Genealogical Research in New Jersey

Native Americans arrived in the area between the Hudson and Delaware rivers about 6,000 years ago. They were a peaceful, family oriented agricultural group who clung rigidly to a tradition that a pot of food must always be warm on the fire to welcome strangers. Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European explorer to reach New Jersey in 1524. In 1609 an English captain sailing under a Dutch flag, Henry Hudson, sailed along the New Jersey shore and into Sandy Hook Bay, establishing Dutch claims to the area. A trading post was established at Bergen, the site of present day Jersey City in 1618.

Despite a series of treaties deemed fair by the Swedish, Dutch, and English settlers, the Native Americans soon lost most of their land; traded for trinkets, guns, and alcohol. The guns and alcohol, combined with smallpox nearly wiped out the Native Americans, and when a treaty was signed establishing an Indian reservation in 1758, only a few hundred natives remained.

I March of 1664 the English seized control of the area when King Charles II granted his brother James, the Duke of York a tract of land from the Connecticut River to the Delaware River. James then deeded the area, which he named New Jersey, to his court friends John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, and Sir George Carteret, who became proprietors of the land, owning it outright and having the right to govern its people.

New Jersey was subsequently divided into two regions, East Jersey and West Jersey, the east being settles by mostly Puritans, while Quakers were the majority to settle in the west. By the time of the American Revolution the colony was divided in both political and religious belief, though the dissent between Loyalists and Revolutionists was the most obvious.

Because of the influence of governor at the time William Franklin, the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, the initial response from New Jersey to join the fight for independence was somewhat delayed. The state did however, in June of 1776, send five new delegates to the Continental Congress, all of whom voted for the Declaration of Independence.

The role of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War was a prominent and pivotal one, George Washington and his troops making their winter headquarters in the state three times during the first four years of the war, and major battles being fought in the region. During the war many of New Jersey’s towns had been ravaged by armies from both sides, and the state languished upon its completion. New Jersey did however; support the cause for the federation of states with equal representation in a single legislative body which would eventually become the U.S. Senate.

By the 1830’s canals and railways had invigorated the state, and a course of industrialization and urbanization began. The iron mines which sprung up around the canals found markets in major cities like Philadelphia and Boston, while weaving and dyeing mills prospered in Paterson, propelling Newark to become the first incorporated city in the state in 1836. Factories sprung up along the railways due to easy access to coal delivery, while the railways also helped to establish the states tourism industry by delivering passengers to the Jersey Shore.

The state was split bitterly by the Civil War, Democrats opposing the fight because of their lucrative ties to southern markets. The state fulfilled its obligations to the Union cause however, and sent its full quota of troops into battle. More important were the armaments and equipment supplied by the state’s factories, though with the war’s end, New Jersey stubbornly opposed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Finally in 1870, blacks were given the right to vote.

Famous Battles Fought in New Jersey

Five major battles were fought in New Jersey during the revolutionary War, the most important being the Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 and the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778.

Many other battles took place in New Jersey territory during the Revolutionary War due to its strategic significance, and for a comprehensive history you can visit the Revolutionary War History in New Jersey website.

These battle accounts that exist can be very effective in uncovering the military records of your ancestor. They can tell you what regiments fought in which battles, and often include the names and ranks of many officers and enlisted men.

Battle of Donaldsonville, 1863 – Civil War

Battle of Baton Rouge, 1862 – Civil War

Battle of St. John’s Bluff, 1862 – Civil War

Battle of Georgia Landing, 1862 – Civil War

Battle of Kock’s Plantation, 1862

Battle of New Orleans, 1815 – War of 1812

Boundary Changes: Boundary changes are a common obstacle when researching New Jersey ancestors. You could be searching for an ancestor’s record in one county when in fact it is stored in a different one due to historical county boundary changes. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries can help you to overcome that problem. It provides a chronological listing of every boundary change that has occurred in the history of New Jersey.

Name Changes: Surname changes, variations, and misspellings can complicate genealogical research. It is important to check all spelling variations. Soundex, a program that indexes names by sound, is a useful first step, but you can't rely on it completely as some name variations result in different Soundex codes. The surnames could be different, but the first name may be different too. You can also find records filed under initials, middle names, and nicknames as well, so you will need to get creative with surname variations and spellings in order to cover all the possibilities. For help with surname variations read our instructional article on How to Use Soundex.

Genealogical resources include not only records, but the organizations that house them, or can direct you to them. These institutions include: Archives, Libraries, Genealogical Societies, Family History Centers, Universities, Churches, and Museums.

