New Jersey Archives and Libraries

These repositories preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in New Jersey.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories for New Jersey
Camden County Historical Society· Gloucester County Historical Society· Historical Society of Pennsylvania· Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey· Morristown and Morris Township Library· National Archives at New York City· National Archives at Philadelphia· New Jersey Department of Health· New Jersey State Archives· New Jersey State Library· New Jersey Historical Society· New York Public Library· Newark Public Library· Princeton University Firestone Library· Rowan University Campbell Library· Rutgers University Alexander Library· Seton Hall University Libraries

Online Records of New Jersey
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 * West Jersey History Project This is an online community sharing and preserving historical information about New Jersey.
 * West Jersey History Project This is an online community sharing and preserving historical information about New Jersey.

New Jersey Department of Health
Office of Vital Statistics and Registry P.O. Box 370 (mailing address) 140 East Front Street (street address) Trenton, NJ 08625-0370 Telephone: 609-292-4087 or 866-649-8726 toll-free E-mail: Online Requests Internet: Order a Vital Record
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 * Birth, marriage and death records since 1917. Proof of relationship is required. Vital records are also available from local vital records offices in the municipality where the event occurred. See the New Jersey State Archives (next) for vital records from May 1848 – 1916.

New Jersey State Archives
225 West State Street Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0307 Telephone: 609-292-6260 E-mail: [mailto:Feedback@sos.nj.gov Feedback@sos.nj.gov] Internet: State of New Jersey Department of State
 * Wills are one of the most important records for New Jersey research, and many of those wills 1670-1900 are housed here. The New Jersey State Archives is the official repository for all colonial and state government records. Its collections include manuscripts, births 1848-1923, marriages and deaths 1848-1940, deeds 1660s-1880s, military records of the Revolution, petitions, court records 1680-1850, NJ state censuses 1855-1915, election returns, taxes 1772-1882, railroad and turnpike records, and microfilms of pre-1900 county and town records. The state archives also has several searchable databases online. See also:
 * New Jersey State Archives: Searchable Databases The databases include indexes for Marriage and Death  and much more.
 * Bette Marie Barker, Daniel P. Jones, and Karl J. Niederer, Guide to Family History Sources in the New Jersey State Archives, 2nd ed. (Trenton, New Jersey: Division of Archives and Records Management, 1990). ;.

New Jersey State Library
185 West State Street (mailing address: P.O. Box 520) Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0520 Telephone: 609-278-2640 Fax: 609-278-2647 E-Mail: [mailto:refdesk@njstatelib.org refdesk@njstatelib.org] Internet: New Jersey State Library Internet: Genealogy and Local History Collection
 * The state library collects published sources, including printed genealogies, guides, how-to books, indexes, maps and atlases, church records, local histories, city directories, legislative reports, legal digests, and periodicals. It also has microfilm copies of federal censuses of the eastern states, New Jersey state censuses, and major New Jersey newspapers. The library staff will do limited checking of indexes and directories in response to telephone or written requests. They will make photocopies for a fee.

New Jersey Historical Society Library
52 Park Place Newark, New Jersey 07102 Telephone: 973-596-8500 Fax: 973-596-6957 E-mail: [mailto:contactNJHS@jerseyhistory.org contactNJHS@jerseyhistory.org] Internet: New Jersey Historical Society Library Internet: Genealogist's Guide
 * NJ books, censuses, maps, city directories, local histories, vital records, church records, family folders, and indexes to New Jersey family history sources. Guides to the collections are available on the library website. Fees are charged to visit the library. The library staff will do a limited amount of research for a fee.

Rutgers University Alexander Library
169 College Avenue New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1163 Telephone: 732-932-7006 Fax: 732-932-7012 E-mail: Ask a Librarian form Internet: Special Collections and University Archives Internet: Genealogical Resources
 * Consider this your best, first-stop for New Jersey research.
 * The regular collection includes material from the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. It also holds biographies, histories, genealogies, family folders, Bibles, census, special indexes, cemetery transcripts, and professional genealogists' notes on New Jersey families.
 * Special Collections include manuscripts, letters, rare books, New Jersey town records, diaries since 1746, historical maps, newspapers, and the University archives. Diaries and journals are inventoried in:
 * Donald A. Sinclair, comp., A Guide to Manuscript Diaries and Journals in the Special Collections Department, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Library, 1980). ; Not available at the Family History Library.

