New Jersey Vital Records (Births, May 1, 1848—December 31, 1925; Marriage and Death May 1, 1848—December 31, 1950)

• State Archives owns these records and will conduct mail research on them. They are also available for in-person research in our Microfilm Room.
• Searchable database of all marriages from 1848—1900
• Searchable database of deaths from May 1848—May 1878
• Searchable database of deaths from June 1878—December 1900
• Birth Corrections for 1848—1903 are filed separately to correct an error in the original filed record. Corrections for 1904 forward are filed with the original records.
• Delayed Birth Certificates for 1848—1925 are filed many years after the birth when an individual discovers no record was filed when the birth took place.
• Stillbirths are filed when a child is born dead. June 1878—December 1900 have been microfilmed. 1901—1950 are only available in paper format. Can be searched with and exact name and year.

New Jersey Vital Records (Births after December 31, 1925. Marriages and Deaths after December 31, 1950)

• Owned by New Jersey Department of Health
• State Archives has microfilm copies of the Department of Health records for the public to search in person. Specifically:
  • Marriages: January 1, 1951—December 31, 1957 and available bride indexes
  • Deaths: January 1, 1951—December 31, 1965

Pre-1848 Birth Records

• Not filed at any level of New Jersey government except Records of Births of Slave Children that were filed with each County Clerk beginning in 1804.

Pre-1848 Marriage Records

• Required to be filed with the County Clerk starting in 1795 (or the year the county was formed). Filing continued past 1848 (but generally no later than 1878).
• Marriage officiant submitted record of marriages to Clerk to be recorded into volumes. Information primarily consisted of parties being married, officiant, and date of marriage.
• Most of the County Clerk marriages have been published. Also available in digital form on www.familysearch.org
• State Archives owns and provides mail reference for the original books or returns kept by the Clerks of Atlantic, Burlington, Cumberland, Essex, Mercer, Somerset, Sussex and Union Counties.

Colonial Marriage Bonds (1711—1795)

• Database also includes a few pre-1711 marriages recorded in early deed books.

Pre-1948 Death Records

• Not filed at any governmental level.

Inquisitions on the Dead, 1688-1798

• Inquests were made by county coroners when people died under suspicious circumstances.

Divorces (1743—1948)

• Divorces were granted by an act of the legislature (1778—1844).
• Chancery Court also granted divorces. The State Archives owns Chancery Court cases from 1743—1948. Many of these records are available in-house, however, some are stored off-site and may require several days for retrieval.
• Indexes to Chancery Court Case Files are available on microfilm from 1825—1948. There is a printed guide for cases from 1743—1850.
• Matrimonial indexes (dealing specifically with divorce cases) are available on microfilm from 1939—1948

Federal Censuses (Special Schedules)

• State Archives has on microfilm New Jersey, Special Schedules, 1820—1890 [See our online catalog].
• On-line indexes for 1840—1950 Census [www.heritagequestonline.com, www.ancestry.com and www.familysearch.org]

State Censuses (1855—1915)

• Taken every 10 years on years that ended with a 5 [1855, 1865, and 1875 are incomplete]
• Certain individual counties are held by other repositions and have been indexed:
  • Hunterdon County, in 1875 [paper index is at Hunterdon Historical Society]
  • Monmouth County, in 1875 [available online at the Monmouth County Archives website]
• Searchable database for Atlantic and Passaic Counties (1885)
• Complete 1895 State Census is available on www.ancestry.com.
• The indexes to 1885, 1905 and 1915 State Censuses are available on www.familysearch.org.
• 1915 was New Jersey’s last state census.

Duplicate Tax Ratables (1768—1822)

• Duplicate tax records filed with the New Jersey Assembly
• Incomplete for the municipalities that existed for this time period, there are many gaps in ears and, in some cases, no lists at all.
• Most Ratables are indexed in New Jersey Tax Lists, 1772—1822. Bergen and Hunterdon Ratables have been indexed separately.
• We do not search or copy the records through the mail.
• Ratables are scanned and available through our online Searchable Catalog under control number SAS00001

Early Land Records (c. 1650—1900s)

• Includes original East and West Jersey deed volumes transferred to the Provincial Secretary’s Office from the proprietors about 1710.
• Dates range from 1650 through 1996, but the vast majority of records date between 1675 and 1900.
• This database indexes all the land records in our collection including surveys, deeds, mortgages, and other records on microfilm:
  • West Jersey Proprietors (Years Active: 1685—present)
  • East Jersey Proprietors (Years Active: 1685—1998)

