Georgetown, Del. – The Delaware Public archives has a plethora of resources available to Delawareans, one of them is their genealogical archives and researchers. On Friday, the Delaware Public archives recently partnered with the Georgetown Public library to host an event meant to learn more about forgotten histories in Delaware.

Leah Greer, research archivist at the Delaware Public Archives, said the event was to help people who might have hit a wall researching their family histories can overcome it.

“It is what we call forgotten family,” she said. “And specifically highlighting the pauper records that we have in our collection.”

Greer said the event would highlight records kept by almshouses and workhouses throughout Delaware that record people who “otherwise often were forgotten in more conventional types of records that you would find.”

“Being able to partner with organizations like the archives is just a great, opportunity to be able to bring resources to the patrons here at Georgetown,” Meghan Palazzo, assistant director at the Georgetown Public Library, said. She also said she was glad events like these helped patrons utilize resources the archives have to offer if they are not able to go to the archives themselves.

The public library also offers its own resources for Sussex County residents, including access to Ancestry.com. But in-house with the archives, members of Ancestry.com can have institutional access, which includes international records. 

Officials from both the public library and public archives stressed that the best way to support their work and make sure their resources remain public is for the public to use them.

“The best support is to participate is to come to the events, to listen to the talks, to do research, to utilize the resources that we have,” Greer said. “That’s what we’re here for. We’re here for your access.”

Greer also said that even those not originally from Delaware can still reach out to the archives, and researchers can help them find the documents they need for whatever project they are working on.