A VERY ROUGH DRAFT
New Jersey - Research FAQ
Research involves looking in many different places and trying many approaches to resolve your questions. This FAQ was created as an aid to assisting you in locating where the various categories of information may be found.
If you are just beginning your research you may want to consider browsing through your own family records and talking to your relatives.
Libraries are generally collections of information that have been selected based on the needs of the library’s clientele.
Archives house collections of various types of documents based on the purpose of the archive.Before entering a library or an archive you need to define the topic of your research. What questions are you looking to find the answers for?
A website named WorldCat is a site that "connects you to the collections and services of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide" and allows you to search for publications in numerous libraries.
Rutgers State College’s Alexander Library has a wealth of information regarding NJ genealogy and history. A guide to their collection and a research aid can be found at: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~natalieb/gen.htm
Many of the NJGenWeb county sites have lists of books that pertain to that county. If you live in close proximity to the NJ State Library you may want to check their catalog.
A List of some Library websites:
NJ State Census Records
The State of New Jersey conducted a state-wide census in 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, and 1915. There are no indexes to these census records. You may want to consider using the 1885 and 1895 State census as alternatives for the destroyed 1890 Federal census.
New Jersey State Census
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NJ Federal Census Records
The NJ Dept of State (NJDARM) has Legal Name Changes Index online: Legal Name Changes, 1847-1947
In New Jersey a funeral home is only obligated by law to keep the last 7 years of records, although many realize the value of the information and have kept them since the opening of the funeral home.
To determine the undertaker or funeral home who handled the arrangements for your ancestor, check the death certificate, obituary notice, funeral card or obituary for a notation. If you do find the name of the undertaker or funeral home you now need to see if they are possibly still in business. Current NJ State Law only requires funeral homes to maintain the last seven years of records, though many maintain their records back to the beginning of their business.
If a Funeral Home has closed it is possible that another local Funeral Home may have their records, but it not a guarantee. Remember that the records are the private records of that business and may have been destroyed after the required retention time expired.
In New Jersey the State Board of Mortuary Science licenses and regulates the practice of Funeral Directors and registers mortuaries.
124 Halsey St.
Newark, NJ 07102
973-504-6425
CHAPTER 36
STATE BOARD OF MORTUARY SCIENCE
13:36-1.8 Recordkeeping
(a) The registered mortuary shall maintain full, accurate records of all funerals which it conducts or in which it participates in any manner, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 13:36-4.13.
(b) Funeral records shall be kept, electronically or otherwise, on an annualized basis for seven years and each funeral shall be designated by a number assigned consecutively at the time funeral arrangements are made. The information on such records shall be recorded after the completion of each funeral. The oldest six years of information shall be maintained in such a manner so as to be retrievable and readable within two weeks. The most recent one year of information shall be immediately retrievable and readable.
(c) Such records shall include the following if applicable:
1. The Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected;
2. The name and location of the cemetery in which burial was made or the name and location of the crematorium where appropriate, and the charges made by the cemetery or crematorium;
3. The name and address of any church, synagogue and/or clergy who participated in the funeral service and who received any offering or honorarium, and the amount thereof, if paid by the funeral home;
4. The name and license number of the practitioner or intern who provided embalming and/or sanitary care services;
5. Date of disposition;
6. The final bill;
7. A copy of the completed New Jersey Death Certificate, if the death occurred in the State, or if the death occurred outside of the State, a copy of the burial or transit papers or other final disposition documents; and
8. A copy of the disinterment permit.
The New Jersey State Library (http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Searchable_Publications/index.php?include=reg) has the following information in an online searchable database:
The NJ State Archives (NJDARM) has online:
Revolutionary War, 1793 Militia Census, Wars of 1794-1815, and Mexican War (1846-1848)
Civil War
Spanish-American War and National Guard
World War I
Military Personnel Records Destroyed (National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis)
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html
On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at NPRC (MPR) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The affected record collections are described below.
Branch | Personnel and Period Affected | Estimated Loss |
Army | Personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960 | 80% |
Air Force | Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964 | 75% |
No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available.
The NJ State Archives (NJDARM) maintains:
Naturalizations (Citizenship Papers)
State-Level Naturalizations (by the Supreme Court, Chancery Court, Prerogative Court and Legislature) all counties, 1750s-1830s.
$5.00 per record; provide name, county, and approximate year; almost all are men because women obtained citizenship through their husbands. (as of 2008)
County-Level Naturalizations (Court of Common Pleas) for Burlington (1790-1956), Camden (1844-1923), Essex (1792-1931), Mercer (1838-1930), Ocean (1850-1951), Sussex (1817-1958), & Union counties (1845-1931). For all other counties please contact the local county clerk.
