Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy
Hunterdon 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.
| Hunterdon County, New Jersey | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Jersey, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | , 1714 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Flemington |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Hunterdon County Courthouse 71 Main St PO Box 2900 Flemington, NJ 08822-2900 Phone: (908) 788-1221 Hunterdon County Website |
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Hunterdon County is located in the northwestern region of the state. It was created in 1714. Flemington is the county seat. The county was named for Robert Hunter a British military officer, colonial governor of New York and New Jersey from 1710 to 1720, and governor of Jamaica from 1727 to 1734. [1]
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1901 | 1795 | 1901 | 1714 | 1766 | 1704 | 1830 |
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
- 1714, formed in West Jersey including from part of Burlington County [3]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
- 1739, part formed into Morris County
- 1838, part formed into Mercer County with more being added in 1839
- 1844, Hopewell twp. returned from Mercer County and Tewksbury twp. to Somerset County
- 1845, Hopewell twp. back to Mercer County and Tewksbury twp. from Somerset County
- 1965, Somerset county boundary clarified.
For animated maps illustrating New Jersey county boundary changes, visit "Rotating Formation New Jersey County Boundary Maps" (1683-1928) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| NJGenWeb Archives | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| NJTombstone Project | FamilySearch Places | |
| NJInterment | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See New Jersey Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1790 | 20,153 | — |
| 1800 | 21,261 | 5.5% |
| 1810 | 24,556 | 15.5% |
| 1820 | 28,604 | 16.5% |
| 1830 | 31,060 | 8.6% |
| 1840 | 24,789 | −20.2% |
| 1850 | 28,990 | 16.9% |
| 1860 | 33,654 | 16.1% |
| 1870 | 36,963 | 9.8% |
| 1880 | 38,570 | 4.3% |
| 1890 | 35,355 | −8.3% |
| 1900 | 34,507 | −2.4% |
| 1910 | 33,569 | −2.7% |
| 1920 | 32,885 | −2.0% |
| 1930 | 34,728 | 5.6% |
| 1940 | 36,766 | 5.9% |
| 1950 | 42,736 | 16.2% |
| 1960 | 54,107 | 26.6% |
| 1970 | 69,718 | 28.9% |
| 1980 | 87,361 | 25.3% |
| 1990 | 107,776 | 23.4% |
| 2000 | 121,989 | 13.2% |
| 2010 | 128,349 | 5.2% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- 1855 New Jersey, State Census, 1855 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865 New Jersey, State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1895 New Jersey, State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1915 New Jersey State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Church Records[edit | edit source]
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 denominations, view the New Jersey Church Records wiki page.
- 1675-1970 - New Jersey, Church Records, 1675-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1771-1800 - Fisher, Ben van D. "Records of the Corporation of Zion in New Germantown in West Jersey - Births and Baptisms," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Baptisms 1771-1773: Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr. 1900):107-110; Baptisms 1770s-1778: Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul. 1900):139-142; Baptisms 1778-1780: Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct. 1900):232-235; Baptisms 1780-1782: Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan. 1901):36-39; Baptisms 1782-1783: Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr. 1901):97-100; Baptisms 1783-1785: Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul. 1901):138-141; Baptisms 1785: Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct. 1901):200-203; Baptisms 1786-1787: Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan. 1902):27-31; Baptisms 1787-1790: Vol. 33, No. 2 (Apr. 1902):Baptisms 1790-1791: Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul. 1902):141-144; Baptisms 220-222: Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct. 1904):220-222; Vol. 33 222; Baptisms 1793-1794: Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan. 1903):56-59; Baptisms 1794-1796: Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr. 1903):100-102; Baptisms 1796-1798: Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul. 1903):197-200; Baptisms 1798-1800: Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct. 1903):248-250. Digital version at New York Family History ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 31-34. Internet Archive has digitized Vol. 32 and Vol. 34, but not Vol. 31 or Vol. 33.[4]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
Early Deeds 1716-1730 at FamilySearch film#818213 Item 1
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[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Early migration routes to and from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy for settlers included:[5]
- Delaware River a pre-historic pathway serving as the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania rises in Schoharie County, New York and flows by the Lehigh Canal in Pennsylvania, Frenchtown, Trenton where river meets tidewater, and past Bordentown in New Jersey, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to empty into the North Atlantic Ocean.
- 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. A feeder canal, including boat traffic, from near Frenchtown also supplied additional water to the Trenton part of the D&R Canal.
