African American Resources for New Jersey

Introduction
Resources for researching African American ancestors who lived in New Jersey.

Online Resources

 * Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)
 * Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
 * United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
 * U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)
 * The Faces of Science: African American sin the Sciences

History

 * The Faces of Science: African American sin the Sciences
 * Wright, Giles R. Afro-Americans in New Jersey: A Short History. Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1988.
 * Price, Clement Alexander, ed. Freedom Not Far Distant: A Documentary History of Afro-Americans in New Jersey Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society, 1980. (FHL call no. FHL 974.9 F2fn)

Church Records

 * History of the New Jersey A.M.E. Church (online) - Morgan, Joseph H. Morgan's History of the New Jersey Conference of the A.M.E. Church, from 1872 to 1887, and of the several churches, as far as possible, from date of organization with biographical sketches of members of the conference.

Emancipation Records

 * Essex County.Certificates and deeds of manumissions, 1805-1856. 1 roll

Freedman’s Bank
An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:
 * United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
 * U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

Other FamilySearch collections not included:
 * DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
 * Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
 * More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - NEW JERSEY" in the Subjects search bar to find.
 * Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
 * More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - NEW JERSEY" in the Subjects search bar to find.

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

Slavery Records

 * African American Experience in Monmouth County, 1700–1865 - Includes genealogical records and military information for New Jersey and Monmouth County.
 * African-American Cemeteries Online: New Jersey
 * African American Griots - Griots are traditional historians, storytellers, and musicians.
 * North Jersey History and Genealogy Center -Morristown Library

Marriage
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.
 * United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
 * U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Archives and Libraries
African American Heritage Museum Noyes Arts Garage 2200 Fairmount Avenue Atlantic City, NJ 08401 Phone: (609) 350-6662 Email: info@aahmsnj.org

Societies
New Jersey Chapter of the Afro American Historical & Genealogical Society Jersey City Free Public Library: Greenville Branch 1841 Kennedy Blvd Jersey City, NJ 07305 Email: afroamnjc@aol.com