Lewes Death Records

Lewes is the oldest town in Delaware, founded in 1631. That gives Lewes death records a very deep history. Modern Lewes death certificates are held by the Delaware Office of Vital Statistics in Georgetown. Older records sit with the Delaware Public Archives in Dover. Lewes also has local tools that go back further than the state system, such as St. Peter's Episcopal Church on the Green, which holds burial records from 1707, and the Lewes Historical Society archives. This page lays out how to order and search Lewes death records across every era.

Order Lewes Death Records

The Office of Vital Statistics Sussex County branch is at the Thurman Adams State Service Center, 546 S. Bedford Street, Georgetown, DE 19947. Phone is 302-515-3190. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The office is the closest state branch to Lewes.

A certified Lewes death certificate from the state costs $25. Online ordering through GoCertificates or VitalChek adds a service fee. Full state guidance is at Delaware Office of Vital Statistics. Mail orders go to the central office in Dover.

Lewes death records older than 40 years are held at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover. They are open to the public. Certified copies from the Archives are also $25. Email archives@delaware.gov or call (302) 744-5000 to request a copy.

Lewes Historical Society

The Lewes Historical Society is a key source for the earliest Lewes death records and burial data in the region. The History Museum and Archives is at 101 Adams Avenue, Lewes, DE 19958. The Archivist, Denise Clemons, can be reached at (302) 645-7670 extension 104.

The society houses one of four complete copies of the Delaware Newspaper Project, a cooperative newspaper preservation project. The project catalogs Delaware newspapers on microfilm back to the late 1700s. That is a remarkable coverage window for local Lewes death notices and obituaries.

The main Historical Society page is at Lewes Historical Society. Researchers interested in specific topics should contact the Archivist before visiting. The society's archive pairs well with the state vital records index for Lewes death records research.

City of Lewes and Municipal Records

The City of Lewes keeps municipal records through the City Clerk's office. City Hall is at 114 East Third Street, Lewes, DE 19958. The current City Clerk is Ashley Akgoren. Delaware state law gives the city 15 business days to answer a Freedom of Information Act request.

To request public records from Lewes, submit a written request to the Lewes City Clerk or the City Manager's Office. The city does not issue death certificates. For a Lewes death certificate, the city directs residents to the state Office of Vital Statistics. The city page is at City of Lewes.

The FOIA page at Lewes FOIA handles city record requests. The Lewes Board of Public Works runs water, sewer, and electric service for the city. The Zwaanendael Museum on Kings Highway marks the 1631 Dutch founding of the colony that became Lewes.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church Cemetery

St. Peter's Episcopal Church on the Green in Lewes runs one of the oldest and most historically important cemeteries in Delaware. The churchyard holds burial records from 1707. The oldest grave in the Cape region is there, Margaret Huling, born in 1631 and died February 16, 1707.

The cemetery holds four Delaware governors and many other notable Lewes residents. The church has been open continuously since 1689, which makes it the oldest Anglican church in the region. For a pre-1913 Lewes death record, the St. Peter's churchyard is often the primary source, since Delaware did not keep consistent state vital records until 1913.

Researchers can view the online burial database through the New Castle Community History and Archaeology Project. Although the project centers on New Castle, it indexes Delaware Anglican churchyards across the state. Records include name, date of death, and grave location.

Paired with the state vital records index, the St. Peter's burial database fills in the colonial era and the 1700s and 1800s for Lewes death records. A Lewes death record from 1850, for example, may not appear in the state index but will often appear in the church burial register.

Lewes Probate and Deed Records

Lewes is in Sussex County. Lewes estates open at the Sussex County Register of Wills at 5 E. Pine Street, Georgetown, DE 19947. Phone is (302) 855-7875. Appointments are required for opening or closing an estate, for ancillary estates, and for depositing a will for safekeeping. The office page is at Sussex County Register of Wills.

The Sussex County Recorder of Deeds is at 2 The Circle, P.O. Box 827, Georgetown, DE 19947. Phone is (302) 855-7785. The office holds historical vital statistics records from the period before 1913, when Recorders of Deeds were charged with recording deaths. Property records are searchable for free. Older deed books can contain Lewes death references that never made it into the modern state vital records index.

Sussex County charges a closing fee of 1.25% of the net personal estate value. Short Certificates cost about $3.00 to $5.00 each. Original wills may be deposited at the Register's office for safekeeping at a $5.00 fee. Probate records run from 1728 to the present. Most pre-1900 files have been moved to the Delaware Public Archives in Dover.

Parsell Funeral Homes and other local funeral homes serve the Lewes area. A funeral home can pull a recent Lewes death certificate on behalf of the family and often does so for no extra charge. The Lewes Public Library also supports local obituary research.

Lewes Library and Museum Resources

The Lewes Public Library supports local research on Lewes death records and family history. The library offers Ancestry.com access through the Delaware Public Archives partnership, which covers Delaware Death Records from about 1650 to 1933 at no cost for state residents. The library can also point researchers to microfilm collections held at the state Archives in Dover.

The Zwaanendael Museum on Kings Highway in Lewes marks the 1631 Dutch founding of Swanendael, the colony that grew into Lewes. The museum holds artifacts, photographs, and historical documents that support family research for the oldest Delaware town. Some early Lewes death records reference the original Dutch settlers and the later 1664 English takeover.

The Lewes Board of Public Works handles water, sewer, and electric service for the city. While not a death records office, the Board's service records can help confirm the address and occupancy of a Lewes home in an estate case. Delaware's Town Charters site at Delaware Town Charters lists the full Lewes charter and the city's governance structure.

Parsell Funeral Homes and other local funeral homes serve the Lewes area. Funeral homes can order a Lewes death certificate on behalf of the family at no extra charge as part of service arrangements. They also post recent obituaries on their websites, which helps with short-term obituary lookups before the newspaper archive catches up.

Nearby Delaware Cities

Lewes is at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Seaford is west. Milford is north. The Sussex County page covers the rest of the county offices.