County Loan Offices Mortgage Records (1724—1799)

• State Archives has original County Loan Office mortgages for Burlington, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, and Somerset Counties
• Indexed in Card file in manuscript search room and in collection guides [excluding Hunterdon County]

County Deeds (1660s—1900)

• State Archives has microfilm copies of all county deeds up to 1900 (original records still owned by each county)
• All the county deeds have been digitized on www.familysearch.org.
• Deed books start in 1785 or the year the county was created. Bergen and Monmouth Counties have deeds recorded before that date
• All deeds have indexes on microfilm; many indexes continue past 1900

County Mortgages (1766—1850)

• State Archives has microfilm copies of county mortgages up to 1850
• These materials have been digitized at www.familysearch.org.

Original Wills and Inventories (1670—1952)

• State Archives holds all original wills and inventories for the state of New Jersey for 1670—1900
• From 1901 to 1952 the records are on microfilm only and do not always contain inventories

County Surrogate records (c.1785—1900)

• State Archives has microfilm copies of most County Surrogate Office’s records up to 1900 [Morris County’s records were not microfilmed]
• Orphan Court Minutes start in 1785 or the year the county was created
• County Surrogate’s record books start in 1804

Prerogative Court (1830s—1948)

• State Archives holds original Prerogative Court cases to 1948
• Prerogative Court had jurisdiction over cases from county orphan’s courts and estates where the property was in more than one county

Colonial Wars (1639—c. 1775)

• Transcripts and original manuscripts
• Some commissions of Colonial Militia officers are found in Colonial Commissions in the early deed collection

Revolutionary War (1776—1783)

• Compiled Service Cards
• Abstracts of Service [Slips]
• Numbered Manuscripts (over 11,000)
• Loyalist muster rolls and transcribed records
• Pension affidavits available for Cumberland, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties
• Inventories of damages by British and American soldiers (1776 – 1782)

War of 1812 (1812—1814)

• Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars 1791 – 1815

Civil War (1861—1865)

• Roster of Officers and Men in the Civil War.
• Regimental records
• Payment Vouchers
• Photographs (cartes-de-visites)
• United States Colored Troops - Service Files, ca. 1862 – 1870s
• United States Navy - Volunteer/Enlistment Certificates, 1864 – 1865

Spanish-American War (1898)

• Muster Rolls for the 4th Regiment of the New Jersey National Guard
• Photographs of Officers of the New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, 1898 – 1904
• Photographs of Naval Officers, ca. 1898 – 1905
• Miscellaneous Naval Photographs, 1898

Punitive Expedition to Mexico (1916)

• Muster Rolls

World War I (1917—1918)

• Unofficial Service Cards (alphabetical by soldier’s name)
• Information Cards and Photographs of New Jersey Men who died in Service.

National Guard

• Photographs and Warren G. Holmes's Scrapbook

Supreme Court Case Files (1704—1844)

• Supreme Court heard all types of cases
• Indexed by Plaintiff and Defendant
• Some cases files have been uploaded to the Database

Chancery Court (1740s—1948)

• New Jersey State Archives owns case files until 1948. Some items are stored offsite and may take several days to retrieve. Please contact us at nj.archives@sos.nj.gov to request Chancery Court materials.
• Chancery Court was charged with hearing cases of equity (fairness, including in cases of estates and land divisions)
• Indexed by complainant
• Indexes from 1825—1948 on microfilm

Original County Records

• Varies by county. Including Justice of the Peace Dockets, Naturalizations, Tavern Licenses, and Marriage Records.
• Original County Court of Common Pleas Naturalizations include:
  • Burlington (1790—1956)
  • Camden (1844—1932)
  • Essex (1792—1934)
  • Hudson County (1840—1948)
  • Mercer (1838—1940)
  • Ocean (1850—1966)
  • Sussex (1817—1948)
  • Union Counties (1857—1948)
• Please review our catalog for additional collections

Bureau of Archives and History Manuscript Collection, ca. 1680s—1970s

• Includes early records for: governors, the Legislature, the courts, local elections, the Revolutionary War, etc.

Newspapers (1776—1900s)

• Over 8,000 reels of newspapers from different areas of New Jersey

Name Change Judgments (1876—1947)

• Duplicate filings of legal name changes granted by county courts
• Name index by new name and by original name