New Jersey Church Records

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Historical Background
The first churches established in New Jersey were the Dutch Reformed, Congregational (Puritan), Society of Friends (Quaker), and Lutheran. Church membership waned in the early 1700s, but revivals rekindled interest around 1740. By 1775 the largest denominations in New Jersey were the Presbyterian, Society of Friends, Dutch Reformed, Baptist, and Anglican (Episcopal) churches.

In the mid-1800s, the Methodist church was the largest, followed by the Presbyterian, Baptist, Reformed, Friends, and Episcopal churches. The Roman Catholic Church has been the predominant faith since the beginning of the twentieth century, followed by the Jewish, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal faiths.

Except for the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran churches in northern New Jersey, few of the earliest church records have survived.

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.
'''Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Online Resources

 * — index and images
 * The early Germans of New Jersey : their history, churches, and genealogies, e-book
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. II: (New Jersey and Pennsylvania Monthly Meetings)
 * Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, ($) index/images
 * New Jersey German Reformed Church Records, 1763-1802, index
 * New Jersey, Calvary United Methodist Church Records, 1821-2003, images/no index.
 * New Jersey, United Methodist Church Records, 1800-1970, index and images, ($)
 * Dunham-Wilcox-Trott-Kirk indexes church, cemetery, probate and other early New England, New York and New Jersey records with links to abstracts of the records.

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the of United States, New Jersey'''.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, New Jersey and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county if it appears.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Click on Places within United States, New Jersey [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

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Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.


 * "Church Records in New Jersey," Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, Vol. 2, No. 4 (March 1904):173-188; Vol. 2, No. 5 (June 1904):251-266. This is very helpful for determining all denominations that existed prior to 1800..
 * Guide to Vital Statistics Records in New Jersey, Vol. 2. Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Records Survey, 1941. . Volume 2 contains the names and addresses of churches located in New Jersey in 1940.
 * Historical Records Survey. Directory of Churches in New Jersey. 21 Volumes. Newark, N.J.: Historical Records Survey, 1940-1941. There is a volume for each county; the Family History Library has volumes for Atlantic through Hunterdon, and Monmouth counties..
 * New Jersey Historical Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the State (described in New Jersey Archives and Libraries). To locate a copy nearest you, use WorldCat.

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.
Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.
Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher. '''Here you will find archive information unique to the state. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to  Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

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Baptist
American Baptist Historical Society 3001 Mercer University Dr. Atlanta, Georgia 30341 Telephone: (678) 547-6680

Dutch Reformed
Commission on History, Reformed Church in America New Brunswick Theological Seminary Gardner A. Sage Library 21 Seminary Place New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Telephone: (732) 246-1779

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many of the Dutch Reformed church records from the above listed archive. The records are described in:


 * Gasero, Russell L., ed. Guide to Local Church Records in the Archives of the Reformed Church in America and to Genealogical Resources in the Gardner Sage Library, New Brunswick Theological Seminary. New Brunswick, N.J.: Historical Society of the Reformed Church in America, 1979. Digital version at Reformed Church in America; (does not circulate to Family History Centers). To locate a copy nearest you, use WorldCat.

The Holland Society of New York Library 20 West 44th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10036 Telephone: (212) 758-1675

Year Book of The Holland Society of New York, 1912. New York, New York: The Society, 1912, available in the lists the transcripts of New Jersey Dutch Reformed and Lutheran records at the Holland Society Library. It also lists those that were published as of 1912. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many of these transcripts. To locate a copy nearest you, use WorldCat.

Episcopal
Diocesan House of the Episcopal Church 808 W. State Street Trenton, New Jersey 08618-5326 Telephone: (609) 394-5281

Jewish
Most synagogue records have not been centralized, so you must write to the local congregation. Addresses are listed in:


 * Lightman, Sidney, ed. The Jewish Travel Guide 1990. London, England Jewish Chronicle Publications, 1990. To locate a copy nearest you, use WorldCat.

Synagogue and cemetery records for some congregations in Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties are at:

Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey 1050 George St, Box 1-L New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Telephone: (732) 249-4894

Methodist
United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History Greater New Jersey Conference 1001 Wickapecko Drive Ocean, New Jersey 07712 Phone: (732) 359-1000 Toll free: (877) 677-2594

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society and Department of History United Presbyterian Church in the USA 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147 Telephone: (215) 627-1852

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of the records from the above listed archive.

