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New Jersey
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
Records At The Family History Library
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Land And Property
Maps
Military Records
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Periodicals
Probate Records
Public Records
Societies
Taxation
Town Records
Vital Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

LAND AND PROPERTYLook this term up in the glossary.

There are no records created in New Jersey of grants made during the Dutch period. See the New York Research Outline (31069) for information about grants made prior to 1664.


Proprietary LandLook this term up in the glossary. Records

In 1664 King Charles granted New Jersey to his brother, James, Duke of York. James, in turn, conveyed it as a proprietary colony to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They chose Philip Carteret to be the first governor. Before Governor Carteret's arrival in August 1665, Governor Nicolls of New York made the first land grants (see the “Emigration and Immigration” section of this outline). Once Carteret arrived, he chose a surveyor general to lay out lands. He also chose a chief secretary to record or register sales.

Following Berkeley's sale of his share of the colony in 1674, the area was divided in 1676 into two separate provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey. Each was governed by its own board of proprietors. The two boards of proprietors sold land to individuals through proprietary deeds. Each board kept separate records of these sales. The records include surveys, deeds, and minutes. These are records of the original sales of the land. Subsequent exchanges were recorded by the secretary of state until 1785 or by the county clerk, primarily since 1785 (see below).

East JerseyLook this term up in the glossary. Proprietary Records. The proprietary land records for East Jersey have not been microfilmed. The Family History Library has transcripts of surveys for what is now Passaic County, titled Perth Amboy Surveys for East Jersey, 1678 to 1814 (FHL films 947881-83; computer number 320117, index on film 947881; computer number 320117). The Surveyor General's Office, 272 High Street, Perth Amboy, has surveys and warrants, beginning in 1719; surveys, 1783 to the present; returns of surveys; and minutes. You can request a search of these, for a fee, by writing to:

General Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey
Mr. Frederick A. Gerken, Registrar
550 E. Bay Avenue
P.O. Box 32
Barnegat, NJ 08005
The records since 1901 are closed to the public. The minutes of the proprietors for 1685 to 1794 (missing 1706 to 1723) have been published in:

The Minutes of the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey from . . . 1685-1794. Vols. 1-3. Perth Amboy, N.J.: General Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey, 1949-1985. (FHL book 974.9 R2m; computer number 261227.) Vol. 4. Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society, 1985. These include petitions for land grants, warrants for surveys, and quitrent payments.

West JerseyLook this term up in the glossary. Proprietary Records. The records for West Jersey have not been published, but the originals at Rutgers University have been microfilmed. These include minutes, 1688 to 1951 (FHL films 888812-14; computer number 265961); warrants, 1717 to 1754 (FHL film 888815; computer number 265976) and surveys, 1654 to 1952 (FHL films 888803-11; computer number 266090, and FHL film 888723; computer number 341904). Any additional records still in the possession of the West Jersey proprietors can be searched for a fee by writing to:

West Jersey Proprietors
c/o Mr. Robert Haines, Clerk
230 High Street
P.O. Box 158
Burlington, NJ 08016
Telephone 609-386-1636

Secretary of State'sLook this term up in the glossary. DeedsLook this term up in the glossary.

From 1664 to 1785, land sales between individuals were recorded as deeds in either the East Jersey capital of Perth Amboy or in the West Jersey capital of Burlington. In 1795 deeds were transferred to Trenton, where they became known as the secretary of state's deeds. It has been estimated that less than half of all land transactions were ever recorded as deeds. The secretary of state's deed booksLook this term up in the glossary. also contain some proprietary deeds, warrantsLook this term up in the glossary., surveysLook this term up in the glossary., powers of attorney, mortgage releases, and other miscellaneous documents.

East Jersey. Deeds recorded by the secretary of state are now at the state archives and on microfilm at the Family History Library. These include deeds and indexes, 1667 to 1783 (FHL films 522742-46 and 460030-39; computer number 335978).

