During our first week of research, students experienced many challenges in searching for and locating primary source information on the first owners of the North and Water lots.  While many repositories contain land records for New Castle County on the 17th and 18th centuries, their organization and formatting makes finding information somewhat difficult, especially for those unfamiliar with the historical research process.  Knowing where to begin the search for information also proved frustrating for many students.  At the end of the week, however, each group had uncovered important clues to the history of the sites and their owners, as well as devised a number of questions for future research.

For the earliest period of our sites, 1650-1680, students were unable to find specific documentation of ownership, or other land record relating to the property.  They did, however, find helpful information on the beginnings of the New Castle County community.  This information traced the town’s origins through Dutch, Swedish and English ownership, detailing how land was granted, and what types of structures early settlers built near the river.  While some sources report that those settling along Front Street would have had an unobstructed view of the water, it is unclear if the bank lots were truly vacant at this time.  All that is certain is that they were not officially granted to settlers before the 1680s.  On the opposite side of the Strand, Penn began to assign plots in 1701 … on condition that within seven years … a good wrarg (?) on (the) plot would meanwhile improve the land.” Eckman (1947b).  Thus, most of the English and Welsh who settled in the area came “not so much to settle in the village as to take up land along the river and bay” (p 13). Dutch missionaries Dankers and Sluyter wrote about New Castle in 1679, “Most of the English, and many others, have their houses made of nothing but clapboards, … not usually laid so close together as to prevent you from sticking a finger between them. … When is cold and windy the best people plaster them with clay.”

The students focusing on the period from 1680 to 1730 selected the Water Lot as their primary target for initial research. While documentation was present for the owners of the Water Lot during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, primary sources were difficult to locate and decipher.  In addition, the same individuals listed as owning the property were involved in many transactions from the late 1600’s to the early 1700’s, and their names show up on multiple deeds.  While this might be helpful in indicating something of their economic status, and/or the size of the Water Lot during this period, it made it hard to tell if the tracts of land discussed in the documents were the ones in which we were interested.  The most relevant source found was a document indicating a period transaction between the French and Donaldson families in the New Castle County Deeds Records.

From the period of 1720 to 1770, few documents were located that were immediately legible.  In the Orphan’s Court Records, for instance,  David French’s name appears during the correct time period.  This requires further research in order to gauge the importance of the information.  John Finney appears in the  New Castle County Deed Records multiple times within the time frame 1734-1771, but none of the grantee names fit with our preliminary chain of title.  Again, further research is required in order to tell whether the “correct” information is yet to be located, or if our chain of title is flawed.

Research on the early period of the North and Water Lots concluded with a group of students looking for information on the sites from  1760 to 1790 .  The Delaware Historical Society’s online archive as well as the Delaware Public Archives proved helpful in this effort.  Students were able to find information regarding the Maxwell family, of whom George and Gertrude Read I were tenants.   Students found documentation listing Joseph Tatlow as an esquire on Ancestrylibrary.com, and that Thomas Clark’s full name was actually Thomas Clark Janvier.  This might help in future research.  Unfortunately, there was little to no information recovered on Clark or William Aull and there is still some ambiguity pertaining to the dates in which the North Lot property went from Joseph Tatlow to Aull.

Recurrent Challenges:

During the first week of intense research on the North and Water Lots, each group experienced a number of challenges.  For many of us, these roadblocks included deciphering 17th and 18th century handwriting, using microfilm, and the seemingly nonsensical organization of period records.  In addition, vocabulary seemed to pose several questions when interpreting the documents we were able to locate.

Lessons Learned for Future Research:

  1. Constantly review all readily available information.  You do not have to reinvent the wheel!
  2. Eckman and other early researchers produced work that is very useful.  However, in some cases, newer, more accurate data is available.  Always review your sources.
  3. When searching through record books on microfilm, begin with the indices reel in order to save time and effort.
  4. Some sources may not be appropriate for certain time frames. For example, newspapers and Orphan’s Court Records for the late 17th and 18th centuries yielded no useful information.  Keep relevant dates in mind.
  5. Look for information on family members of persons of interest if an initial search fails to turn up any information.

Special Notes:

On Special Collections at the University of Delaware’s Morris Library: The collections give little information about Dr. John Finney, Thomas Clark, Joseph Tatlow, William Aull, or George Read I pertaining to their late 18th century land holdings on the North and Water Lot sites.  One book regarding these owners is currently missing.

On Dr. John Finney:  M.Film s334 Reel 2 and Reel 7 contains deeds that may be informative.