Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy

Guide to Middlesex County, New Jersey ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Middlesex County is located in the east central region of the state. It was created on February 16, 1867. Hastings is the county seat. The county was named for the Historic English county of Middlesex.

County Courthouse
Middlesex County Courthouse 56 Paterson Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone: 732-645-4300 Middlesex County Website

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, court and land records. County Surrogate has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline

 * 26 May 1688, part taken for Somerset County.
 * 1710, some boundary changes
 * 1714, part of Somerset County taken back
 * 1790, some boundary changes with Somerset County
 * 1822, water boundary established
 * 22 February 1838, West Windsor and part of East Windsor twps. to Mercer County.
 * 1844, part of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County
 * 1844, part of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County and returned in 1845
 * 1847, piece of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County
 * 1850, part of Franklin twp. of Somerset County to North Brunswick twp.; water boundary clarified
 * 1855, some changes to boundary with Somerset County and again in 1858
 * 1860, part of Woodbridge twp. to Rahway, Union County
 * 1871, boundary with Plainfield, Union County changed
 * 1878, boundary at Kingston, Somerset County clarified
 * 1892, water boundary further clarified
 * 1939, land to Matawan, Monmouth County.

Census Records

 * 1855 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1895 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1675-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Lutheran
 * Records of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Perth Amboy, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Methodist
 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – ($), free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Contains the church records of:
 * Monroe: Methodist Church

Quakers
 * 1687-1825 Vail, Hugh D. "Records of Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Monthly Meeting of Friends (Formerly Held at Amboy and Woodbridge) from 1687 to 1825," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct. 1877):176-181; Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan. 1878):28-37; Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr. 1878):64-71; Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct. 1878):174-180; Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1879):20-23; Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul. 1879):139-143; Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan. 1880):42-46. Digital version at New York Family History ($); . Internet Archives has digitized Vols. 8-9, Vol. 10, and Vol. 11 - free. Includes births, marriages.
 * 1826-1889 Haviland, Frank. "Records of Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Monthly Meetings of Friends (Formerly Held at Amboy and Woodbridge)," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 114, no. 1 (Jan. 1983):23-36. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * New Brunswick

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans
 * 1780-1846

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records Middlesex County Land Records Search website Middlesex County land records are freely searchable online back to January 1950. Watermarked copies are free to print; printing clean copies is a paid service. Cookies must be enabled for the site to function properly and be sure to read the User Guide.

Maps and Gazetteers
The Sanborn Map Company is the oldest mapping company in the United States. Founded in 1866, the company created detailed building maps of cities and towns all across the country, primarily for use by insurance companies. These maps also have been used extensively by local government agencies for over a century in conducting their daily operations efficiently. Genealogists, local history buffs, city planners, architects, and countless others have been drawn to the quality of detail found in them. Digital archive provided by Princeton University.
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Perth Amboy
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Woodbridge
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: South Amboy
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Metuchen
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Carteret
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Sayreville
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: South River
 * Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: New Brunswick
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Middlesex County for settlers included:
 * Raritan River a navigable river which rises in Morris County and flows through central New Jersey past Manville to New Brunswick where it meets the tide.
 * King's Highway 1673 connected Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina and many coastal cities between including Philadelphia, New Brunswick, and New York City.
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected New Brunswick, New Jersey on the Raritan River (and NY City) to Bordontown, New Jersey on the Delaware River and parts of Pennsylvania including Philadelphia.

