New Jersey Genealogy Facts
New Jersey’s early colonial history was involved with that of New York (New Netherlands), of which it was a part. One year after the Dutch surrender to England in 1664, New Jersey was organized as an English colony under Gov. Philip Carteret.
In 1676 the colony was divided between Carteret and a company of English Quakers who had obtained the rights belonging to John, Lord Berkeley. New Jersey became a united crown colony in 1702, administered by the royal governor of New York. Finally, in 1738, New Jersey was separated from New York under its own royal governor, Lewis Morris. Because of its key location between New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey saw much fighting during the American Revolution.
- New Jersey entered the union as the 3rd state on Dec. 18, 1787 .
- New Jersey has 21 Counties (New Jersey is the only state in which all 21 counties are officially classified as “metropolitan” by the census).
- New Jersey’s capital is Trenton and the official state website is www.nj.gov.
- New Jersey is bordered by New York (north), Pennsylvania (west), Delaware (southwest)
- New Jersey has a land area of 8,722 square miles making it the 47th largest state.
- New Jersey’s 2010 population was 8,791,894 .
- New Jersey largest cities (2010) are Newark, 277,140; Jersey City, 247,597; Paterson, 146,199; Elizabeth, 124,969; Edison, 99,967; Woodbridge, 99,585; Lakewood, 92,843; Toms River, 91,239; Hamilton, 88,464; Trenton (Capital), 84,913.
- New Jersey’s name derives from the island of Jersey in the English Channel, the birthplace of Sir George Carteret, a co-owner of New Jersey in the 17th century.
- New Jersey’s nickname is “The Garden State” .
- New Jersey State Motto is ” Liberty and Prosperity “.
New Jersey County Genealogy
The State of New Jersey is divided into twenty-one counties in which are recorded transfers of land, estates, court, and other records. The county clerk is where deeds, mortgages, early marriages, naturalizations, and other records are to be found. The county Surrogate’s Court is where orphans’ court minutes and Probate Records are held. Each county is governed by a Board of Freeholders, whose records should not be overlooked.
Some New Jersey counties have established or are establishing county record centers and archives, to which older records are transferred for better preservation and use by researchers and genealogist.
Most clerks still retain custody over such material and should be contacted first about the location and access to a particular record. Most municipal records are still in the townships, boroughs, and cities, but selected ancient town books are at the state archives, and other town records may be found at local historical societies, the New Jersey Historical Society, and at Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives.
Select a County Below
COUNTY PAGES UNDER CONSTRUCTION
New Jersey has counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states. These counties need to be looked at when doing genealogy research. Pay close attention where the courthouse records went to if the county was abolished or combined with another county.
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New Jersey Genealogy Links
See New Jersey County Genealogy for County Links. These genealogy links fall into 3 categories: Commercial Sites, Personal Sites or Organization Sites. Some are have free access some require a payment. This is just a list that has been collected or submitted. I do not endorse or promote one genealogy site above another. Feel free to submit your own favorite genealogy or family history related sites.
- New Jersey General Website Links
- Family History Library (familysearch.org) – The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
- New Jersey Historical Records (ancestry.com) – Databases include Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records; Birth, Marriage & Death Records; Voter Lists & Census Records; Immigration & Emigration Records; Obituary Records; Military Records; Family Tree Records; Pictures; Stories, Memories & Histories; Directories & Member Lists.
- Search 60 Years Of Everton Data (familylink.com) – For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons.
- New Jersey Genealogy Network (facebook.com)
- USGenweb – New Jersey Genealogy (rootsweb.ancestry.com)
- The New Jersey Family Group Sheet Project (fgs-project.com)
- Free GenForum Message Boards – New Jersey (genforum.genealogy.com)
- Free Rootsweb Message Boards – New Jersey (boards.ancestry.com)
- Cyndis List New Jersey Links (cyndislist.com)
- New Jersey Mailing List (rootsweb.ancestry.com)
- New Jersey American History and Genealogy Project (usgennet.org)
- New Jersey (wikipedia.org)
- Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) – New Jersey (raogk.org)
- New Jersey Genealogy Look Ups (geneasearch.com)
- USGenWeb Archives Project for New Jersey (usgwarchives.org)
- Background Sources for New Jersey (ancestry.com) from Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
- New Jersey History Links Website Links
- History of New Jersey Genealogy (ancestry.com) from Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
- New Jersey US Genweb County Site Links
New Jersey State History
New Jersey traces its history back more than 350 years. New Jersey is the fifth smallest state but one of the most diversified. Lying between New York City and Philadelphia, in the heart of the highly urbanized area called a megalopolis by some population experts, it is the second most urbanized state, behind only California, and the most densely populated. Yet it has wilderness areas, in the mountains of the northwest and the sparsely settled southern tidelands. New Jersey is in the forefront of industrial research and development, but the continuing importance of farming is reflected in its nickname, the Garden State. New Jersey’s ready access to the markets of New York City and Philadelphia led to an early specialization in fresh fruits and vegetable production. As early as the 17th century, colonists described the area as a garden because of its agricultural bounty.
The state contains many well-preserved monuments commemorating the American Revolution (1775-1783), many of whose battles were fought on New Jersey soil, including George Washington’s famed crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776, to defeat the British at Trenton.
