WELCOME to the Ocean County GenWeb Project!

Use the menu above to navigate our site. Clicking on Research will take you to the table of contents for our site where you will be able to search for information.

• Do you have a web site with Ocean County material or family information? If so, send us the link and we will add it to the Ocean County Resources page.

• If you can gather or transcribe resource materials, please let us know as we'd be happy to put Ocean County related material online that you would be willing to contribute. Please contact us or submit your data here.

• If you have any Ocean County books or CD's and would like to volunteer to do look-ups please contact us.

County Formation

Although Ocean County has been settled since colonial times, its presence as a separate political entity is of relatively recent origin. The County was created in February of 1850 from Monmouth County with some more added in 1851; 1857, boundary with Burlington County clarified; 1869, part of Plumsted twp. to Monmouth County; 1891, received Little Egg Harbor twp. from Burlington County; 1906, coastal boundary defined; 1928, part of Howell twp. from Monmouth County. It was comprised of the communities of Brick, Dover, Jackson, Plumsted, and Union (Barnegat), which had previously been the portion of Monmouth County lying south of the Manasquan River. Toms River is the county seat.

For much of its early history, the County was a rural, agricultural and fishing center. During the latter part of the 1800's and through the 1900's, the resort industry of the New Jersey Shore was developed, and the commercial activities associated with seasonal resorts quickly became the County's economic mainstay.

Ocean County is bordered on the North by Monmouth County, on the West by Atlantic County, on the South by Burlington County and on the East by the Atlantic Ocean.

If you are looking for records prior to 1850 please visit the Monmouth County GenWeb Project.