New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States New Jersey

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of an index to selected marriage records located at the New Jersey State Library and to marriage card indexes created by the Gloucester County Historical Society, the Salem County Historical Society and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Marriage records are for the years 1670 to 1980.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information for both bride and groom:
 * Age
 * Date of Birth
 * Birthplace
 * Full name of father
 * Full name of mother (usually maiden name)
 * Marital status
 * Previous spouse(s)
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place
 * Race

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of marriage
 * The place of marriage
 * The name of the intended spouse

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind there may be more than one person in the records with the same name. Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life. If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names. Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information from the marriage record to locate the family in census records
 * Use the information from the marriage record to locate the family in church records
 * Use the information from the marriage record to locate the family in land records
 * Use the information from the marriage record to locate the family in additional county and town records

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):