During renovations in the 1990s, his map was found in the basement of the Delaware Historical Society.  Previously unaccessioned, the map has been conserved and mounted, and is on display at the library.  There is only one other known copy of this map. It is in Dover at the Delaware Public Archives.

             I have attempted to create an every name index for this map.  Ellen Rendle, Curator of Maps and Photographs at the Historical Society of Delaware, provided me with photographs of the map and photocopies of these photographs.  These were reduced to about 70% of the size of the original map.  Instead of a grid system, I decided to draw vertical columns three inches wide on the photocopies beginning at the Maryland-Delaware state boundary.  The columns are lettered A through G.  The horizontal divisions are the boundaries of the hundreds as shown on the map.  I used a two letter abbreviation to indicate the hundred:

Note that when this map was made, there were fewer hundreds than there are today.

             The names are sorted into one of five categories:  buildings;  creeks, including any body of water;  locations, including towns, villages, named crossroads, and geographical areas;  persons;  and tracts, i.e., the names given to farms and land holdings.

             If a column line bisects a name, I include both column letters, A/B.  I do the same
for a creek or stream.  If a creek forms the boundary of two hundreds, I so indicate: 

MU/MS.

             As for the spelling, I copied the names as accurately as I could and as I saw them.  When I had questions after checking the photographs, I would check the original map at the Historical Society.  The map maker sometimes varied the spelling of certain names. I did not correct him.  In one or two cases I checked the surname file at the Historical Society to verify a name.  Brackets indicate missing letters because of holes in the map. Parentheses and a question mark indicate my best guess at the reading.  I also followed the map maker’s punctuation.  This is especially evident in his use and omission of the apostrophe.  If there are two or more items of the same name in the same column AND in the same hundred, I show this by adding “#1, #2, etc.”  These numbers do not appear on the map.

            The abbreviation “Hrs” stands for “Heirs”.  I did not include items listed as  “GM” or “SM” – which I take to mean “gristmill” and “sawmill” – unless accompanied by a proper name.  I also did not index the detailed inset maps of  the various towns.

All of these listings are in pdf format and can be viewed as sorted by: Name, Column, Hundred, or Category.

Please note: the original map is so large that we have been unable to reproduce it here in a format large enough for reading.  We plan to add it later in a searchable format.  Click here for a temporary view of the map.  Please feel free to view the map in the catalog room of the Delaware Historical Society Library.

           My thanks to Ellen Rendle and Dr. Constance Cooper for their suggestions, encouragement, and assistance. 

April 2000                                                                                Douglas A. Wenny
Wilmington, Delaware