Scharf's "History of Delaware: 1609 -1888"

J. Thomas Scharf

In our continuing series of "Resources for the MCH Researcher" (also known as "Things I Use a Lot to Look Stuff Up"), we look now at probably the most commonly cited piece of Delaware history out there, J. Thomas Scharf's "History of Delaware: 1609-1888". And yes, now that this is the second one (the 1868 Beers Map being the first), I can officially refer to it as a "continuing series". To be honest, when I first decided to write this post, I was just going to say a few words about what the book is, what it's good for, what it's not, link to it, and that was about it. However, after some quick research, I've found that the author himself is worthy of some digital ink, as well as his, for the time, unique methods of conducting his research.

I had always assumed that Scharf was some stodgy old professor or historian who had assistants do his work, while he just sat back, edited a little, and stuck his name on the books. As it turns out, he was nothing of the sort. John Thomas Scharf was born in 1843 in Baltimore, MD, had a Catholic education, and went to work as a bookkeeper at his father's lumber yard at age 16. When the Civil War broke out two years later, he left Baltimore and joined the Confederate Army with an artillery battalion. He saw action in numerous battles over the next two years before being wounded in 1863. After recuperating, he decided to leave the army and join the Confederate Navy. Scharf served in the navy until early 1865, when he rejoined the army and was sent on a covert mission to Canada. The young Marylander's luck finally gave out on him, as he was captured in February 1865 and spent the rest of the war in prison. After the war, he returned to Maryland and joined the state militia, rising all the way to become the aide-de-camp to the Governor.