New York and New Jersey Research:
Finding the Rosetta Stone(s)
John
W. Konvalinka, CGSM, CGLSM
©2006. All rights reserved.
The long and varied histories of New York and New
Jersey offer many research opportunities for genealogists with interests in the
area. Both were among the original 13
colonies but with an early history quite different from their New England
neighbors to the northeast and their Pennsylvania and Virginia neighbors to the
south. The early influence of the Dutch
was felt in both colonies (but principally in New York) and the takeover of
both colonies by the English in the 1660s resulted in some similarities in the
two places (such a common governors), but also in some significant differences
in governance, land distribution and resulting property records. Also, both colonies became a springboard for
settlers who eventually moved further west.
A New York —
·
1609 – Sighting of “New
Jersey” and “New York” by Henry Hudson
·
1610 onwards – Dutch
settlements in “New York” and “New Jersey” (not yet named that)
·
1626 – Peter Minuit
“bought” Manhattan Island for $24 in goods
·
1629 – First Dutch
settlement at Pavonia (
·
1638 – Swedish colony
established in “New Jersey” on lower Delaware River (with connivance of Peter
Minuit)
·
1664 – English defeat of
Dutch interests in New Netherland and initial grant of
·
1675 and 1682 – NJ Town
clerks legally required to register vital records
·
1676 – Creation of East
and
·
1702 – Surrender of
Proprietors’ government rights;
·
1795 – NJ County clerks
began keeping marriage records
·
1827 – Slavery abolished
New York State
·
1846 – Slavery abolished
in New Jersey
·
1848 –
·
1885 – New York required
statewide registration of births, deaths and marriages
·
2000 – East Jersey Provincial
records deposited NJ State Archives
·
2005 – West Jersey Provincial
records deposited NJ State Archives
(For further information see the Family
History Library’s Research Outlines.
Details on repositories mentioned are
provided in the next section)
Census Records:
New
York: Colonial
censuses were taken approximately every ten years beginning in 1690. Some have
survived, along with lists of petitioners, taxpayers, militia lists,
freeholders and persons taking oaths of allegiance. Federal census records from 1790-1930 (except
for 1890) are available in The National Archives, the Family History Library,
the New York Public Library, and the New York State Library in Albany.
State censuses were taken about every ten years
beginning in 1795. Some counties for
1825, 1835, 1845, and 1855 have survived, as have most counties for 1865, 1875,
1892, 1905, 1915, and 1925. Some offer
more detailed information than in US censuses, such as the birth county. Most censuses are located in of county clerks’
offices and some are on microfilm at New York State Library and at the Family
History Library. Steve Morse has a tool for
Searching the Brooklyn 1925 Census in One Step:
www.stevemorse.org/brooklyn/brooklyn.html
New Jersey: Colonial censuses taken in 1726, 1738,
1745 and 1772 have not survived, but taxpayer, quit-rent and other lists of
residents (some of which have been published) may be helpful substitutes. The 1790, 1800, 1810 and 1820 and 1890
Federal censuses are likewise unavailable (with minor exceptions, including an
1890 schedule of Union veterans.) Other
Federal and State censuses from 1855-1915, with some missing counties, are
available in The National Archives, the New Jersey State Archives and Library
and in the Family History Library. The
New Jersey Historical Society also has a large collection of census and tax records. The Monmouth County Genealogy Society has
developed a new online resource for Monmouth County: 1793 Militia Census: www.rootsweb.com/~njmcgs/1793census.htm
Church and Cemetery Records:
New
York: Many church and cemetery records from major
New York denominations -- Dutch Reformed, French Protestant, Lutheran churches,
Congregational Church (Puritans) and Society of Friends (Quakers) (who migrated
from New England) have survived in various locations and in the Family History
Library -- as well as records of Baptist, Presbyterian Methodist, Roman
Catholic and Jewish congregations.
New
Jersey:
Some records for the major denominations have survived and are in various
locations, including the Family History Library. The Genealogical Society of New Jersey
Collections at Rutgers Library have transcriptions from over 800 cemeteries and
16 file drawers of cards with transcribed inscriptions. The New Jersey Historical Society also has a
large collection of cemetery transcriptions and an 11,000 card “Index To Civil
War Soldiers’ Graves In New Jersey”.
City and
Other Directories: New
York City directories from 1786 have survived.
A large number
of other directories (most from the early-mid 19th century) are
available in several locations, including the New York and New Jersey State
Libraries and the Family History Library.
Court Records: Some probate records, guardianship,
naturalization, and a wide variety of other records have survived from as early
as the 1630s and are available in the New York and New Jersey State Archives
and the Family History Library, as well as in various County Clerks’
offices. Some records of the US District
Courts New York and New Jersey including bankruptcy records, are in the National
Archives Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York NY 10014.
Emigration and Immigration and
Naturalization Records:
After the Revolutionary War, many people who remained loyal to
the Crown fled from New York and New Jersey to Canada and/or the UK and some
records of these Loyalists (and the disposition of their property) have
survived in the National Archives of the United Kingdom: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Many people who arrived in eastern ports moved on to Midwest
and western locations. The Genealogical
Society of New Jersey Collection has an Emigrant Register of many
Land and Property Records:
New York: Few
pre-1660 land records have survived. After
1660, all
colonial patents and land grant applications and many deeds are in the State
Archives. Patents and deeds from 1664 on
are also on microfilm at the Family History Library.
New Jersey: The earliest recorded sales of land in New
Jersey were by the proprietors of East and West Jersey beginning in 1664,
and those records have been recently deposited in the New Jersey State Archives.
The NJSA also has deeds recorded in the Secretary of State’s Office until 1785
(with some to 1800); some of these are indexed in Colonial Conveyances: Provinces
of East & West New Jersey 1664–1794.
Most recorded deeds from 1785 (some earlier) and mortgages from 1766 are
maintained in county clerks’ offices.
The New Jersey State Archives has some copies of these, particularly the
ones filmed by the Family History Library.
It is estimated that only about half of the deeds from this period were
ever recorded.
Military
Records:
Military records for both states (some
from early Colonial wars) have survived in the National Archives (US) and the
state archives. Later records which have
not been turned over to the archives will be found in the Departments of
Military and Veterans' Affairs. An
important source of Revolutionary war records is The David Library of the
American Revolution, www.dlar.org, located in
Newspapers: The New Jersey State Archives has a large
collection of
·
Index to Central New Jersey Newspapers 1783-1876,
available on disk from Michael Brown, 39
Eastern Drive, Kendall Park, NJ 08824.
·
Newspaper indexes from the Burlington County Library
1818-2002: http://index.burlco.lib.nj.us
Probate Records and Wills: Before the English takeover of New York and New
Jersey in 1664, and even for several years thereafter, wills were probated by
either notary publics or aldermen, according to Dutch law and custom. Many of these records have not survived but the
New York State Library has a 5,000 card index to “notarial records from
1598–1750” which provide some information about persons in New Netherland (what
is now New York and New Jersey).
In New York, from
the 1680s until the first constitution, the governor's Prerogative Court
usually probated wills and administrations.
After 1776, the Court of Probates replaced the Prerogative Court. This was replaced in the 1820s by the Court
of Chancery which was replaced in 1847 by county Surrogate’s Courts. Surviving copies of wills and administrations
are held in a variety of locations. Some
have been filmed by the Family History Library.
Probate in New Jersey
has been a county issue since 1784, when Orphans Courts replaced the
Prerogative Court. Some probate matters
were transferred to Surrogates Courts in 1804 (all were transferred in
1947). Microfilm copies and bound paper
indexes of all
Vital
Records:
In New Jersey town clerks were required by laws of 1675 and 1682 to register
vital records, but few complied. Marriages were also to be kept by the county
clerks from 1795. Statewide recording of
births, marriages and deaths began in New Jersey in 1848 and in New York in
1880, although in the early years in both states many births, deaths and
marriages were not recorded. In both
states the surviving records will be found in the state archives and county
clerks’ offices. Some have been filmed
by the Family History Library.
Where to Find Records-Major New York Repositories: :
National
Archives—Northeast Region, New York City Office: 201
Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
212-401-1620 Fax: 212-401-1638 www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc
The archives has
naturalization records, Internal Revenue Service records, customs lists, and
records of the U.S. District Court of Appeals. The archives also has microfilms
of all available federal census records, many state as well as Federal naturalization
records, court records, passenger lists for New York City and other ports,
Revolutionary War military records, some Civil War service indexes, and World
War I draft registrations.
New
York
518-474-8955
fax: 518-473-9985 www.archives.nysed.gov
The collection includes
manuscripts, statewide vital records indexes, documents relating to land
grants, land survey maps, alien deposition records, military records, state
court records, prison records, wills, and estate records. The archives
collection also has microfilms of some state censuses and the original census
returns for 1915 and 1925. Steve Morse
has a one step tool for searching new York prison records: www.stevemorse.org/prison/prison.html
New
York
518-474-5355 fax: 474-5786
www.nysl.nysed.gov
A collection local
histories, genealogies, atlases, church and cemetery records, directories,
microfilmed newspapers, federal and state censuses, passenger lists, and
periodicals. It also houses the
collection of early Dutch manuscripts featured in Russell Shorto’s book, The
Island at the Center of the World.
New
York Public Library: Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
212-930-0830
www.nypl.org Online catalog: http://catnyp.nypl.org
This is one of the world’s
top ten libraries and is supported by private foundations as well as by
government funds. Its vast collection
includes many works of local history and genealogical interest including
newspapers, directories, vital records indexes, federal and state censuses,
passenger lists and church records.
New
York City Municipal Archives: 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, New York, NY 10007
212-NEW-YORK www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/about/archives.shtml
The
Municipal Archives has city birth, death, and marriage records from 1880,
property records, the 1890 police census, city directories, voter
registrations, almshouse and municipal government records.
New
York Genealogical and Biographical Society: 122 E. 58th Street, New York, NY 10022-1939
212-755-8532 Fax:
212-754-4218 www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org
This
library has a major collection of New York State genealogy and local history,
including both published and manuscript materials. Many of its holdings are
becoming available to members on line, including ProQuest’s every word
searchable digitization of The New York Times from 1851 to the 1990s.
New
York Historical Society: 170
Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
212-873-3400
Fax: 212-875-1591 www.nyhistory.org
A
large collection of manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, histories, city
directories, maps, and photographs.
Brooklyn
Historical Society: 128
Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 12201
718-222-4111 www.brooklynhistory.org (Formerly
known as the Long Island Historical Society)
An
extensive collection of manuscripts and works from the earliest days of this
area of New York.
Olin-Kroch
& Uris Libraries: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-5301 607-255-4144 www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris
A
large collection of Protestant church records for western New York as well as
histories, maps, newspapers, and New York censuses.
Montgomery
County Department of History and Archives: Old Court House, P. O. Box 1500,
Fonda, NY 12068-1500 518-853-8187 fax: 518-853-8218 www.co.montgomery.ny.us/historian
A collection of family
genealogies, church record transcripts, local histories, and town records for
the Mohawk Valley area of New York State.
Where to Find Records-Major NJ Repositories: :
The Genealogical
Society of New Jersey: www.gsnj.org The GSNJ collections of family histories,
published (and unpublished) genealogies and cemetery records are in the Special Collections at the
Alexander Library of Rutgers University, 169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
908-932-7510; Fax: 908-932-7012, and
include many cemetery, bible, military and family history and emigration (from
NJ) items. For details of the collection see: www.rootsweb.com/~njgsnj/collectionguide.html.
609-292-6260
fax: 396-2454 http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/archives.html
Vital statistics
from 1848 to 1923 (birth records) and 1940 for marriage and death records.
Later BMD records are held in the Department of Health and Human Services: www.state.nj.us/health/vital/vital.htm.
Some pre 1848 marriages recorded by county clerks and Colonial Marriage Bonds
from 1711-1795. Divorce Records 1743-1850. Later divorce records are held in the
Superior Court. Federal and NJ
census records, New Jersey Tax Ratables for 1773-1822. Many proprietary deeds of East and
West Jersey from 1664; deeds recorded in
the Secretary of State’s Office until 1785 (with some to 1800), some copies of
deeds recorded in counties, particularly the ones filmed by the Family History Library. A large collection of NJ newspapers and
published abstracts from early newspapers.
Military Records from Colonial times until WW I. NJ naturalization records (in addition
to those filed under each county) for the colonial period and part of the 19th
century. Microfilm copies and bound paper indexes of all New Jersey wills
and inventories before 1950s; Later
wills are held in the Superior Court.
609- 292-6274; fax: 609-984-7901 www.njstatelib.org
A large collection of genealogical reference tools, indexes, bibliographies, community and local histories for New Jersey and for states populated from New Jersey, New Jersey genealogies and published sources