Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy
Middlesex 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.
| Middlesex County, New Jersey | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Jersey | |
 Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | , 1675 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | New Brunswick |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Trenton County Courthouse Old Bridge, 235 Ticetown Road New Brunswick, NJ 08857 Phone: (732) 745-3005 Middlesex County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Middlesex County, New Jersey Historical Facts
- 3 Parent County
- 4 Boundary Changes
- 5 Record Loss
- 6 Middlesex 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 Schools
- 6.23 Taxation
- 6.24 Vital Records
- 6.25 Marriage
- 7 Middlesex County, New Jersey Websites
- 8 Middlesex County, New Jersey Places
- 9 Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy References
County Information
Middlesex County, New Jersey Record Dates
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1790 | |||||
Middlesex County, New Jersey Historical Facts
Parent County
- 1675, original part of East Jersey
- 1 March 1683, created as a county from the Colonial lands. [1]
Boundary Changes
- 26 May 1688, part taken for Somerset County.[2]
- 1710, some boundary changes
- 1714, part of Somerset County taken back
- 1790, some boundary changes with Somerset County
- 1822, water boundary established
- 22 February 1838, West Windsor and part of East Windsor twps. to Mercer County.[3]
- 1844, part of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County
- 1844, part of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County and returned in 1845
- 1847, piece of Monroe twp. to Monmouth County
- 1850, part of Franklin twp. of Somerset County to North Brunswick twp.; water boundary clarified
- 1855, some changes to boundary with Somerset County and again in 1858
- 1860, part of Woodbridge twp. to Rahway, Union County
- 1871, boundary with Plainfield, Union County changed
- 1878, boundary at Kingston, Somerset County clarified
- 1892, water boundary further clarified
- 1939, land to Matawan, Monmouth County.
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.
Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources
Bible
Cemeteries
| 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
Lutheran
- Records of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Perth Amboy, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
Methodist
- 1708-1985 - Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.
- Contains the church records of:
- Monroe: Methodist Church
- Contains the church records of:
Quakers
- 1687-1825 - Vail, Hugh D. "Records of Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Monthly Meeting of Friends (Formerly Held at Amboy and Woodbridge) from 1687 to 1825," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct. 1877):176-181; Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan. 1878):28-37; Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr. 1878):64-71; Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct. 1878):174-180; Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1879):20-23; Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul. 1879):139-143; Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan. 1880):42-46. Digital version at New York Family History ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 8-11. Internet Archives has digitized Vols. 8-9, Vol. 10, and Vol. 11 - free.[4] Includes births, marriages.
- 1687-1825 - Vail, Hugh D. "Records of Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Monthly Meeting of Friends (Formerly Held at Amboy and Woodbridge) from 1687 to 1825," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct. 1877):176-181; Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan. 1878):28-37; Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr. 1878):64-71; Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct. 1878):174-180; Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1879):20-23; Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul. 1879):139-143; Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan. 1880):42-46. Digital version at New York Family History ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 8-11. Internet Archives has digitized Vols. 8-9, Vol. 10, and Vol. 11 - free.[4] Includes births, marriages.
- 1826-1889 - Haviland, Frank. "Records of Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Monthly Meetings of Friends (Formerly Held at Amboy and Woodbridge)," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 114, no. 1 (Jan. 1983):23-36. Digital version at New York Family History ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 114.
LDS Ward and Branch Records
- New Brunswick
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.
Middlesex County Land Records Search website
Middlesex County land records are freely searchable online back to January 1950. Watermarked copies are free to print; printing clean copies is a paid service. Cookies must be enabled for the site to function properly and be sure to read the User Guide.
Maps
The Sanborn Map Company is the oldest mapping company in the United States. Founded in 1866, the company created detailed building maps of cities and towns all across the country, primarily for use by insurance companies. These maps also have been used extensively by local government agencies for over a century in conducting their daily operations efficiently. Genealogists, local history buffs, city planners, architects, and countless others have been drawn to the quality of detail found in them. Digital archive provided by Princeton University.
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Perth Amboy
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Woodbridge
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: South Amboy
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Metuchen
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Carteret
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Sayreville
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: South River
- Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: New Brunswick
Migration
Early migration routes to and from Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy for settlers included:[5]
- Raritan River a navigable river which rises in Morris County and flows through central New Jersey past Manville to New Brunswick where it meets the tide.
- King's Highway 1673 connected Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina and many coastal cities between including Philadelphia, New Brunswick, and New York City.
- 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.
Military
Naturalization and Citizenship
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
- New Brunswick Daily Times 1871-1916 - digitized archive of the newspaper; freely available via the New Brunswick Public Library
- The South Amboy Citizen (1910-1943)
- The South Amboy Citizen (1944-2000)
The South Amboy Citizen offers online access from July 2, 1910, through December 29, 2000. Provided by the Sadie Pope Dowdell Library. (Note: There is no search capability for the South Amboy Citizen but you can use Google Advanced search http://www.google.com/advanced_search and enter "dowdell.org/citizen" into the bottom box labeled “Search within a site or domain” to search the paper.)
[1]
- Woodbridge Township Newspapers digitized archive freely available via the Woodbridge Township Public Library
- Carteret Press (1925 -1965)
- Fords Beacon (1936 - 1961)
- Independent Leader (1940 -1965)
- Leader Press (1967 - 1970)
- The Independent Hour (1876 - 1877)
- The Weekly Register (1898 - 1902)
- The Woodbridge Leader (1927 - 1928)
- The Woodbridge News (1899 - 1902)
- Woodbridge Independent (1919 - 1938)
- Woodbridge Leader (1926 -1939)
- New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
Occupations
Periodicals
Poorhouse, Almshouse
Probate Records
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
New Jersey, Middlesex County Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
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
Courthouses
Middlesex County Courthouse
Old Bridge; 235 Ticetown Road;
New Brunswick, NJ 08857
Phone: (732) 745-3005
County Clerk has marriage, divorce, court and land records. County Surrogate has probate records.[6]
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
Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission
Middlesex County Annex
841 Georges Rd.
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Telephone: 732-745-4489
Plainsboro Historical Society
641 Plainsboro Rd Ste A
Plainsboro, NJ 08536
Telephone: 609-799-9040
Metuchen/edison Historical Society
PO Box 61
Metuchen NJ
Website
South River Historical and Preservation Society
PO Box 446
South River 08882
Website
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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 $
Middlesex County, New Jersey Websites
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Middlesex County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
- Middlesex County NJ Genealogy
- FamilySearch Catalog
Middlesex County, New Jersey Places
Middlesex County, New Jersey Genealogy References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 464. At various libraries (WorldCat); 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].
- ↑ 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 17 February 2012.
- ↑ Handybook, 847-61.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Middlesex County, New Jersey page 464, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
