The Secretary of State of Delaware is the head of the Department of State of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. The Department is in charge of a wide variety of public and governmental services, and is divided into the following divisions:
*Delaware Division of Libraries
*Delaware Division of the Arts
*Delaware Public Archives
*Delaware State Banking Commissioner
*Conference Center
Buena VistaBelmont Hall
*Division of Corporations(handles business records, including lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the per ...
statements under the Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...
)
*Government Information Center
*Delaware Heritage Commission
*Historical & Cultural Affairs
*Human Relations
*Merit Employee Relations Board
*Notaries Public
*Delaware Board of Pardons
*Professional Regulation
*Delaware Public Advocate
*Public Employment Relations Board
*Delaware Public Integrity Commission
*Delaware Public Service Commission
*Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs
*Delaware Veterans Home
*Delaware Commission for Women
Some of the most important responsibilities of the Secretary of State involve registry of businesses and corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
s, monitoring banks, and other commercial activities. However, unlike many other U.S. Secretaries of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's C ...
, the Delaware Secretary of State is not in charge of administering elections in Delaware. Th
Delaware Department of Elections
is a separate agency from the Department of State.
Secretaries of state (years served in office)
* James Booth Sr. (1778–1799)
*Abraham Ridgely (1799–1802)
*William B. Shields (1802)
*John Fisher
John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
Fisher was executed by o ...
(1802–1805, 1811–1812)
*William Hazzard (1805)
*Peter Robinson (1805–1808, 1814–1817, 1822–1823)
*William Warner (1808)
* Thomas Clayton (1808–1810)
*John Barratt (1810–1811)
* Willard Hall (1812–1814, 1821–1822)
* Henry M. Ridgely (1817–1821, 1824–1826)
*Henry H. Wells (1823–1824)
* John M. Clayton (1826–1828)
*Samuel Maxwell Harrington
Samuel Maxwell Harrington (1803 – November 28, 1865) was a Delaware judge who served as a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1830 to 1839 and again from 1855 to 1857.
Harrington served as chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from ...
(1828–1830)
* Caleb S. Layton (1830–1833, 1836)
*James Rogers (1833–1835)
*William Hemphill Jones
William Hemphill Jones (October 26, 1811 – April 30, 1880) was an American politician in Delaware.
Jones, eldest son of Morgan and Mary (Hemphill) Jones, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, Del., October 26, 1811.
Jones graduated ...
(1835–1836)
*John Brinkloe (1836)
*Robert Frame (1836–1837)
*Charles Marim (1837–1841)
* John W. Houston (1841–1845)
* John Wales (1845–1846)
*George P. Fisher
George Purnell Fisher (October 13, 1817 – February 10, 1899) was Attorney General of Delaware, Secretary of State of Delaware, a United States representative from Delaware and an United States federal judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Co ...
(1846–1847)
* Daniel Moore Bates(1847–1851)
*Alfred P. Robinson (1851–1855)
* James R. Lofland (1855–1859)
*Edward Ridgely (1859–1863)
* Nathaniel B. Smithers (1863, 1895)
* Samuel M. Harrington Jr. (1863–1865)
*Custis W. Wright (1865–1871)
*John H. Paynter (1871–1875)
*Ignatius Cooper Grubb
Ignatius Cooper Grubb (April 12, 1841 – June 20, 1927) was a Delaware politician, jurist and historian who served as an associate justice of the Court of Errors and Appeals from 1886 to 1897 and as the Associate Justice at large of the Delaware ...
(1875–1879)
*James L. Wolcott (1879–1883)
*William R. Causey (1883–1887)
*John P. Saulsbury (1887–1889)
*John F. Saulsbury (1889–1891)
*David T. Marvel (1891–1893)
*John D. Hawkins (1893–1895)
*J. Harvey Whiteman (1895–1897)
* William H. Boyce (1897)
* James H. Hughes (1897–1901)
* Caleb R. Layton (1901–1905)
* Joseph L. Cahall (1905–1909)
* Daniel O. Hastings (1909)
*William T. Smithers (1909–1911)
*Charles S. Richards (1911–1913)
*Thomas W. Miller (1913–1915)
*George H. Hall ((1915–1917)
*Everett C. Johnson (1917–1921)
*Alden R. Benson (1921–1925)
*William G. Taylor (1925)
* Fannie S. Herrington (1925–1926)
*Sylvester D. Townsend Jr. (1926–1927)
*Charles H. Grantland (1927–1934)
*Walter Dent Smith ((1934–1937)
*Charles L. Terry Jr.
Charles Layman Terry Jr. (September 17, 1900 – February 6, 1970) was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court ...
(1937–1938)
* Josiah Marvel Jr.(1938–1941)
* Earle D. Willey (1941–1942)
*William J. Storey (1942–1949)
*Harris B. McDowell Jr. (1949–1953)
*John N. McDowell (1953–1958)
*George J. Schultz (1958–1961)
*Elisha C. Dukes (1961–1969)
*Eugene Bunting (1969–1971)
*Walton H. Simpson (1971–1973)
*Robert H. Reed (1973–1977)
*Glenn C. Kenton (1977–1985)
*Michael E. Harkins (1985–1991)
* Michael Ratchford (1992)
* William T. Quillen (1993–1994)
* Edward J. Freel (1994–2001)
* Harriet Smith Windsor (2001–2009)
* Jeffrey W. Bullock (2009–present)
See also
* List of company registers
This is a list of official business registers around the world.
There are many types of official business registers, usually maintained for various purposes by a state authority, such as a government agency, or a court of law. In some cases, ...
External links
Delaware Department of State Official HomepageExplanation of the duties of each of the Department's divisionsHistory of the Delaware Department of State
Delaware Division of Libraries
Delaware Division of the Arts
Delaware Public Archives
Delaware State Banking Commissioner
Conference Centers
Buena Vista, Belmont Hall
Division of Corporations
(handles business records, including lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the per ...
statements under the Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...
)
Government Information Center
Delaware Heritage Commission
Historical & Cultural Affairs
Human Relations
Merit Employee Relations Board
Notaries Public
Delaware Board of Pardons
Professional Regulation
Delaware Public Advocate
Public Employment Relations Board
Delaware Public Integrity Commission
Delaware Public Service Commission
Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs
Delaware Veterans Home
Delaware Commission for Women
{{Authority control
State secretaries of state of the United States