Camden County Historical Society
1900 Park Boulevard Camden, NJ 08103 Telephone: 856-964-3333 E-mail: [mailto:admin@cchsnj.org admin@cchsnj.org] Internet: Archives Internet: Camden County Historical Society
 * They have the single largest collection of Camden county historical records, including 20,000 books, cemetery records, pamphlets, maps, deeds, diaries and genealogical material, as well as maps, Camden County newspapers, and city directories for both Camden and Philadelphia. Their collection of South Jersey documents is growing.

Gloucester County Historical Society Library
17 Hunter Street Woodbury, New Jersey 08096-4605 Telephone: 856-845-4771 E-mail: [mailto:library@gchsnj.org library@gchsnj.org] Internet: Gloucester County Historical Society Library
 * The library has an extensive collection of census records, vital records, cemetery sources, maps, church records, local histories, city directories, genealogical charts, and an index of slaves and servants in wills 1670-1817. Many are digitized and available online.

Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey
222 Livingston Ave. New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Telephone: 732-249-4894 E-mail: [mailto:info.jhscj@gmail.com info.jhscj@gmail.com] Internet: Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey
 * The archival collection includes organizational documents, historical records, photographs, oral histories, area Jewish newspapers, individual family files, and other research materials.

Morristown and Morris Township Library
North Jersey History and Genealogy Center 1 Miller Rd. Morristown, NJ 07960 Telephone: 973-538-3473 Fax: 973-267-4064 E-mail: [mailto:info@jfpl.org info@jfpl.org] Internet: North Jersey History and Genealogy Center Internet: Our Collections
 * New Jersey and early American histories, genealogies, maps, historical newspapers, historic preservation materials, manuscripts, city directories of New Jersey and New York City, Morris County surname files, and family papers. Newark Public Library Main Branch.jpg

Newark Public Library
5 Washington Street P.O. Box 630 Newark, New Jersey 07101-0630 Telephone: 201-733-7784 or (New Jersey questions) 201-733-7775 E-mail: [mailto:njreference@npl.org njreference@npl.org] Internet: Newark Public Library
 * The library has newspapers and city directories for Newark and microfilm copies of all existing New Jersey federal and state censuses. This library serves as a New Jersey State Documents Depository as well as a Regional Depository for U.S. Government Publications. They also have African American and Hispanic collections. The staff will search and copy obituaries and other records for a fee.Princeton University Firestone Library.jpg

Princeton University Firestone Library
One Washington Road Princeton, NJ 08544-2098 Telephone: 609-258-1470 E-mail: Contact Us form Internet: Firestone Library
 * They have a huge manuscript collection, as well as histories, biographies, and a government documents depository.

Rowan University Campbell Library
Archives and Special Collections 201 Mullica Hill Rd. Glassboro, NJ 08028 Telephone: 856-256-4967 Fax: 856-256-4924 E-mail: Ask a Librarian form Internet: Rowan University Campbell Library find, about us, services, places and spaces, help, ProfSearch, catalog, quick links, contact. Internet: Archives and Special Collections collections list including the very large Stewart Collection  of pamphlets, photographs, genealogical materials, and books. Internet: RU Campbell Library Catalog searchable by keyword, subject, author, and title, among others.
 * Their genealogical strength is in Delaware River Valley history, including nearly every Quaker line in New Jersey. This is a crucial resource if you have early Quaker ancestors in New Jersey. Before 1992 it was known as the Glassboro State College Savitz Library.