Military[edit | edit source]
Minorities[edit | edit source]
Slave Manumissions On-line
This series includes original manumission papers filed by Hunterdon County slaveowners (with overseers of the poor and justices of the peace) as early as 1788. The documents are among those originally copied into two manumission/slave birth books now (1993) held by the Hunterdon County Historical Society in Flemington. Abstracts of the recorded manumissions were published in Some Records of Old Hunterdon County, 1701-1838 by Phyllis B. D'Autrechy (Trenton: 1979), pp. 147-157, 173-196, 201-204. Well over 500 acts of manumission during the period 1787-1856 are recorded in the Hunterdon County manumission books, while original papers for only 56 are included here.
This series is arranged chronologically. The items have been listed using the following format:
• name of slave owner:
• name of slave (age if recorded),
• other identifying information if included,
• location,
• date [remarks].
To aid in research, three name indexes have been added following the contents list.
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1796-1991 - New Jersey Naturalization Records, 1796-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
- Index to the Hunterdon Gazette prepared by William H. Hartman. The online index has over 25,000 entries covering the years 1825-1866. "The Hunterdon Gazette and Farmer's Weekly Advertiser, was first published at Flemington, New Jersey, on March 24, 1825. With Issue No. 18 , July 21, 1825, the name was changed to ‘Hunterdon Gazette and Farmer's Advertiser’. The name was changed to ‘Hunterdon Gazette’ on June 3, 1829 and continued with this heading until July 1866 when it was purchased by the Hunterdon Democrat. This newspaper lasted about a year when it merged with the present day Hunterdon County Democrat."
- Extracts of the Hunterdon County Democrat from 1838 to 1888 (currently) and beyond in the future at this website. Visit the site, a website for the Sutton Family of New Jersey, for details. The maintainer of the site also offers to make some additional transcriptions upon request. From the website: "The Hunterdon Democrat was formed September 5, 1838 at Flemington, New Jersey. In 1847, the name was changed to the Hunterdon County Democrat which title still is being used (1975). The initial annual subscription rate for those who received their papers by private post was $2.00."
Occupations[edit | edit source]
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Poorhouse, Almshouse[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[6]
| Cities | ||
| Boroughs | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy 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 Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy 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[edit | edit source]
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
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 New Jersey Probate Records 1678-1980 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Repositories[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Hunterdon County Courthouse
71 Main St; PO Box 2900
Flemington, NJ 08822-2900
Phone: 908.788.1221
County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1875. Court recorder from 1714 and land records from 1716. Clerk Surrogate Court has probate records. Clerk Superior Court has divorce records.[7]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Allentown Pennsylvania Family History Center
- Clinton New Jersey Family History Center
- Doylestown Pennsylvania Family History Center
- East Brunswick New Jersey Family History Center
- Morristown New Jersey Family History Center
- Nazareth Pennsylvania Family History Center
- Scotch Plains New Jersey Family History Center
- Plainfield New Jersey Public Library - an affiliate library
- New Providence Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
- Washington Township Public Library - an affiliate library
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Hunterdon County Historical Society
114 Main St
Flemington, NJ 08822
Telephone: 908-782-1091
Website
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Schools[edit | edit source]
Taxation[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1804-1835, Hunterdon County, Birth Certificates of Children of Slaves, 1804-1835 at New Jersey State Archives
- 1901-1903, New Jersey, Reclaim the Records, New Jersey Birth Index, 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
- 1606-1981 - New Jersey, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
- 1670-1980 - New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1795-1875 - Marriage records of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, 1795-1875
- 1930-1938 - New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1901-1903 - New Jersey, Death Index, 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1901-2017 New Jersey, U.S., Death Index, 1901-2017 at Ancestry - index ($)
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Websites[edit | edit source]
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.
- Hunterdon New Jersey NJGenWeb
- Hunterdon County New Jersey Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Hunterdon County, NJ, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
- NJGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information.
- Hunterdon County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (genealogyinc)
- Hunterdon County NJ Genealogy
- FamilySearch Catalog
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Hunterdon County, New Jersey Genealogy References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hunterdon County, New Jersey" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunterdon_County,_New_Jersey accessed 29 August 2018.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hunterdon County, New Jersey . Page 464-465 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 460.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 464. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ WeRelate contributors, "Source:New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society)," in WeRelate, http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Source:New_York_Genealogical_and_Biographical_Record_%28New_York_Genealogical_and_Biographical_Society%29, accessed 10 February 2012.
- ↑ Handybook, 847-61.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hunterdon County, New Jersey," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunterdon_County, New Jersey#Communities accessed 8 March 2020.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hunterdon County, New Jersey page 464, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
