Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy
Bergen 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.
| Bergen County, New Jersey | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Jersey | |
 Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 1683 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Hackensack |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Bergen County Courthouse One Bergen County Plaza Hackensack, NJ 07601-7076 Jersey-Courts.htm Bergen County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Bergen County, New Jersey Historical Facts
- 3 Parent County
- 4 Boundary Changes
- 5 Record Loss
- 6 Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources
- 6.1 Bible
- 6.2 Cemeteries
- 6.3 Census
- 6.4 Church Records
- 6.5 Court Records
- 6.6 Emigration and Immigration
- 6.7 Ethnic, Political. or Religious Groups
- 6.8 Gazetteers
- 6.9 Genealogy
- 6.10 History
- 6.11 Land and Property
- 6.12 Maps
- 6.13 Migration
- 6.14 Military
- 6.15 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 6.16 Newspapers
- 6.17 Occupations
- 6.18 Periodicals
- 6.19 Poorhouse, Almshouse
- 6.20 Probate Records
- 6.21 Repositories
- 6.22 Societies
- 6.23 Schools
- 6.24 Taxation
- 6.25 Vital Records
- 6.26 Marriage
- 7 Bergen County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties
- 8 Bergen County, New Jersey Websites
- 9 Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy References
County Information
Bergen County, New Jersey Record Dates
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1790 | |||||
Bergen County, New Jersey Historical Facts
Parent County
- 1675, formed as original county of East Jersey.
- Formally created 1 March 1683. [1]
Boundary Changes
- 1710, New Barbadoes twp. added from Essex County
- 1807, coastal boundary fixed.
- 7 March 1837, Passaic County was set off. [2]
- 22 February 1840, Hudson County was set off. [3]
- 1852, part of Harrison twp. added as Union twp.
- 1892, coastal 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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources
Bible
Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| NJGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| NJGenWeb Archives | ||
| NJTombstone Project | ||
| NJInterment | ||
| EPodunk | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See New Jersey Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census
- 1855 New Jersey, State Census, 1855 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1865 New Jersey, State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — images
- 1895 New Jersey, State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1915 New Jersey State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch — index and images
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 denominations, view the New Jersey Church Records wiki page.
- 1675-1970 New Jersey, Church Records, 1675-1970 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1666-1788 - "The Bergen Church Records (Dutch Reformed)," Year Book of the Holland Society of New York. Baptisms 1666-1782: (1903); Marriages (1904); Burials 1666-1788 (1905). 1903 and 1905 volumes are available online. For access, see WeRelate.
Court Records
Emigration and Immigration
- 1906-1942 - New York Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1906-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
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.
Finding Land Records at Other Repositories
Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy Land and Property Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- FamilySearch Catalog(For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Maps
Migration
Military
Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy:
- - 65th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company B.
Naturalization and Citizenship
- 1796-1991 - New Jersey Naturalization Records, 1796-1991 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers
Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.
To access newspapers, contact public libraries, Genealogical Society of New Jersey, college or university libraries, the Library of Congress, Google News, or the The New Jersey Historical Society.
For more Ohio newspaper information see the Newspaper Guides on the wiki page New Jersey Newspapers.
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Indexes
- Bergen County Watchman, 1870-1873, Genealogical Society of Bergen County
- Bergen Index March 1875-March 1876, May 1877-Aug 1885, Genealogical Society of Bergen County
- Hackensack Republican 1878-1936, Genealogical Society of Bergen County
- New Jersey Republican, 1878, Genealogical Society of Bergen County
- NJ Citizen (vital records only), May 26, 1871-May 12, 1874, Genealogical Society of Bergen County
Occupations
Periodicals
Poorhouse, Almshouse
Probate Records
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Bergen 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 Bergen 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
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 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 — images
Repositories
Archives
| ||||||
Courthouse
Bergen County Courthouse
1 Bergen County Plaza
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Phone: 201.336.7000
County Clerk has divorce records from 1955,
Court and land records County Surrogate has probate records. [4]
Family History Centers
Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.
Libraries
Museums
Societies
Bergen County Genealogy Society
PO Box 432
Midland Park
Website
Bergen County Historical Society
120 Main Street
River Edge
Bergen County Historical Society
1201 Main St
PO Box 55
River Edge, New Jersey 07661-0055
Telephone: 201-343-9492
Website
Mahwah Historical Society
1871 Old Station Lane
Mahwah 07430
Telephone: 201-891-9049
Oakland Historical Society
PO Box 296
Oakland, New Jersey 07436
Telephone: 201-405-7726
E-mail:ohs1776@aol.com
Website
Pascack Historical Society
19 Ridge Avenue Park Ridge
NJ 07656
Telephone: 201-573-0307
E-mail:info@pascackhistoricalsociety.org
Website
Ridgewood Historical Society
650 E. Glen Avenue
Ridgewood
E-mail:info@ridgewoodhistoricalsociety.org
Website
Upper Saddle River Historical Society
245 Lake Street
Upper Saddle River NJ 07458
Telephone: 201-327-864
Website
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.
Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
1606-1981 - New Jersey, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
Bergen County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties
- Essex
- Hudson
- Passaic
- Bronx (The Bronx), New York
- New York (Manhatten), New York
- Rockland County, New York
- Westchester County, New York
Bergen County, New Jersey Websites
- The Bergen County NJGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
- Bergen County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
- Bergen County NJ Genealogy
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bergen County.
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bergen County. (Backup site)
- Bergen County Genealogical Society
- FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Catalog
Bergen County, New Jersey Genealogy References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bergen County, New Jersey page 464, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
