Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy

Morris 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
Morris County is located in the north central region of the state. It was created on March 15, 1739. Morristown is the county seat. The county was named for Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation.

County Courthouse
Morris County Courthouse Hall of Rec Admin Bldg; Court St; PO Box 315 Morristown, NJ 07963 Phone: 973.285.6120 County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1881, court records 1739-1978, land records from 1785, slave records 1804-1820, naturalization records from 1816 and military discharge records from 1945. County Surrogate Court has probate records. These provide death date, executor's name and probate file number: click on link to search records by name [accessed March 7, 2014] Clerk Superior Court has divorce records.

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/morris/index.htm Washington &amp; Court Sts. Morristown, NJ 07960-0910 973-656-4000

Morris County, New Jersey Historical Facts

 * Morris County was first settled by the white man in the early 1700s.
 * Named after Lewis Morris, who was then the Governor of the Province of New Jersey
 * Beginning in 1740 Morris County had 3 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover Twp., Morris Twp., and Pequannock Twp.)
 * Beginning of the 19th century (1800) Morris County had 7 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover, Morris, Pequannock, Chester, Mendham, Roxbury and Washington Townships).
 * Beginning of the 20th century (1900) Morris County had 25 Municipal Subdivisions.
 * Beginning of the 21st century (2000) Morris County is composed of 39 Municipal Subdivisions.

Morris County Library has a more detailed Genealogy geography - to view, click here. [accessed March 7, 2014]

Parent County

 * 15 March 1739: Morris County was created by an Act of the State Legislature separating it from Hunterdon County. (Worldcat)

Boundary Changes

 * 16 May 1753: Sussex County set off. (Worldcat)
 * 1749 the boundary with Somerset County was 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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Cemeteries

 * Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the Old Burying Ground

Census
State Census Records


 * 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


 * Morris County, New Jersey, 1749
 * Morris County, New Jersey, 1771
 * Morris County, New Jersey 1780 Census Index

Federal Census Records


 * United States Census (Mortality Schedule), 1850
 * United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850
 * United States Census 1850
 * United States Census, 1850
 * United States Census, 1860
 * United States Census 1860
 * United States Census, 1870
 * United States Census 1870
 * United States Census, 1880 (Index only)
 * United States Census 1880
 * United States Census, 1900
 * United States Census 1900
 * United States Census 1910
 * United States Census, 1920
 * United States Census 1920
 * Many Directories for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Church Records

 * Morris County, New Jersey Churches
 * 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

 * Linkpendium Maps and Gazetteers
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

History

 * The Founding of Morris County, New Jersey
 * Morris County Biorgraphy Bibliography (WorldCat)
 * Many History Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.

Land and Property

 * The Land Past and Present
 * Many Land Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.
 * Beautiful Homes of Morris County and Northern New Jersey (1900) - book freely available at the Internet Archive.

Maps

 * The Changing Landscape of Morris County, New Jersey
 * Morris County New Jersey 1895
 * Morris County Map
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military

 * ' Barbara Hoskins, comp., Men from Morris County, New Jersey who served in the American Revolution.'' Morristown, New Jersey : Friends of the Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township, 1979. FHL 974.974 M2h
 * The Revolutionary Forefathers of Morris County: an address delivered at Morristown, N. J., July 4, 1876
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 1)
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 2)
 * Many Military Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1796-1991 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Many Naturalization and Citizenship Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Newspapers

 * Morris County Newspapers

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

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: New Jersey, Middlesex County Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records


 * Many Probate Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.

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
Morris County Courthouse Hall of Rec Admin Bldg; Court St; PO Box 315 Morristown, NJ 07963 Phone: 973.285.6120

County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1881, court records 1739-1978, land records from 1785, slave records 1804-1820, naturalization records from 1816 and military discharge records from 1945. County Surrogate Court has probate records. These provide death date, executor's name and probate file number: click on link to search records by name [accessed March 7, 2014] Clerk Superior Court has divorce records.

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/morris/index.htm Washington &amp; Court Sts. Morristown, NJ 07960-0910 973-656-4000

Family History Centers

 * Dover New Jersey Family History Center
 * Ledgewood New Jersey Family History Center
 * Morristown New Jersey Family History Center

Libraries

 * Morris County Library
 * North Jersey History &amp; Genealogy Center

Museums

 * Museums of Morris County

Societies
Morris Area Genealogy Society Mailing address P.O. BOX 105 Covent Station, NJ 07961-0105 Currently meeting at Morris County Library 30 East Hanover Ave. Whippany, NJ Website

Morris County Historical Society 68 Morris Avenue Morristown 07960 Telephone: 973-267-3465 Website

Historical Society of Boonton Township 591 Powerville Road PO Box 362 Boonton Township New Jersey 07005 Website

Chatham Historical Society 24 Southern Boulevard Chatham 07928-0262 Website

Chester Historical Society PO Box 376 Chester NJ 07930 Telephone: 908-866-6717 E-mail:[mailto:historicchesternj@gmail.com historicchesternj@gmail.com] Website

Cornish Heritage Society East 197 Wykertown Rd Branchville, New Jersey 07885

Denville Historical Society Diamond Spring Rd Denville, NJ 07834 Telephone: 973-627-6894

Harding Township Historical Society 16 Village Road New Vernon, NJ 07826-4431 Telephone: 973-292-3661 E-mail:[mailto:varker@optonline.net varker@optonline.net]

Lake Hopatcong Historical Society PO Box 668 Landing, NJ 07850 Telephone: 973-398-2616 Website

Historical Society Of Rockaways  Mount Hope Rd Rockaway, NJ 07866‎ Telephone: 973-366-6730

Schools

 * Schools of Morris County, New Jersey

Taxation

 * Many Taxation Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the.

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
 * Bill of Mortality Being a Register of Deaths
 * Death Records, June 1878 - June 1885
 * New Jersey Vital Records
 * Many Vital Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Morris County, New Jersey Websites

 * The Morris County NJGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Morris County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Morris County NJ Genealogy
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Morris County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Morris County. (Backup site)
 * Linkpendium Morris County
 * Linkpendium Morris County

Morris County, New Jersey Municipalities

 * Municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey

Morris County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties



 * Essex
 * Hunterdon
 * Passaic
 * Somerset
 * Sussex
 * Union
 * Warren