New Jersey Archives

New Jersey Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are internet based facilities that use email to distribute a single message to all who subscribe to it. When information on a particular surname, new records, or any other important genealogy information related to the mailing list topic becomes available, the subscribers are alerted to it. Joining a mailing list is an excellent way to stay up to date on New Jersey genealogy research topics. Rootsweb have an extensive listing of New Jersey Mailing Lists on a variety of topics.

New Jersey Message Boards

A message board is another internet based facility where people can post questions about a specific genealogy topic and have it answered by other genealogists. If you have questions about a surname, record type, or research topic, you can post your question and other researchers and genealogists will help you with the answer. Be sure to check back regularly, as the answers are not emailed to you. The message boards at the New Jersey Genealogy Forum are completely free to use.

New Jersey Newspapers and Periodicals

Many genealogy periodicals and historical newspapers contain reprinted copies of family genealogies, transcripts of family Bible records, information about local records and archives, census indexes, church records, queries, land records, obituaries, court records, cemetery records, and wills.

Historical New Jersey Maps and Gazetteers

Maps are an integral part of genealogical research. They help us to locate landmarks, towns, cities, parishes, states, provinces, waterways and roads and streets. They also help us to determine when and where boundary changes might have taken place, and give us a visualization of the area we’re researching in.

For locating place names, a gazetteer is the best possible resource for any genealogist. Gazetteers are also sometimes called “place name dictionaries”, and can help you to locate the area in which you need to conduct research.

New Jersey City Directories

City directories are similar to telephone directories in that they list the residents of a particular area. The difference though is what is important to genealogists, and that is they pre-date telephone directories. You can find an ancestor’s information such as their street address, place of employment, occupation, or the name of their spouse. A one-stop-shop for finding city directories in New Jersey is the New Jersey Online Historical Directories which contains a listing of every available historical directory related to New Jersey.

Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records – Also known as vital records, birth, death, and marriage certificates are the most basic, yet most important records attached to your ancestor. The reason for their importance is that they not only place your ancestor in a specific place at a definite time, but potentially connect the individual to other relatives. Below is a list of repositories and websites where you can find New Jersey vital records

New Jersey began recording official records of births and deaths in 1911. Marriage licenses were required starting in 1867, but not filed at state level until 1913.

Marriage and Divorce Records

Marriages prior to May 1913 were recorded in the district county courts where the marriage took place. New Jersey marriage licenses did not include the names of the parents unless the bride or groom was underage. Records can be found at:

Divorce records from 1861 until July 1951 were recorded in the New Jersey District Courts.

Copies of official divorce records after July 1951 can be ordered from the New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics.

Census Reports

Census records are among the most important genealogical documents for placing your ancestor in a particular place at a specific time. Like BDM records, they can also lead you to other ancestors, particularly those who were living under the authority of the head of household.

New Jersey Church Records

Church and synagogue records are a valuable resource, especially for baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place before 1900. You will need to at least have an idea of your ancestor’s religious denomination, and in most cases you will have to visit a brick and mortar establishment to view them.

Most church records are kept by the individual church, although in some denominations, records are placed in a regional archive or maintained at the diocesan level. Local Historical Societies are sometimes the repository for the state’s older church records.

Central Repositories for Denominational Records

Most of the records of individual denominations are kept in central repositories.

New Jersey Military Records

More than 40 million Americans have participated in some time of war service since America was colonized. The chance of finding your ancestor amongst those records is exceptionally high. Military records can even reveal individuals who never actually served, such as those who registered for the two World Wars but were never called to duty.

New Jersey Cemetery Records

As convenient as it is to search cemetery records online, keep in mind that there are a few disadvantages over visiting a cemetery in person. They are:

• Tombstone information is not always accurately transcribed
• The arrangement of the graves in a cemetery can be crucial as family members are often buried next to each other or in the same grave. This arrangement is not always preserved in the alphabetical indexes that are found online.

New Jersey Obituaries

New Jersey Wills and Probate Records

The documents found in a probate packet may include a complete inventory of a person’s estate, newspaper entries, witness testimony, a copy of a will, list of debtors and creditors, names of executors or trustees, names of heirs. They can not only tell you about the ancestor you’re currently researching, but lead to other ancestors.

Most of these records must be accessed at a county court or clerk’s office, but some can be found online as well. You can obtain copies of the original probate records by writing to the county clerk.

New Jersey probate records have been recorded by the probate division clerks of the New Jersey District Courts and include dockets, wills, oaths, inventories, letters, bonds, appraisements, accounts, court orders, claims, and final settlements.