Military Records

 * Veterans individual grave field report sheets, Middlesex County, New Jersey

Civil War
 * Middlesex County. Civil war enlistments bounties, 1864-1865

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * New Brunswick Daily Times 1871-1916 - digitized archive of the newspaper; freely available via the New Brunswick Public Library
 * New Brunswick, New Jersey Newspaper Extracts is a database part of an ongoing project to extract deaths, marriages, and notable events such as disappearances, fires, and crimes reported by The Daily Times in the 1870’s. Use this database as an aid for finding articles and obituaries in the New Brunswick Public Library's images of The Daily Times.
 * The South Amboy Citizen (1910-1943)
 * The South Amboy Citizen (1944-2000) The South Amboy Citizen offers online access from July 2, 1910, through December 29, 2000. Provided by the Sadie Pope Dowdell Library. (Note: There is no search capability for the South Amboy Citizen but you can use Google Advanced search http://www.google.com/advanced_search and enter "dowdell.org/citizen" into the bottom box labeled “Search within a site or domain” to search the paper.)
 * Woodbridge Township Newspapers digitized archive freely available via the Woodbridge Township Public Library
 * Carteret Press (1925 -1965)
 * Fords Beacon (1936 - 1961)
 * Independent Leader (1940 -1965)
 * Leader Press (1967 - 1970)
 * The Independent Hour (1876 - 1877)
 * The Weekly Register (1898 - 1902)
 * The Woodbridge Leader (1927 - 1928)
 * The Woodbridge News (1899 - 1902)
 * Woodbridge Independent (1919 - 1938)
 * Woodbridge Leader (1926 -1939)
 * New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1656-1999 New Jersey Wills and Probate Records 1656-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1670-1760 Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1670-1760 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1670-1817 New Jersey Abstract of Wills 1670-1817 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1678-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Use the Surrogate's Docket Index 1700-1972 to obtain the Docket Number for the name. Then, use the Docket Number to locate the correct Estate file.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Birth

 * 1600-1990 New Jersey Vital Records, Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Findmypast — index & images, ($)
 * 1660-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; ''Also at: Ancestry Index ($)
 * 1746-1795 New Jersey Baptisms 1746-1795 at Findmypast — index, ($)
 * 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Marriage

 * 1600s-1900s US Marriages, New Jersey at Findmypast — index, ($)
 * 1670-1965 New Jersey Marriage Records, 1670-1965 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 1670-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1678-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1683-1802 New Jersey Marriage Records, 1683-1802 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 1684-1895 New Jersey Compiled Marriage Records, 1684-1895 at Ancestry — index, ($)
 * 1901-1914 New Jersey Marriage License Index, 1901-1914 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1901-2016 New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016 at Ancestry — index, ($);
 * 1901-2016 New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016 at Findmypast - Browse index ($)
 * 1915-2016 New Jersey Marriage License Index, 1915-2016 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * For a complete list of all New Jersey Marriage databases

Death

 * 1600-1990 New Jersey Vital Records, Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Findmypast — index & images, ($)
 * 1798-1971 New Jersey Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 at Ancestry — index, ($)
 * 1848-1878 Death Records, May 1848 - May 1878 at New Jersey State Archives - index, $ for photocopies
 * 1878-1900 Death Records, June 1878 - December 1900 at New Jersey Department of State — index, $ for photocopies
 * 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1901-2017 The New Jersey Death Index at New Jersey Death Index — index; Also at: Ancestry index ($)
 * 1920-2017 New Jersey Death Index, 1920-1929, 1949-2017 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * For a complete list of all New Jersey Death databases

Family History Centers

 * East Brunswick New Jersey Family History Center
 * Scotch Plains New Jersey Family History Center
 * Middletown Township Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - Atlantic Highlands - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - Colts Neck - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - Hazlet - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - Holmdel - an affiliate library
 * Monmouth County Library - Marlboro - an affiliate library

Libraries
Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission Middlesex County Annex 841 Georges Rd. North Brunswick, NJ 08902 Telephone: 732-745-4489 Website

Societies
Plainsboro Historical Society 641 Plainsboro Rd Ste A Plainsboro, NJ 08536 Telephone: 609-799-9040 Metuchen/edison Historical Society PO Box 61 Metuchen NJ Website South River Historical and Preservation Society PO Box 446 South River 08882 Website Website

Websites

 * Middlesex County NJGenWeb, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Middlesex County NJ Genealogy


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.