New Jersey, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States New Jersey

What is in the Collection?
This article describes multiple collections. These collections are indexes to selected marriage records for the years 1682 to 1956.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of New Jersey marriages, click here.

Coverage Table
The Coverage Table shows the places and time periods covered in the indexed records for this collection. 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.

Marriage information is generally handwritten on sheets of paper. After 1848, information was recorded on pre-printed forms. After 1897, forms were required from the witnesses and the bride and groom requiring additional information.

The earliest law requiring marriage registration was in 1673, but few counties complied with the law. Marriages were performed either by a clergyman or justice of the peace. In 1719, law required that marriages have a license or banns published three weeks before the marriage. In the colonial period, it is estimated that most marriages were by banns, but about 25 percent were by license. Some marriage bonds from 1711-1795 do exist. Beginning in 1795, marriages were recorded by county courts of common pleas. State registration of marriages began in May 1848.

Marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs.

Information included on marriage records is usually considered fairly reliable. Sometimes the bride or groom would lie about their age. If someone other than the groom, a relative or friend applied for the license, he may not have known all the information called for on the license.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The earlier records usually contain less information, but often include the following:


 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Date of marriage
 * County of marriage
 * Name and title of officiator

After 1848, the following information is usually included:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Age of bride and groom
 * Whether single or widowed
 * Officiator at marriage, their title and residence
 * Names of parents
 * Occupation

After 1897, the following additional information is included:


 * Number of times previously married
 * Was marriage terminated by death or divorce
 * Birthplace of the bride and groom
 * Any impediments to the marriage which might exist
 * Parental consent, if required

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Identifying information such as the approximate marriage date and place

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s 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 marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * 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 parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * 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.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * 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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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 Citations

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