Databases and Online Resources
A wealth of information relating to your New Jersey ancestors can be found on the internet. Websites like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Fold3.com, and others have digitized collections of records that are indexed and searchable online. User-submitted family trees can also be found at websites like WorldConnect, MyHeritage, Wikitree, and Geni.com. Newspaper articles, immigration records, property deeds, court records, cemetery records, obituaries, and other records for your ancestors can also be located at a number of great websites by following the links below.
Court Records
Digital Media Law Project - New Jersey State Court Records
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey Court Records
LegalDockets.com - New Jersey Court Records
National Center for State Courts - Privacy/Public Access to Court Records
New Jersey Courts - Civil Case Database Search
New Jersey Courts - Criminal Case Database Search
New Jersey Courts - Judgment Lien Database Search
Sampubco - New Jersey Wills and Probate Records
U.S. District Court, New Jersey - Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey Court Records
LegalDockets.com - New Jersey Court Records
National Center for State Courts - Privacy/Public Access to Court Records
New Jersey Courts - Civil Case Database Search
New Jersey Courts - Criminal Case Database Search
New Jersey Courts - Judgment Lien Database Search
Sampubco - New Jersey Wills and Probate Records
U.S. District Court, New Jersey - Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
Family Trees
Genealogy Databases
Ancestry.com
Cyndi's List
FamilySearch.org
Fold3.com
Genealogy.com
New England Ancestors
Rootsweb.com
USGenWeb Project
Cyndi's List
FamilySearch.org
Fold3.com
Genealogy.com
New England Ancestors
Rootsweb.com
USGenWeb Project
Immigration Records
Ancestry.com - New Jersey, County Naturalization Records, 1749-1986
Ancestry.com - New Jersey, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1956-1964
Ancestry.com - Ship Passenger Lists from Holland to New Netherland: Miscellaneous Ships
Ancestry.com - New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957
Castle Garden - America's First Immigration Center
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey County Naturalization Records
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey Naturalization and Citizenship Records
FamilySearch.org - New York Emigration and Immigration Records
FamilySearch.org - New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956
Italian Genealogical Group - Naturalization index for New York and New Jersey
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - Immigration records, Port of New York, New York, 1820-1957
Rutgers University Libraries - Immigration and Naturalization Resources
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation - Database of 51 Million+ Passenger Records
Ancestry.com - New Jersey, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1956-1964
Ancestry.com - Ship Passenger Lists from Holland to New Netherland: Miscellaneous Ships
Ancestry.com - New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957
Castle Garden - America's First Immigration Center
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey County Naturalization Records
FamilySearch.org - New Jersey Naturalization and Citizenship Records
FamilySearch.org - New York Emigration and Immigration Records
FamilySearch.org - New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956
Italian Genealogical Group - Naturalization index for New York and New Jersey
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - Immigration records, Port of New York, New York, 1820-1957
Rutgers University Libraries - Immigration and Naturalization Resources
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation - Database of 51 Million+ Passenger Records
Land Records
Military Records
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
Fold3.com
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies
Fold3.com
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies
Newspapers
Accessible Archives - Primary Source Material from 18th & 19th Century Publications
Cyndi's List - Newspapers
Elephind.com - Search 149,363,907 items from 2,779 newspaper titles
FamilySearch.org - Digital Historical Newspapers
Find My Past - Collection of British, U.S., and world newspaper archives
Fulton History - Search over 34,000,000 historical newspaper pages from the USA and Canada
Gale Digital Collections - 19th Century U.S. Newspapers
GenealogyBank - Search for Your ancestors in newspapers from 1690 to the present day
Google News Archive - News articles available from the 1700s to the present day
International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) - List of newspaper digitization projects
Lawson Research Services - Newspaper Links of Old
Library of Congress - Chronicling America: Digitized Newspapers from 1836 to 1922
Newspaper Archive - More than 2 billion articles from 1607 to the present day
Newspapers.com - Historical newspapers from the 1700s to the 2000s
The Olden Times - Historic Newspapers Online
Online Historical Newspapers - Large list of American and international newspapers available online
ProQuest - Historical Newspapers
Readex - World Newspaper Archive
Viewshare - Historical Newspapers Online
Wikipedia List of Online Newspaper Archives - Comprehensive list of international newspapers available online
Cyndi's List - Newspapers
Elephind.com - Search 149,363,907 items from 2,779 newspaper titles
FamilySearch.org - Digital Historical Newspapers
Find My Past - Collection of British, U.S., and world newspaper archives
Fulton History - Search over 34,000,000 historical newspaper pages from the USA and Canada
Gale Digital Collections - 19th Century U.S. Newspapers
GenealogyBank - Search for Your ancestors in newspapers from 1690 to the present day
Google News Archive - News articles available from the 1700s to the present day
International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) - List of newspaper digitization projects
Lawson Research Services - Newspaper Links of Old
Library of Congress - Chronicling America: Digitized Newspapers from 1836 to 1922
Newspaper Archive - More than 2 billion articles from 1607 to the present day
Newspapers.com - Historical newspapers from the 1700s to the 2000s
The Olden Times - Historic Newspapers Online
Online Historical Newspapers - Large list of American and international newspapers available online
ProQuest - Historical Newspapers
Readex - World Newspaper Archive
Viewshare - Historical Newspapers Online
Wikipedia List of Online Newspaper Archives - Comprehensive list of international newspapers available online
New Jersey County Records
Many New Jersey family records can be found online and at various archives and libraries located throughout the state of New Jersey. Many millions of records aren't yet available online, though, and many of these are awaiting your discovery at the local level at county courthouses, historical societies, churches, town clerks' offices, cemeteries, and elsewhere in New Jersey. To find these and other records, click on the links below to find more information about the specific counties where your ancestors lived in New Jersey. You'll find information on these pages that will lead you to the specific documentation you're searching for.
It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain counties in New Jersey have changed over the past few hundred years. Your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family history might have been located in another area entirely. When searching for land, court, tax, and other records it is also a good idea to search for these records in adjacent counties. Following is a complete list of New Jersey's 21 counties along with their formation dates, county seats, and names of parent counties.
It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain counties in New Jersey have changed over the past few hundred years. Your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family history might have been located in another area entirely. When searching for land, court, tax, and other records it is also a good idea to search for these records in adjacent counties. Following is a complete list of New Jersey's 21 counties along with their formation dates, county seats, and names of parent counties.
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County
Atlantic County Bergen County Burlington County Camden County Cape May County Cumberland County Essex County Gloucester County Hudson County Hunterdon County Mercer County Middlesex County Monmouth County Morris County Ocean County Passaic County Salem County Somerset County Sussex County Union County Warren County |
Formation Date
1837 1675 1681 1844 1685 1748 1675 1686 1840 1714 1838 1675 1675 1739 1850 1837 1681 1688 1753 1857 1824 |
County Seat
Mays Landing Hackensack Mount Holly Township Camden Cape May Courthouse Bridgeton Newark Woodbury Jersey City Flemington Trenton New Brunswick Freehold Borough Morristown Toms River Paterson Salem Somerville Newton Elizabeth Belvidere |
Parent County
Gloucester County Original county Original county Gloucester County Burlington County Salem County Original county Burlington County Bergen County Burlington County Various counties Original county Original county Hunterdon County Monmouth County Bergen & Essex Counties Original county Middlesex County Morris County Essex County Sussex County |
USA State Resources
Follow the links below to find many other helpful resources available in the U.S. states where your ancestors lived in the past.
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming