New Jersey History

The following important events in New Jersey history affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements.

1623: The Dutch of New Netherland intermittently occupied Fort Nassau (now Brooklawn, Camden, New Jersey) starting in 1623.

1630 The northeastern part of New Jersey was the first to be permanently settled because of its close proximity to New Amsterdam (New York City). Bergen (now Jersey City), on the west bank of the Hudson River, was the first permanent Dutch settlement starting in 1630.

1641 The English built a blockhouse at Varkens Kill, now Salem, Salem, New Jersey. Disease took many, and by 1643 many others straggled back to New England. The few remaining accepted Swedish rule.

1642-1643: The New Sweden Colony expanded from present-day Wilmington, Delaware north to Philadelphia and east to New Jersey at New Stockholm, now Bridgeport, New Jersey, and Sveaborg, now Swedesboro, New Jersey. Fort New Elfsborg (Nya Älfborg), now west of Salem, New Jersey was built by New Sweden in 1643 and garrisoned until 1651.

1654-1655: In 1654 New Sweden captured Fort Casimir (now New Castle, Delaware) from the Dutch without a fight and renamed Fort Trinty (Trefaldighets). In 1655 New Netherland returned with a large army and all of New Sweden in presend-day Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey submitted to Dutch rule.

1664: As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War New Netherland including West Jersey was surrendered to the English.

1664-1738: New Jersey was part of New York. Some New Jersey probate records from this period are filed in New York City.

1673-1674: A new war breaks out and the Dutch send a large armada to retake New Netherland for a few months. But as the war ends the colony is ceeded to England for the last time.

1676: The province was divided into the separate proprietorships East Jersey and West Jersey. The capital of East Jersey was Elizabeth and then Perth Amboy as of 1686. Since 1681, the capital of West Jersey was Burlington. Each proprietorship was governed by its own board of proprietors. Between 1672 and 1682, William Penn and other Quakers purchased both proprietorships.

1683: Four counties—Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth—were formed in East Jersey. The original West Jersey counties of Burlington and Salem were established as places where courts were held in 1681. A few townships in both provinces date from 1675, but none were formally created until 1693.

1687-1693: The line between East Jersey and West Jersey was agreed upon in 1687. It ran from Little Egg Harbor on the southeast coast to the most northerly point on the Delaware River lying within New Jersey.

1702: The Quaker proprietors surrendered control to the crown, and the two Jerseys were united to form a single royal colony. The two boards of proprietors retained land titles.

1758: (August) First Indian reservation established by New Jersey Colonial Assembly. The Edge Pillock Reservation in Burlington County, site of present day Indian Mills. About 100 Indians chiefly Unami settleed on the reservation.

1769: After long conflicts, the present border with New York was agreed upon. The line was confirmed by the King in Council in 1773 and in 1774.

1776: New Jersey declared itself an independent state. In 1787 New Jersey became the third state to ratify the Constitution.

1790: Trenton became the capital.

1801: Last of Delaware tibe moved to New Stockbridge near Lake Oneida, New York, later (1822) moved to Green Bay Wisconsin.

1804: From this time on, children born as slaves in New Jersey became free upon reaching the age of 25 for males and 21 for females. Registers of slave births began to be kept.

1844: The property qualification for voting was removed.

1846: A law to abolish slavery made all children born to slaves free from birth, but those already in bondage became "apprentices" to their former masters for life. There was still some slavery until the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.

A useful set of volumes concerning New Jersey's history is:


 * Kull, Irving S. New Jersey, A History. Five Volumes. New York, New York: The American Historical Society, Incorporated. 1930-1932. (Family History Library book 974.9 H2k, films 1697477 and 2055167 item 5.)

Transcripts of many New Jersey public documents from the colonial and revolutionary period have been published in:


 * Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. [Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Second Series]. 42 Volumes. Newark, New Jersey: Daily Journal Establishment, 1880-1949. (Family History Library book 974.9 B49a; films 844833-52 and 438588; some volumes are on fiche.) This set contains will abstracts, patents, deeds, newspaper abstracts, and marriages. (An index to volumes 1-10 is on Family History Library film 844833 item 3. Most volumes are individually indexed.)

Local Histories
The Family History Library has many county, town, and church histories. Hundreds of local histories are available in the Genealogy and Local History collection on microfiche. See the United States Research Outline for Marion J. Kaminkow's United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress (Family History Library book 973 A3ka).

For an excellent bibliography of local histories for New Jersey, refer to:


 * Burr, Nelson R. A Narrative and Descriptive Bibliography of New Jersey. The New Jersey Historical Series. Volume 21 Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1964. (Not available at the Family History Library.)

Since 1979 some New Jersey counties and municipalities have had officially appointed historians.


 * Local Historians Appointed by Counties and Municipalities as of November 14, 1989'. Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1989. (Family History Library pamphlet 974.9 A1 no. 98.) Has addresses of 10 county and 142 municipal historians.