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Camden 631 Market Street Camden, New Jersey 08102 Phone: (856) 756-7900.

The diocese includes the counties of: Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem.

Diocese of Metuchen P.O. Box 191 Metuchen, NJ 08840-0191 Phone: (732) 562-1990 Office Location 146 Metlars Lane Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

The diocese includes the counties of: Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Warren.

Archdiocese of Newark 171 Clifton Avenue Newark, New Jersey 07104-0500

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union.


 * Records of the Archdiocese of Newark are kept by: University Archives Seton Hall University South Orange Avenue South Orange, New Jersey 07079 Phone: (201) 762-7052 All sacramental registers, 1832 through 1914, and cemetery records in the archdiocese have been microfilmed. They are available at the Family History Library and at the university archives. A small fee is charged for mail inquiries, and records can be searched by appointment. Christenings through 1885 and marriages through 1895 for most of these parishes are indexed in the International Genealogical Index.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson 777 Valley Road Paterson, New Jersey 07013 Phone: (973) 777-8818

The diocese includes the counties of: Morris, Passaic and Sussex.

Diocese of Trenton 701 Lawrenceville Road Trenton, New Jersey 08648 Phone: (609) 406-7400

The diocese includes the counties of: Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean.

The marriages of some New Jersey Catholics from 1758 to 1800 were published in:


 * American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia Records. Volumes 1-4, 8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Catholic Historical Society, 1886-1889, 1893. (Not at the Family History Library.) To locate a book copy nearest you, use WorldCat.

Additional records for this time period are in:


 * Dirnberger, Janet Drumm. New Jersey Catholic Baptismal Records from 1759-1781. Seabrook, Texas: Brambles, 1981. This book is available in the . However, it does not circulate to Family History Centers.

Most Catholic records have not been gathered into central repositories. You must determine the town where your ancestors lived and the parish they most likely attended and then write to that parish. Addresses of parishes and diocesan chancery offices are listed in:


 * The Official Catholic Directory. Chicago, Illinois: Hoffman Bros., annual. A copy is located in the .To locate a copy nearest your location check at WorldCat.

When a parish closes, the records are sent to the diocesan archives or a nearby parish. If the diocese does not have an archive, the chancellor usually knows where the records are currently located.


 * Flynn, Joseph Michael. The Catholic Church in New Jersey. Morristown, N.J.: n.p., 1904 is located in the and has short histories of individual parishes. Digital versions: Ancestry ($); Internet Archive. To locate a copy of the book nearest you, use WorldCat.

Society of Friends (Quakers)
The Friends Historical Library Swarthmore College 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19801 Telephone: (610) 328-8496 This library collects microfilm copies of all records of New Jersey meetings.

The Quaker Collection Haverford College Library 370 Lancaster Avenue Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041 Telephone: (610) 896-1161 This library collects West Jersey Orthodox records.

Haviland Records Room 15 Rutherford Place New York, New York 10003 Telephone: (212) 673-6866 This library collects records of East Jersey meetings that have been part of the New York Yearly Meeting. Learn more.

The records formerly at the Friends Records Department in Philadelphia are now at Haverford College. These records are on microfilm at the Family History Library, as are most of the records from the Haviland Records Room. There is a large collection of the records at Swarthmore College.

The Family History Library also has microfilm copies of the John Pickens Dornan and Gilbert Cope collections and abstracts from most New Jersey monthly meetings, compiled by William Wade Hinshaw, John Cox, and John P. Dornan.

Published abstracts:


 * Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 6 Vols. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Edwards Brothers, 1936-1950. Volume II covers New Jersey Monthly Meetings. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). To locate copies nearest you, use WorldCat.

For a history of New Jersey Quakers, see:


 * Bowden, James. The History of the Society of Friends in America. 2 vols. London: W. &amp; F.G. Cash, 1850-1854. Digital version of Vol. 1 at Google Books.

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.
Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:
 * Society Hill List of New Jersey Societies

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor
You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:
 * name, including middle name and maiden name
 * names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
 * exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
 * names and approximate birthdates of children
 * all known places of residence
 * occupations
 * military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.