$5.00 per record; provide name, county, and approximate year; almost all are men because women obtained citizenship through their husbands. (as of 2008)
Passport Applications, 1795-1905; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1372, 694 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Passport Applications, January 2, 1906-March 31, 1925; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Registers and Indexes for Passport Applications, 1810-1906; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1371, rolls 1-3, 13); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Emergency Passport Applications (Passports Issued Abroad), 1877-1907; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1834, 56 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
The NJ Information Center of the Newark Public Library has Inventory of New Jersey Newspapers on Microfilm. The index of historic newspapers is available online (http://www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/njicnews1.html).
Canal
History
Marriage Records in New Jersey (from the NJ Department of State, NJ Archives)
Recording of marriages on the county level was first required in New Jersey by "An Act Concerning Marriages," passed by the General Assembly on 4 March 1795 (see Acts of the Nineteenth General Assembly..., chap. 526, pp. 1004-7). This legislation stipulated that every justice of the peace and ordained minister file, for each marriage he performed, a certificate with the clerk of the county in which the marriage took place. The returns were then to be copied by the county clerk into a book kept solely for that purpose.
This procedure remained the basic method of public recording of marriages in New Jersey until March 1848, when "An Act relating to the registry and returns of births, marriages, and deaths, in the State of New Jersey" was passed into law (P.L. 1848, pp. 155-8). The 1848 legislation required municipal clerks to submit annual returns of vital records to the Secretary of State. It also stipulated that marriage records were to include certain additional vital information, such as the age, occupation, parents' names, and residence of each party, and the place of marriage.
Despite the initiation of state-level recording, direct filing of marriage returns with the county clerk was still required by law for another thirty years. It was not until 5 April 1878, when further vital records legislation was passed, that marriage officiants were relieved of this responsibility. The 1878 law required, instead, that officiants submit marriage certificates to municipal clerks or assessors beginning on June 1st of that year (P.L. 1878, chap. 239, pp. 354-9). The municipal officers, in turn, were directed to file the certificates with the Secretary of State.
The State of NJ began collecting vital records in May 1848. Prior to that date many records were maintained at a local level.
| Birth | Death |
NJ State Archives | May 1848 – May 1878 | May 1848 – May 1878 |
NJ Vital Statistics Registration | June 1878 – present | June 1878 – present |
| Marriage |
NJ State Archives | May 1848 – May 1878 |
NJ Vital Statistics Registration | June 1878 – present |
NJ Dept of State (NJDARM) | Colonial Marriages, 1666-1799 (online databse) https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/ColonialMarriages.aspx |
NJ Dept of State (NJDARM) | Index to Marriage Records, 1848-1867 (online database) https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/Marriage1867.aspx |
| Wills & Inventories | Court Records |
NJ State Archives | Prior to 1952 | Prerogative Court early to 1948 Chancery Court early to 1886 |
Superior Court of NJ | After 1952 |
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NJ Dept of State (NJDARM) |
| Supreme Court Case Files, 1704-1844 (online database) https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/SupremeCourt.aspx |
NJ State Archives (NJDARM)
Birth, Marriage and Death Records |
Marriage Records, 1666-1799
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County Marriage Records for Burlington (1795-1878), Cumberland County (1795-1878), Essex County (1795-1879), Mercer County (1832-1887) (gaps), Passaic County (1838-1878), Somerset County (1795-1878), Sussex County (1795-1878), Union Co. (1857-1878)
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Birth, Marriage, and Death records dating May 1848-May 1878 (For more recent records, contact Bureau of Vital Statistics at 609.292.4087)
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Listing of County Clerk address can be found: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~natalieb/clerks.htm
Event: Birth, death, marriage, civil union or domestic partnership (State)
Cost of copy: $25.00 for initial copy. Additional copies of the same record ordered at the same time are $2.00 each.
Address:
Please visit the New Jersey Vital Statistics website for the most up to date information regarding ordering options and information. The website address is www.state.nj.us/health/vital or call toll-free at 1-866-649-8726.
Remarks: The State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration maintains records from June 1878 to present.
All requests must include a copy of the requestor's valid identification, proof of relationship to the individual listed on the vital record and payment of the appropriate fee.
A State or local Registrar may issue a certified copy of a vital record only to persons who establish themselves as the subject of the vital record, the subject's parent, legal guardian or legal representative, spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age, to a State or Federal agency for official purposes, pursuant to court order or under other emergent circumstances as determined by the Commissioner. All other applicants will be issued a Certification that state the document is not for identification or legal purposes.
Event: Birth. marriage or death
Cost of copy: $10.00
Address:
New Jersey State Archives
225 West State Street
P.O. Box 307
Trenton, NJ 08625-0307
Remarks: The New Jersey State Archives searches vital records from May 1, 1848 to May 31, 1878 only.
Personal check or money order should be made payable to New Jersey General Treasury. The general information telephone number is (609) 292-6260.