaware.”
John Wesley, in his vision of the Methodist Episcopal Church, established a denomination in which all human beings were considered equal. When his disciples Francis Asbury, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Coke came to America to convert the early Americans to Methodism, they included the plantations and the slaves as part of their circuit rides.
Slaves accounted for 25 percent of the converts to early Methodism. This story of early African-American preachers such as Richard Allen, Peter Spencer, Absalom Jones, “Daddy” Moses and Harry Hosier riding from camp meeting to camp meeting and then creating some of the great Methodist denominations of today is a part of history that is studied and celebrated.
A native of Delaware, Syl Woolford is a graduate of Delaware State University and Rutgers University. Recently retired from a career in accounting and sales, Woolford’s interest in history began with researching his own family history. He traced his mother’s family, the Saunders Family, for 200 years in the city of Newark, Delaware. Most recently, Mr. Woolford has traced the Woolford side of his family back to Dorchester County, Maryland and made a connection with Harriet Tubman’s legendary efforts in freeing slaves in Dorchester County.
The program is free to the public. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Tom Summers (302) 744-5047 or e-mail thomas.summers@state.de.us.
Syl Woolford
Next Tuesday we will swear in another Governor which means the Archives is getting the Official State Bible ready. The Bible is from 1532 and its origin is undocumented, however, legend says it was a gift to Delaware from France. The Bible was printed in Paris by Robert Stephens(Stepheni). It was part of the State Library collection that came to the State Archives early in the 20th Century and has been used in all but 1 inauguration since 1847.
Last Saturday’s (Jan. 5) program at the Delaware Public Archives about preservation of documents and photographs was extremely well received. However, a large number of citizens contacted the Archives to say they couldn’t make it to the presentation. We have attached links to both of the prezi programs presented by Archives staff member Sarah Denison and Government Information Center Deputy Director Mike Mahaffie. Please be aware that these programs were presented along with verbal information provided by the speakers.
http://prezi.com/dl54rm6dsj-f/preservation/?kw=view-dl54rm6dsj-f&rc=ref-22534731
http://prezi.com/86uto8jbxdz5/saving-your-digital-memories/?kw=view-86uto8jbxdz5&rc=ref-231080
