Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy

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

Description
Hudson County is located in the northeastern region of the state. It was created in 1840. Jersey City is the county seat. The county was named for Henry Hudson.

County Courthouse
Hudson County Courthouse 257 Cornelison Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07302 Phone: 201-369-3470 Hudson County Courthouse

Register of Deeds has land records. Clerk Surrogate Court has probate 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
At the time of European contact in the 17th century, Hudson County was the territory the Lenape or Lenni-Lenape, namely the bands (or family groups) known as the Hackensack, the Tappan, the Raritan, and the Manhattan. They were a seasonally migrational people who practiced small-scale agriculture (companion planting) augmented by hunting and gathering which likely, given the topography of the area, included much (shell)fishing and trapping. These groups had early and frequent contact with the by Europeans, with whom they engaged in trade. Their Algonquian language can still be inferred in many local place names such as Communipaw, Harsimus, Hackensack, Hoboken, Weehawken, Secaucus, and Pamrapo. Henry Hudson, for whom the county and river on which it sits is named, established a claim for the area in 1609 when anchoring his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) at Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove. The west bank of the North River (as it was called) and the cliffs, hills, and marshlands abutting and beyond it, were settled by Europeans (Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot) from the Lowlands around the same time as New Amsterdam.
 * 1852  part of Harrison twp. returned to Bergen County as Union twp. '''
 * 1892  water boundary clarified.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations
Some occupations include the glazing industry. Glazing involved producing and installing windows.The practice involved working with various types of glass; the practice includes cutting, coloring, and heating glass. The glazing industry is heavily involved with architecture. Individuals who worked in the glazing practice were called glaziers, and they would work as apprentices and would join a union in order to learn the trade.

Cemeteries

 * 1849-1984 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

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

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Hoboken
 * Hoboken Dist

Lutheran St. Olav Lutheran Church, Weehawken
 * 1582-1932 Island, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932 at Ancestry ($)

Trinity Lutheran Church, Jersey City

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

Military Records
Civil War

Regiment. Civil War service men in Hudson County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.
 * - 88th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company G
 * - 102nd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company K

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1840-1989 Naturalization Records from 1840 to 1989 can be obtained from the Office of the Clerk of Hudson County ($).

Newspapers

 * Bayonne Herald - full-text of more than 1800 issues spanning 1869-1915 freely available via Google Newspaper Archive

Probate Records
Obtaining Copies of County 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 — 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

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

Family History Centers

 * Maplewood New Jersey Family History Center
 * Newark New Jersey Family History Center
 * Scotch Plains New Jersey Family History Center
 * Union City New Jersey Family History Center
 * Bloomfield Public Library - an affiliate library
 * New Providence Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * New York Genealogical and Biographical Society - an affiliate library

Museums
Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society MuseumWebsite Ellis Island Immigration MuseumWebsite Hoboken Historical MuseumWebsite

Societies
Hudson County Genealogical Society 135 Irving St. Jersey City 07307 Website

Websites

 * The Gloucester County NJGenWeb Project, a member of NJGenWeb, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Hudson County NJ Genealogy


 * – 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.