Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy

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

Description
Morris County is located in the north central region of the state. It was created on March 15, 1739. Morristown is the county seat. The county was named for Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation.

County Courthouse
Morris County Courthouse Hall of Rec Admin Bldg 56 Washington Street Morristown, NJ 07960 Phone: 973-656-4000 Morris County Courthouse

County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1881, court records 1739-1978, land records from 1785, slave records 1804-1820, naturalization records, from 1816 and military discharge records from 1945. Court has probate records. These provide death date, executor's name and probate file number. Clerk Superior Court has divorce records.

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
Morris County Library has a more detailed Genealogy geography - to view, click here. [accessed March 7, 2014]
 * 16 May 1753: Sussex County set off. (Worldcat)
 * 1749 the boundary with Somerset County was clarified.
 * Morris County was first settled by the white man in the early 1700s.
 * Named after Lewis Morris, who was then the Governor of the Province of New Jersey
 * Beginning in 1740 Morris County had 3 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover Twp., Morris Twp., and Pequannock Twp.)
 * Beginning of the 19th century (1800) Morris County had 7 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover, Morris, Pequannock, Chester, Mendham, Roxbury and Washington Townships).
 * Beginning of the 20th century (1900) Morris County had 25 Municipal Subdivisions.
 * Beginning of the 21st century (2000) Morris County is composed of 39 Municipal Subdivisions.

Cemeteries

 * Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the Old Burying Ground

Census Records
State 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
 * Morris County, New Jersey, 1749
 * Morris County, New Jersey, 1771
 * Morris County, New Jersey 1780 Census Index


 * Many Directories for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Church Records

 * Morris County, New Jersey Churches
 * 1675-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

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

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * The Land Past and Present
 * Many Land Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.
 * Beautiful Homes of Morris County and Northern New Jersey (1900) - book freely available at the Internet Archive.

Local Histories

 * The Founding of Morris County, New Jersey
 * Morris County Biorgraphy Bibliography (WorldCat)
 * Many History Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Linkpendium Maps and Gazetteers
 * The Changing Landscape of Morris County, New Jersey
 * Morris County New Jersey 1895
 * Morris County Map
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Morris County, New Jersey Municipalities
 * Wikipedia Municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey

Military Records

 * The Revolutionary Forefathers of Morris County: an address delivered at Morristown, N. J., July 4, 1876
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 1)
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 2)
 * Many Military Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Many Naturalization and Citizenship Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Newspapers

 * Morris County Newspapers

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.

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * Schools of Morris County, New Jersey

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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * Many Taxation Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.

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

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Caldwell New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Dover New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Ledgewood New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Maplewood New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Morristown New Jersey FamilySearch Center
 * Bloomfield Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Morris County Library - an affiliate library
 * Morristown & Morris Township Library - an affiliate library
 * Mt. Olive Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Washington Township Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Morris County LibraryWebsite North Jersey History &amp; Genealogy CenterWebsite

Museums
Museums of Morris CountyWebsite

Societies
Morris Area Genealogy Society Mailing address P.O. BOX 105 Covent Station, NJ 07961-0105 Currently meeting at Morris County Library 30 East Hanover Ave. Whippany, NJ Website Morris County Historical Society 68 Morris Avenue Morristown 07960 Telephone: 973-267-3465 Website Historical Society of Boonton Township 591 Powerville Road PO Box 362 Boonton Township New Jersey 07005 Website Chatham Historical Society 24 Southern Boulevard Chatham 07928-0262 Website Chester Historical Society PO Box 376 Chester NJ 07930 Telephone: 908-866-6717 E-mail:[mailto:historicchesternj@gmail.com historicchesternj@gmail.com] Website Cornish Heritage Society East 197 Wykertown Rd Branchville, New Jersey 07885 Denville Historical Society Diamond Spring Rd Denville, NJ 07834 Telephone: 973-627-6894 Harding Township Historical Society 16 Village Road New Vernon, NJ 07826-4431 Telephone: 973-292-3661 E-mail:[mailto:varker@optonline.net varker@optonline.net] Lake Hopatcong Historical Society PO Box 668 Landing, NJ 07850 Telephone: 973-398-2616 Website Historical Society Of Rockaways  Mount Hope Rd Rockaway, NJ 07866‎ Telephone: 973-366-6730

Websites

 * The Morris County NJGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Morris County NJ Genealogy
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Morris County.
 * Linkpendium Morris 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.