New Jersey Immigration and Naturalization Records

The naturalization process generated many types of records, including petitions, declarations of intention, and oaths of allegiance. These records can provide family historians with information such as a person's birth date and place of birth, immigration year, marital status, spouse information, occupation, witnesses' names and addresses, and more.

Most overseas immigrants came to New Jersey through east coast ports such as New, and then traveled by railway to New Jersey. Earlier immigrants landed at New Orleans and then traveled by steamboats upriver to New Jersey. The U.S. National Archives has passenger lists or indexes of American ports for 1820 to 1940, as well as immigration and naturalization records for the entire United States. These records can also be accessed at the National Archives Regional Branch in New Jersey City

New Jersey Native American Records

Bibliographies

• Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, Margaret Cook (Journal of Rutgers University Library, 1971)
• Fortunes of War: New Jersey Women and the American Revolution, Linda G. DePauw (New Jersey Historical Commission, 1975)
• New Jersey Quilts, 1777 to 1950: Contributions to an American Tradition, Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey, (American Quilters Society, 1992)

Selected Resources for New Jersey Women’s History

Messler Library
Farleigh Dickinson University
Montross Ave.
Rutherford, NJ 07070

Special Collections and Archives
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903

Common New Jersey Surnames

The following surnames are among the most common in New Jersey and are also being currently researched by other genealogists. If you find your surname here, there is a chance that some research has already been performed on your ancestor.

Acolia, Ahearn, Aldrich, Alpaugh, Apgar, Applegate, Ayers, Barker, Barnes, Baxter, Beecher, Bishop, Bissel, Blakeslee, Bliss, Bloom, Bonham, Borton, Bradbury, Brown, Burd, Burke, Burns, Butler, Cahill, Campbell, Carolan, Carson, Cervenka, Chamberlain, Champlain, Chapman, Chappell, Cheregothis, Cherry, Chludzinski, Church, Cockestarles, Conklin, Conlin, Cook, Coppock, Corbishley, Cottrell, Crammer, Crampton, Creighton, Creighton, Cross, Cunningham, Curtis, Davidson, Davis, Demuth, Dennis, Derr, Diehl, Doran, Downer, DuBois, Dufford, Earlin, Earling, Eckert, Edwards, Ehret, Eick, Elliot, Ellis, Emery, Emhardt, English, Erwin, Evans, Faulkner, Finnegan, Focht, Follett, Folz, Foret, Fowler, Franklin, Freeburger, Frome, Fuchs, Fuhrmann, Geer, Glen, Glenn, Goeke, Goeller, Gotwals, Grace, Grau, Gray, Griswold, Gross, Haag, Hahn, Haines, Hallisy, Halsey, Hancock, Handshuch, Harger, Harney, Hickey, Highfield, Hillig, Holcombe, Holden, Horn, Howarth, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jansson, Jezabek, Johnson, Jones, Katz, Kemp, Kightlinyer, Knox, Korzun, Kotowski, Libby, Lightsky, Lindsey, MacCauley, Mack, Mackey, Maddalena, Malsbury, Maltby, Mansier, Mansir, Masters, May, McBride, McCollum, McCrelis, McCullough, McGill, McHugh, McKeown, McKinney, McNally, McPeek, Meier, Melick, Miller, Mooney, Morris, Morton, Mowbry, Murdock, Murphy, Myers, Nagy, Navatkoski, Needham, Nowatkowski, O’Harrow, Oberlin, Oberly, Olds, Ott, Park, Parke, Parker, Partlow, Percy, Perrin, Perrine, Phelps, Philhower, Phillips, Pickell, Pinney, Pirigyi, Pittman, Pogorzelski, Poland, Potter, Powell, Pownell, Price, Radline, Redlne, Reeder, Rege, Rice, Rich, Richardson, Rosenwig, Rosenzweig, Rosewig, Rudy, Runyon, Ryno, Salmons, Saxton, Schaefer, Schmidt, Sclover, Scott, Seaman, Searl, Shaeffer, Sheaffer, Sheets, Shine, Shippe, Sly, Smith, Spellman, Springfield, Stainbrook, Staszewski, Stavrakos, Sparta, Stehzerin, Steven, Stout, Stratton, Swackhammer, Sweezey, Taylor, Thomas, Tichenor, Tomlinson, Torry, Tory, Tripp, Tuohy, Vela, Waggoner, Wagner, Walsh, Walter, Walters, Warren, Waters, Webb, Weleh, Wernock, Wheelock, White, Whitman, Williams, Wales, Wilson, Winter, Witzmann, Wolf, Woodward, Wright, Yearling, Yeomansons, Young, Youst, Zwecker