Union County, New Jersey Genealogy

Union County, New Jersey ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

New Jersey Online Genealogy Records

Description
Union County is located in the region of the state. It was created in 1857. Elizabeth is the county seat. The county was named for The union of the United States, which was being threatened by the dispute over slavery.

Parent County

 * 9 March 1857, created from Essex County.

Boundary Changes

 * 1860, received part of Woodbridge twp., Middlesex County as part of Rahway twp.
 * 1871, Essex County boundary clarified
 * 1871, Plainfield boundary with Piscataway twp. of Middlesex County changed
 * 1876, boundaries with Essex and Somerset counties clarified
 * 1882, Essex County boundary clarified and again in 1892
 * 1891, part of Millburn twp., Essex County to Springfield twp. and returned in 1958.

For animated maps illustrating New Jersey county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation New Jersey County Boundary Maps" (1683-1928) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Census

 * 1855 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1895 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1915 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Church Records

 * 1675-1970 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Gazetteers

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

Maps

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

Military

 * Goodwin, Aaron. "The Elizabeth-Town Associates: Signatures on the Original Answer, 1751," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 138, No. 3 (Jul. 2007):189-198. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Civil War


 * - 83rd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company K

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1796-1991 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers
Courtesy of the Plainfield Public Library:


 * Courier News Obituary Index: mid-1920s-mid-1980s

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:

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. (.) 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 Phone: (609) 292-4978 Fax: (609) 777-0094

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

Courthouse
Union County Courthouse 2 Broad Street Elizabeth, NJ 07207-2204 Phone: (908) 527-4966 County Clerk has land records from 1857 and military discharge records from 1941. Clerk Superior Court has divorce records from 1848 and court records. County Surrogate has probate records from 1857. Town Clerks have birth and death records.

Family History Centers

 * Maplewood New Jersey Family History Center
 * Morristown New Jersey Family History Center
 * Newark New Jersey Family History Center
 * Scotch Plains New Jersey Family History Center


 * Bloomfield Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Morristown & Morris Township Library - an affiliate library
 * New Providence Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Plainfield New Jersey Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Plainfield Public Library 800 Park Avenue Plainfield, NJ 07060 Telephone: 908-757-1111 The Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections Department offers newspapers, city directories, local histories, church records, biographies, and more.

Societies
Union County Historical Society 116 E. Fourth Ave. Roselle, NJ 07203 Telephone: 908-245-9010 Website

Cranford Historical Society 38 Springfield Avenue Cranford, NJ 07016 Telephone: 908-276-0082 E-mail:[mailto:info@unioncountyhistoricalsocietynj.org info@unioncountyhistoricalsocietynj.org] Website

Hillside Historical Society 111 Conant St Hillside, NJ 07205 Telephone: 908-353-8828 Website

New Providence Historical Society 1350 Springfield Ave. New Providence 07974 Website

Plainfield, Historical Society 602 West Front Street Plainfield NJ Website

Rahway Historical Society 1632 St. Georges Ave. Rahway Website

Springfield Historical Society 126 Morris Ave Springfield, NJ. Telephone: 973-912-4464 Facebook

Summit Historical Society 90 Butler Parkway Summit, NJ 07901 Telephone: 908-277-1747 Website

Westfield, Genealogical Society Of 550 East Broad Street Westfield Website

Birth

 * 1901-1903, at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records

1606-1981 - New Jersey, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $


 * 1670-1980 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
 * 1930-1938 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Death

 * 1901-1903 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
 * 1901-2017 New Jersey, U.S., Death Index, 1901-2017 at Ancestry - index ($)

Union County, New Jersey Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Union County NJ Genealogy

Union County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties



 * Essex
 * Hudson
 * Middlesex
 * Morris
 * Somerset
 * Richmond, New York