Cape May County, New Jersey Genealogy

United States &gt; New Jersey &gt; Cape May County

County Courthouse
7 N. Main Street DN 109 PO Box 5000 Cape May Court House NJ 08210-5000 609-465-1010 phone

Parent County

 * 12 Nov 1692 from Cumberland County.

Boundary Changes

 * 1685, court set up
 * 1692, county given boundaries in West Jersey
 * 1694, boundaries changed to transfer Great Egg Harbor area to Gloucester County
 * 1710, boundary changed
 * 1822, boundary with Cumberland County clarified
 * 1844, part of Cumberland County added
 * 1845, the 1844 part of Cumberland County returned
 * 1846, coastal boundary established
 * 1878, part of Maurice River twp., Cumberland County, added to Upper twp.
 * 1891, part of Maurice River twp., Cumberland County, added to Dennis twp.
 * 1906, coastal boundary established.

Neighboring Counties
Atlantic | Cumberland

Newspapers

 * Cape May County Herald


 * Cape May Star and Wave

Obtaining Copies of County Probate Records
Copies of recorded probate records and the estate files can be obtained from the surrogate's offices for a fee. Addresses of surrogate's offices are found in:


 * Eichholz, Alice, Editor. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources. Revised Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1992. (Family History Library book 973 D27rb 1992.) Explains state-by-state history, vital records, census, background sources, periodicals, archives, libraries, societies, maps, land, probate, court, tax, cemetery, church, and military records. Includes county boundary map and table which shows when each county was created and the parent counties.

In addition, copies of the original wills, administrations, inventories, and guardianships sent to Trenton since 1901 can be ordered from:


 * Clerk of the Superior Court
 * Records Information Center
 * P.O. Box 967
 * Trenton, NJ 08625-0967
 * Telephone: 609-292-4978
 * Fax: 609-777-0094
 * Internet: http://www.answers.com/topic/new-jersey-superior-court

Vital Records

 * Archives of the Cape May County Clerk

Societies and Libraries

 * Cape County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society
 * Cape May County Library
 * Greater Cape May Historical Society

Web Sites

 * The Cape May County NYGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Cape May County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Cape May County. (Backup site)
 * FamilySearch.org Family History Library Catalog for Cape May County.