Seton Hall University Libraries
Archives and Special Collections Center 400 South Orange Avenue South Orange, New Jersey 07079 Telephone: 973-761-9476 E-mail: [mailto:archives@shu.ed archives@shu.ed] Internet: Special Collections and Seton Hall University Catholic New Jersey collection descriptions Internet: Genealogy Resources
 * Special Collections includes Roman Catholic parish registers and cemetery records in the Archdiocese of Newark comprising Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Please call ahead.
 * Many of their Roman Catholic church records are also available as Family History Library microfilms—see their LDS Microfilm Index, and contrast it with their list of Non-Microfilmed (Catholic) Church Records.
 * They also offer a remote research request service via their Genealogy Research Requests form.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699 Telephone: 215-732-6200 Fax: 215-732-2680 E-mail: [mailto:ReadyReference@hsp.org ReadyReference@hsp.org] Internet: http://hsp.org/
 * Has early Quakers, Germans, Scots-Irish, and other settlers in William Penn's colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. This is also an excellent place to learn about early settlers of New Jersey. Records which have been published are normally well-indexed. This society also has 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century manuscripts (letters, diaries, account books, deeds, minutes, and scrapbooks), passenger arrival lists and indexes, local and regional history, ethnic and immigrant studies materials, 600,000 books, 20 million manuscripts, over 300,000 graphics items, and 300 years of newspapers.

National Archives at New York City
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House One Bowling Green New York, NY 10004 Telephone: Toll-free 866-840-1752 or 212-401-1620 Fax: 212-401-1638 E-mail: [mailto:newyork.archives@nara.gov newyork.archives@nara.gov] Internet: National Archives at New York City
 * The National Archives at New York City has records created by federal agencies in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The archives has naturalization records, internal revenue service records, customs lists, and records of the U.S. District Court of Appeals. The archives also has microfilms of all available federal census records, many naturalization records, passenger arrival lists, military records, and other historical resources.
 * The National Archives has announced that in the fall of 2012 the records of this branch will be moved to the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at One Bowling Green in New York City.

National Archives at Philadelphia
14700 Townsend Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Telephone: 215-305-2044 Fax: 215-305-2052 E-mail: [mailto:Philadelphia.archives@nara.gov Philadelphia.archives@nara.gov] Internet: National Archives at Philadelphia
 * Has federal agency and court records for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. All U.S. federal censuses 1790-1940, and indexes. Also have passenger arrivals in Philadelphia 1800-1945 and Baltimore, pension and bounty land warrant applications, naturalizations 1790-1990, early federal history, diplomacy, military history, Chinese-Americans, World War II homefront, National Park Service, merchant marine, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, federal tax evasion and smuggling cases. Using these archives helps New Jersey research because of close ties to Pennsylvania in earlier years.

New York Public Library
U.S. History, Local History &amp; Genealogy Division Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 315S New York, NY 10018-2788 Telephone: 212-930-0829 E-mail: Ask a librarian Internet: http://www.nypl.org/
 * This is one of the largest research libraries in the world including excellent genealogical resources for New Jersey. The library has city and telephone directories, vital records indexes, local histories, genealogies, federal and state censuses, passenger lists, genealogical collections (including DAR transcripts), and church records. For maps, write to the Map Division at the same address.

Family History Centers
Some of the above collections are partially duplicated at the Family History Library and its branch Family History Centers around the world. Most centers can help you by: There are several centers located in New Jersey, for example:
 * Giving you limited, personal, one-on-one research suggestions (but they do not do research for you)
 * Providing access to genealogical records either through the Internet FHC Portal, or a microfilm loan program
 * Offering free how-to classes (varies by location).
 * Fostering contact between genealogical enthusiasts
 * Morristown New Jersey Family History Center 283 James St. Morris Township, NJ Telephone: 973-539-5362.
 * Each center is staffed by volunteers and has varying hours and services. Telephone in advance to verify their hours.

To locate one of these centers in your own neighborhood, see Find a Family History Center.

For Further Reading

 * Edith, Hoelle. Genealogical Resources in Southern New Jersey, 3rd ed (Woodbury, New Jersey: Gloucester County Historical Society, 1989). This book is a guide to libraries and collections in the seven southern counties of New Jersey. ;.
 * Mary R. Murrin, comp., New Jersey Historical Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the State (Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1987). This book contains addresses and collection descriptions of 263 public libraries, historical societies, archives, and museums. ;.
 * Mary Alice Quigley, Judith A. Fullerton, and Diane E. Kauffman, comp., Historical Organizations in New Jersey: A Directory, revised edition, (Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1983). This book contains the addresses to over 450 historical societies, county historians, museums, and lineage societies. ;.