Cape May County, New Jersey Genealogy

Guide to Cape May County, New Jersey ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Cape May County is located in the southern tip of the state. It was created in 1685. Cape May Court House, Middle Township is the county seat. The county was named for Cornelis Jacobsen Mey a Dutch explorer, captain and fur trader.

County Courthouse
Cape May County Courthouse 9 North Main Street Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Phone: 609-402-0100 Cape May County Website

County Clerk has military records 1795-1878, land records from 1692, Court Records 1793-1948, Military are cords from 1919 and naturalization records 1900-1960. County Surrogate has probate records from 1783.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline

 * 1685, court set up
 * 1692, county given boundaries in West Jersey
 * 1694, boundaries changed to transfer Great Egg Harbor area to Gloucester County
 * 1710, boundary changed
 * 1822, boundary with Cumberland County clarified
 * 1844, part of Cumberland County added
 * 1845, the 1844 part of Cumberland County returned
 * 1846, coastal boundary established
 * 1878, part of Maurice River twp., Cumberland County, added to Upper twp.
 * 1891, part of Maurice River twp., Cumberland County, added to Dennis twp.
 * 1906, coastal boundary established.

Census Records

 * 1855 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1895 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1675-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – ($), free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Contains the church records of:
 * Ocean View: Calvary Baptist Church

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * Cape May County Herald
 * Cape May Star and Wave

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1656-1999 New Jersey Wills and Probate Records 1656-1999 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1670-1760 Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1670-1760 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1670-1817 New Jersey Abstract of Wills 1670-1817 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1678-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Use the Surrogate's Docket Index 1700-1972 to obtain the Docket Number for the name. Then, use the Docket Number to locate the correct Estate file.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Birth

 * 1600-1990 New Jersey Vital Records, Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Findmypast — index & images ($)
 * 1660-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; ''Also at: Ancestry Index ($)
 * 1746-1795 New Jersey Baptisms 1746-1795 at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Marriage

 * 1600s-1900s US Marriages, New Jersey at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1670-1965 New Jersey Marriage Records, 1670-1965 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1670-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1678-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1683-1802 New Jersey Marriage Records, 1683-1802 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1684-1895 New Jersey Compiled Marriage Records, 1684-1895 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1901-1914 New Jersey Marriage License Index, 1901-1914 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * 1901-2016 New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016 at Ancestry — index ($);
 * 1901-2016 New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016 at Findmypast - Browse index ($)
 * 1915-2016 New Jersey Marriage License Index, 1915-2016 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * For a complete list of all New Jersey Marriage databases

Death

 * 1600-1990 New Jersey Vital Records, Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Findmypast — index & images ($)
 * 1798-1971 New Jersey Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1848-1878 Death Records, May 1848 - May 1878 at New Jersey State Archives - index, $ for photocopies
 * 1878-1900 Death Records, June 1878 - December 1900 at New Jersey Department of State — index, $ for photocopies
 * 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1901-2017 The New Jersey Death Index at New Jersey Death Index — index; Also at: Ancestry index ($)
 * 1920-2017 New Jersey Death Index, 1920-1929, 1949-2017 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * For a complete list of all New Jersey Death databases

Archives

 * Archives of the Cape May County Clerk

FamilySearch Centers

 * Linwood New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Vineland New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Cumberland County Library - an affiliate library

Societies
The Museum of Cape May Historical Museum and Genealogical Society 504 Route 9 North Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Phone: 609-465-3535 Genealogy, Ext.5 E-mail:[mailto:cmchgs@gmail.com cmchgs@gmail.com] Website

Greater Cape May Historic Society 653 Washington Street Cape May, NJ 08204 Phone: 609-884-9100 Website

Websites

 * The Cape May County NYGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Cape May County New Jersey Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Cape May County, NJ, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * LDS Genealogy Cape May County NJ Genealogy
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Cape May County.
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.