Sussex County, New Jersey Genealogy

United States New Jersey  Sussex County

Sussex 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.

Sussex County, New Jersey Historical Facts

 * Named for Sussex County, England by the Royal Governor of New Jersey, Jonathan Belcher because it was the ancient seat of His Grace Thoams Pelham-Holles, the first Duke of Newcastle-upon-Trent and first Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne who at the time was the Secretary for the Northern Department, and later the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom. He was Governor Belcher's political supervisor. (source: Wikipedia.org)
 * The area was originally inhabited by a subgroup of the Lenape tribe. European settlement started in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, with the arrival of Dutch and French Huguenot colonists moving southwest from the Hudson River area, who were later joined by Palatine Germans and British settlers. (source: Wikipedia.org)

Parent County

 * 16 May 1753, set off from Morris County.

Boundary Changes
The area of Sussex county has historically belonged to : At the time of its creation, Sussex County included current Sussex and Warren Counties, as well as part of New York State. A boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey after the French and Indian War settled the border between the two states (and, in the process, also the northern border of the county) in 1769. (source: Wikipedia.org)
 * 1694 – 1714 - Burlington County
 * 1714 – 1739 - Hunterdon County
 * 1739 – 1753 – Morris County
 * 1753 – present – Sussex County
 * 20 November 1824, Warren County set off.

For animated maps illustrating New Jersey county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation New Jersey County Boundary Maps" (1683-1928) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county. For information on which federal censuses for the entire state of New Jersey have survived, see this list of available and lost census schedules.

Federal Census

 * See the New Jersey federal census collection page for availability.

State Census

 * 1671 Census of New Castle County, Delaware, Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, PA, and Burlington County, NJ – published in Peter Stebbins Craig, 1671 Census of the Delaware (Philadelphia, Pa.: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1999)[FHL Book 974 X2c 1671].
 * 1693 a special census of Swedes associated with the Swedish Lutheran Church also included the area of Burlington County, NJ – published in in Craig, Peter Stebbins. The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware. Winter Park, Florida: SAG Publications, 1993. (Family History Library book 973 X4c)


 * 1855 at | FamilySearch — index and images (incomplete)
 * 1865 at FamilySearch — images (incomplete)
 * 1885 New Jersey, State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1895 New Jersey State Census, 1895 at Ancestry ($) – index and images
 * 1905 New Jersey State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1915 New Jersey State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch — index

Church Records

 * 1675-1970 - at FamilySearch — index and images

For information on churches in Sussex County, see:

New Jersey Historical Records Survey. ''Directory of churches in New Jersey, vol. XIX. Sussex County''. Newark, N.J.: The Historical Records Survey, 1940. (FHL 974.976 E4h)

For information on church records held by the Sussex County Historical Society, see:

Sussex County Historical Society (New Jersey) available church records. Unpublished manuscript. (FHL 974.976 C4s)

Specific Congregations:
 * 1741-1830 - "Church Register of the Walpeck Congregation," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Baptisms 1741-1753: Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul. 1909):193-205; Baptisms 1753-1772: Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1909):264-275; Baptisms 1772-1791: Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan. 1910):28-43; Baptisms 1791-1807: Vol. 41, No. 2 (Apr. 1910):83-98; Baptisms 1807-1816: Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul. 1910):200-215; Baptisms 1817-1830, Marriages 1741-1769: Vol. 41, No. 4 (Oct. 1910):345-366. Digital version at New York Family History ($); . Internet Archive has digitized Vol. 40 and Vol. 41 - free.


 * 1785-1819 - Canfield, Amos. "The Clove Dutch Reformed Church of Clove Valley, Wantage, Sussex Co., N.J.," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Baptisms 1785-1801: Vol. 57, No. 4 (Oct. 1926):355-364; Baptisms 1801-1818, Marriages 1798-1812, Membership Lists 1793-1819, 1787 Petition, List of Elders and Deacons 1788-1806: Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan. 1927):45-55. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

County-Level Records
Available from the New Jersey State Archives:
 * Colonial Marriage Bonds, ca. 1666-1799 (it is important to note that most marriages did not use the bonds  – free to search, $ for photocopies)
 * County Clerks' Marriage Record Search (State Archives own the original original books kept by the clerks of Sussex County for 1817-1878, and will provide mail reference from them ($); some Sussex County marriage records – 1795 onwards; for 1898-1910, there is also a register of non-resident marriage license applications.)
 * Marriage Records, May 1848 - May 1878 (free to search, $ for photocopies)
 * Death Records, June 1878 - June 1895 (free to search, $ for photocopies)

Court Records
On the website of the New Jersey State Archives, users can search for and order photocopies ($) of the following types of records:
 * Stark, Brad and Carol Stark. [Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Sussex County)]. The minute book of Sussex County, New Jersey, court records, 1764-1766. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books, 1993.
 * New Jersey. Court of Common Pleas (Sussex County). Court records, 1778-1902 [Sussex County, New Jersey]. FHL microfilm 961012. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. (Includes naturalizations (1808-1902), slaves' births (1804-1833), and officers' oaths of office and allegiance (1778-1856). Parts indexed. Also browsable online.
 * New Jersey. Orphans' Court (Sussex County). Minutes, 1804-1903. FHL microfilms 960526 - 960533. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
 * New Jersey. Circuit Court (Sussex County). Circuit Court judgements, 1838-1907. FHL microfilms 959881, 959882, 961008-961011. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
 * Meeker, Sharon. Sussex County, New Jersey marriages from Justice-of-the-Peace dockets 1773-1828. Budd Lake, NJ : Legacy of America, 1999. (Please note that this includes only the marriages performed by the justices of the peace.)
 * Supreme Court Case Files, 1704-1844 (54,959 case files, over 193,953 names - data entry ongoing)
 * Legal Name Changes, 1847-1947 (12,253 name changes, 46,0008 names)

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

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

Societies
Sussex County Historical Society 82 Main Street, Box 913 Newton, NJ 07860 Telephone:973-383-6010 E-mail:[mailto:sussexcountyhs@gmail.com sussexcountyhs@gmail.com] Website

Wallpack Historical Society PO Box 212 Layton, N.J. 07851 Telephone: 973-948-6671 Website

Sussex County, New Jersey Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Sussex County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Sussex County NJ Genealogy

Sussex County, New Jersey Neighboring counties



 * Morris
 * Passaic
 * Warren
 * Orange, New York
 * Monroe, Pennsylvania
 * Pike, Pennsylvania