New Jersey Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is an index of marriages for the years 1678 to 1985 taken from church records and civil registration. This index is not complete for any particular place, region or time period. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index.

When using this collection be aware that when volunteers entered data from the 1878-1900 New Jersey birth, marriage, and death index registers, the date spans were misunderstood. The registers span from July of one year through June of the next (excepting a set of registers covering June 1878, and another set covering July-Dec 1900). Unfortunately, much of the data entry was done as if the registers covered single calendar years. Thus, many if not most of the events from the months of January, February, March, April, May, and June during the 1878-1900 period are shown in your databases with the wrong year, the date is generally one year too early.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Marriage
 * The name of bride and groom
 * Marriage date and place
 * Parents' names
 * Date and place of birth
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Race

Coverage Table
The coverage table shows the places and time periods of the original records in this collection. The table indicates how many records the collection has from each place. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the person at the time of marriage
 * The name of the intended spouse
 * The approximate date of marriage
 * The place where the marriage occurred

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify

I Can't Find the Person 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
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of New Jersey.
 * New Jersey Guided Research
 * New Jersey Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * New Jersey Bureau of Archives and History. New Jersey marriage bonds, W. P. A. marriage records, 1670-1800
 * New Jersey, marriage indexes, 1901-1938

Related FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

 * New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956
 * New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980

Related Digital Books

 * New Jersey Historical Records Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, Work Projects Administration. Guide to vital statistics records in New Jersey 2 volumes. Newark, New Jersey : Historical Records Survey (New Jersey), 1941

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.