Essex County, New Jersey Genealogy

Essex County, New Jersey ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Essex County, New Jersey Historical Facts

 * 1675, part of East Jersey
 * History of Essex County as stated on official Essex County, New Jersey government site

Parent County
Created 1 March 1683 from the Colonial Lands.

Boundary Changes

 * 1710, New Barbadoes twp. to Bergen County
 * 1741, part to Somerset County.
 * 1822, water boundry defined
 * 1837, part to Passaic County.
 * 1857, part to Union County.
 * 1871, Union County boundary clarified
 * 1876, some changes with Union boundary
 * 1882, Union County boundary further clarified
 * 1891, Part of Millburn twp. to to Union County's Springfield twp
 * 1892, more minor changes with Union boundary
 * 1907, parts of Acquackanonk &amp; Little Falls twps. of Passaic County to Montclair
 * 1958, some of Springfield twp., Union County to here.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Cemeteries
Woodland Cemetery 670 10th Street, Newark NJ Woodland Cemetery facebook page

Census

 * 1855 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1865 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1895 at FamilySearch — index and images

Church

 * 1675-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Dutch Reformed

 * 1694 - Zabriskie, George Olin. "Resident of North-Eastern New Jersey in 1694," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 108, No. 3 (Jul. 1977):157-158. Digital version at New York Family History ($); . List of residents in Dutch Reformed congregation of Acquackanonk Township and New Barbados.

LDS Ward and Branch Records

 * East Orange
 * Newark

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Gazetteers

 * United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Essex County (over 1180 entries) (may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Civil War

 * - 70th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company K
 * - 71st Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies A, D and E

Obtaining Copies of County Probate Records
Copies of recorded probate records and the estate files can be obtained from the surrogate's offices for a fee. Addresses of surrogate's offices are found in:


 * Eichholz, Alice, Editor. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources. Revised Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1992. (.) Explains state-by-state history, vital records, census, background sources, periodicals, archives, libraries, societies, maps, land, probate, court, tax, cemetery, church, and military records. Includes county boundary map and table which shows when each county was created and the parent counties.

In addition, copies of the original wills, administrations, inventories, and guardianships sent to Trenton since 1901 can be ordered from:

Clerk of the Superior Court Records Information Center P.O. Box 967 Trenton, NJ 08625-0967 Phone: (609) 292-4978 Fax: (609) 777-0094

Using Family Search On-line Records to Find Probate Information

You can browse the "New Jersey, Probate Records, 1678-1980" and find filmed copies of many probate files. It is a multi-step process but many records are filmed and available.

Step 1: Go to the "Surrogate's docket index 1700-1972" under "New Jersey, Probate Records, 1678-1980" selecting the volume that includes the start of the family name you are looking for. Inside each of these index volumes is a alphabetized by last name beginning letters and year. For example, all names beginning with Ca come before any names beginning with Ce. You must browse the index to find the right surname.

Step 2: Once you find the right page the first names are listed in sections on the page. When you find a surname and first name that you would like to see the probate file, look to the last column for the "Docket Number."

Step 3: Once you have the docket number go to the "Estates 1783-1900" listing under "New Jersey, Probate Records, 1678-1980" and look for the docket number. Once you are in the right film you will need to browse to find the docket number. Most files are anywhere from four to twenty pages. Once you find the estate file you can print or save it.

Online Probate Records
 * 1656 - 1999 New Jersey Wills and Probate Records 1656-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1670 – 1760 Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1670-1760 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1670 – 1817 New Jersey Abstract of Wills 1670-1817 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1678 - 1980 at FamilySearch — images

Courthouse
Essex County Courthouse 465 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Newark, NJ 07102 Phone: 973.621.4920 County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1879, divorce and court records from 1948 and naturalization records 1779-1929. City Clerks have birth and death records. County Surrogate has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records

"The Record Room is the repository for copies of all legal documents which have been recorded within the County since its creation in 1637. The public has access rights to these documents and are permitted to make searches.

The records are available for public inspection between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. By law, staff cannot conduct a title search, although upon request, the staff will familiarize the public with the indexing method and demonstrate how to use the books."

Family History Centers

 * Caldwell New Jersey Family History Center
 * Short Hills New Jersey Family History Center

Societies
Montclair Historical Society 108 Orange Road Montclair, NJ 07042 Telephone: 973-744-1796 E-mail:[mailto:mail@montclairhistorical.org mail@montclairhistorical.org] Website

Essex County Hall of Records 465 Martin Luther King Blvd, Rm #405 Newark, NJ 07102

Millburn-short Hills Historical Society PO Box 243 Short Hills 07078 Website

Nutley Historical Society 65 Church Street Nutley NJ 07110 Telephone: 973-667-1528 Website

Roseland Historical Society 126 Eagle Rock Avenue Roseland

Verona Historical Society PO Box 191 Verona 07044

Vital Records
Vital Records Office (revised as of 21 July 2005) (giving locations for birth certificates and phone numbers)

Essex County, New Jersey Websites

 * FamilySearch Catalog for Essex County
 * The Essex County NJGenWeb Project, an member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Essex County NJ Genealogy

Essex County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties



 * Bergen
 * Hudson
 * Morris
 * Passaic
 * Union