Union County, New JerseyEdit This Page
From FamilySearch Wiki
United States 
New Jersey Union County
Union County, New Jersey genealogy and family history 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.
| Union County, New Jersey | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Jersey | |
 Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 1857 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Elizabeth |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Union County Courthouse 2 Broad Street Elizabeth, NJ 07207-2204 |
Union County, New Jersey Historical Facts
Local histories are available for New Jersey counties. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section New Jersey Local Histories.
Parent 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.
Record Loss
Union County, New Jersey Historical Facts
Bible
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Ohio denominations, view the New Jersey Church Records wiki page.
Court Records
Emigration and Immigration
Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Local histories are available for New Jersey counties. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section New Jersey Local Histories.
Land and Property
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See New Jersey Land and Property for information about New Jersey Proprietary land records. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.
Maps
Migration
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 ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 138.
Naturalization and Citizenship
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, New Jersey newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Union County, New Jersey Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
Courtesy of the Plainfield Public Library:
Occupations
Periodicals
Poorhouse, Almshouse
Probate Records
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Union County, New Jersey Probate Court. From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. Most counties transferred all records to the Probate Court, but in some circumstances, Court of Common Pleas records should be searched for records prior to 1852. Most records are housed at the Union County, New Jersey Courthouse. Some records are on microfilm at the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Family History Library. For more complete information about the location of county probate records see:
See the wiki page New Jersey Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.
Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only).
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
Phone: (609) 292-4978
Fax: (609) 777-0094
Repositories
Archives
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. [1]
Family History Centers
Libraries
- Plainfield Public Library
800 Park Avenue
Plainfield, NJ 07060
Telephone: 908-757-1111
The Local History Department offers newspapers, city directories, local histories, church records, biographies, and more.
Museums
Societies
Schools
Taxation
New Jersey tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the wiki page New Jersey Taxation.
Vital Records
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the New Jersey Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. Original marriage records are usually held at the county Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Union County, New Jersey Web Sites
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
Union County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties
Union County, New Jersey Genealogy References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
Need additional research help? Contact our research help specialists.
Need wiki, indexing, or website help? Contact our product teams.
Did you find this article helpful?
You're invited to explain your rating on the discussion page (you must be signed in).
- This page was last modified on 15 May 2013, at 15:46.
- This page has been accessed 1,589 times.
New to the Research Wiki?
In the FamilySearch Research Wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others.
Learn More