West JerseyLook this term up in the glossary.. The state archives has the original West Jersey deeds. They are also on microfilm at the Family History Library:


Indexes to Proprietary Records and Secretary of State's Deeds

There are four major indexes to early provincial and state land records of New Jersey:

All the original records abstracted by this book are at the state archives and on microfilm at the Family History Library. Use this index cautiously as some entire pages in the original records were not transcribed, and some entries that were transcribed were not indexed. A substantial number of pre-1704 records, primarily for West Jersey, were omitted from the book.
  • Index to Powers of Attorney, Surveyor's Reports, Commissions, etc., Referring to Deeds. This card index is at the state archives and on film at the Family History Library (FHL films 946856-61; computer number 326159), filmed in 1972. In addition to secretary of state deeds and West Jersey surveys, it references such diverse types of records as civil and military commissions, naturalizations, oaths of allegiance, marriages, pardons, licenses, and cattle earmarks. It is listed in the Family History Library Catalog as Index of Names to Various Records in Various New Jersey Counties, 1660-1800s.
  • Colonial Conveyances: Provinces of East and West New Jersey, 1664-1794. 2 vols. (Summit, N.J.: Crestview Lawyers Service, 1974; not at FHL). This is the principal index to use to locate pre-1785 secretary of state's deeds.
  • Index to Deeds, Grantee and Grantor is a card index at the New Jersey state archives and on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL films 539948-49, 540239-40, and 540603-605; computer number 335974.) This indexes secretary of state deeds for East Jersey, 1667 to 1784, and for West Jersey, 1677 to 1854.


County Land RecordsLook this term up in the glossary.

The Land Act of 1785Look this term up in the glossary. gave county clerks the responsibility of recording deeds, but many deedsLook this term up in the glossary. were never registered. Those that exist are at the offices of the county clerks.

The Family History Library and the state archives have more than 5,000 microfilms of New Jersey county land records. These include:

  • Deeds to about 1901 for all counties except Union County. (Morris County deeds are available at the Family History Library to 1831 only.)
  • Grantee and grantor indexes to about 1920 for all counties except Bergen County.

The deed books for most counties record sales that pre-date 1785. It is common in New Jersey to find deeds recorded many years, sometimes generations, after the original transaction took place.

Some county clerks have deeds that were actually recorded before 1785. These deeds are usually not included in the grantee and grantor indexes that start in 1785. These deed books may also contain powers of attorney, slave manumissions, willsLook this term up in the glossary., leasesLook this term up in the glossary., agreements, maps, settlements of boundary disputes, and cattle earmarksLook this term up in the glossary.. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of pre-1785 deeds for Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties.

Some counties also have separate volumes of “ancient deeds.” These were unrecorded deeds from earlier times that were finally recorded beginning in the 1870s. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of ancient deeds for Burlington, Morris, and Passaic counties.

MortgagesLook this term up in the glossary.. The earliest mortgages date from 1724. The mortgages often include a schedule of payments, the names of the assignees (persons to whom property is legally transferred), and the name of the mortgagor. New Jersey mortgages were seldom recorded until the date the mortgage was discharged.

A card index to county loan office mortgages is at the state archives and the Family History Library (FHL film 913175; computer number 265862). This indexes many mortgages of Burlington, Hunterdon, Gloucester, and Somerset Counties. County clerks began recording mortgages in 1766. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of:

  • Mortgages to about 1860 or 1870 for all counties except Morris County
  • Indexes for all counties, including Morris County, to the 1920s and later
  • Assignments and releases of mortgages for many counties from 1850 to 1900

Lis PendensLook this term up in the glossary.. Lis pendens (disputes over land title) exist for all counties from about the mid-1800s to the present. They are found at the offices of the county clerks. These often contain detailed lists of all the heirs of someone who has died. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of lis pendens for Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, and Union counties. Some are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Locality Search under:

NEW JERSEY, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDSNEW JERSEY, [COUNTY] - LAND AND PROPERTY.

Road ReturnsLook this term up in the glossary.. A rather unique source that is particularly useful for colonial New Jersey research is the road returns, or road surveys. Road returns give the names of property owners through whose property the roads were to run and sometimes give the names of former property owners with the note “deceased.” They are usually found at the county courthouses. Copies of road returns for most counties are on microfilm at the state archives. The Family History Library has road returns for Atlantic, Essex, Gloucester, Middlesex, and Somerset counties.

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