Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy
Hudson 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.
| Hudson County, New Jersey | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Jersey, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | , 1840 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Jersey City |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | William J. Brennan Court House 583 Newark Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07306 |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Description
- 3 Hudson County, New Jersey Historical Facts
- 4 Parent County
- 5 Boundary Changes
- 6 Record Loss
- 7 Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources
- 7.1 Bible
- 7.2 Cemeteries
- 7.3 Census
- 7.4 Church Records
- 7.5 Court Records
- 7.6 Emigration and Immigration
- 7.7 Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
- 7.8 Gazetteers
- 7.9 Genealogy
- 7.10 History
- 7.11 Land and property
- 7.12 Maps
- 7.13 Migration
- 7.14 Military
- 7.15 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 7.16 Newspapers
- 7.17 Occupations
- 7.18 Periodicals
- 7.19 Poorhouse, Almshouse
- 7.20 Populated Places
- 8 Hudson County, New Jersey Websites
- 9 Hudson County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties
- 10 Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Hudson County is located in the northeastern region of the state. It was created in 1840. Jersey City is the county seat. The county was named for Henry Hudson.[1]
Hudson County, New Jersey Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1901 | 1901 | 1901 | 1840 | 1840 | 1804 | 1830 |
Hudson County, New Jersey Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
At the time of European contact in the 17th century, Hudson County was the territory the Lenape or Lenni-Lenape, namely the bands (or family groups) known as the Hackensack, the Tappan, the Raritan, and the Manhattan. They were a seasonally migrational people who practiced small-scale agriculture (companion planting) augmented by hunting and gathering which likely, given the topography of the area, included much (shell)fishing and trapping. These groups had early and frequent contact with the by Europeans, with whom they engaged in trade. Their Algonquian language can still be inferred in many local place names such as Communipaw, Harsimus, Hackensack, Hoboken, Weehawken, Secaucus, and Pamrapo.
Henry Hudson, for whom the county and river on which it sits is named, established a claim for the area in 1609 when anchoring his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) at Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove. The west bank of the North River (as it was called) and the cliffs, hills, and marshlands abutting and beyond it, were settled by Europeans (Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot) from the Lowlands around the same time as New Amsterdam.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
22 February 1840: formed from Bergen County. [3]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
1852: part of Harrison twp. returned to Bergen County as Union twp.
1892: water 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[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| 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 | FamilySearch Places | |
| NJTombstone Project | ||
| NJInterment | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See New Jersey Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- 1849-1984 - New Jersey, Jersey City, Holy Name Cemetery, Card Index of Interment, 1849-1984 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1840 | 9,483 | — |
| 1850 | 21,822 | 130.1% |
| 1860 | 62,717 | 187.4% |
| 1870 | 129,067 | 105.8% |
| 1880 | 187,944 | 45.6% |
| 1890 | 275,126 | 46.4% |
| 1900 | 386,048 | 40.3% |
| 1910 | 537,231 | 39.2% |
| 1920 | 629,154 | 17.1% |
| 1930 | 690,730 | 9.8% |
| 1940 | 652,040 | −5.6% |
| 1950 | 647,437 | −0.7% |
| 1960 | 610,734 | −5.7% |
| 1970 | 607,839 | −0.5% |
| 1980 | 556,972 | −8.4% |
| 1990 | 553,099 | −0.7% |
| 2000 | 608,975 | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 634,266 | 4.2% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- 1855 New Jersey, State Census, 1855 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865 New Jersey, State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1895 New Jersey, State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1915 New Jersey State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Church Records[edit | edit source]
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.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[edit | edit source]
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Hoboken
- Hoboken Dist
Lutheran[edit | edit source]
St. Olav Lutheran Church, Weehawken
- Records of St. Olav Lutheran Church, Weehawken, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
Trinity Lutheran Church, Jersey City
- Records of Trinity Lutheran Church, Jersey City, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1906-1942 - New York Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1906-1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men in Hudson County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.
- - 88th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company G
- - 102nd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company K
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1796-1991 - New Jersey Naturalization Records, 1796-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1840-1989 - Naturalization Records from 1840 to 1989 can be obtained from the Office of the Clerk of Hudson County ($).
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
- Bayonne Herald - full-text of more than 1800 issues spanning 1869-1915 freely available via Google Newspaper Archive
Occupations[edit | edit source]
Some occupations include the glazing industry. Glazing involved producing and installing windows.The practice involved working with various types of glass; the practice includes cutting, coloring, and heating glass. The glazing industry is heavily involved with architecture. Individuals who worked in the glazing practice were called glaziers, and they would work as apprentices and would join a union in order to learn the trade.
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Poorhouse, Almshouse[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]
| Cities | ||
| Boroughs | ||
| Towns | ||
| Suburbs | ||
| Townships | ||
Probate records[edit | edit source]
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Hudson 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 Hudson 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[edit | edit source]
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 - How to Use this Collection
Repositories[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Hudson County Courthouse
583 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone: (201) 795-6112
Register of Deeds has land records. Clerk Surrogate Court has probate records. [5]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Libraries
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
- Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum
- Ellis Island Immigration Museum
- Hoboken Historical Museum
Societies[edit | edit source]
Hudson County Genealogical Society
135 Irving St.
Jersey City 07307
Website
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Schools[edit | edit source]
Taxation[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1901-1903, New Jersey, Reclaim the Records, New Jersey Birth Index, 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
1606-1981 - New Jersey, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1670-1980, New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1930-1938, New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1901-1903 - New Jersey, Death Index, 1901-1903 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Hudson County, New Jersey Websites[edit | edit source]
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Hudson County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
- Hudson County NJ Genealogy
- FamilySearch Catalog
Hudson County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Hudson County, New Jersey Genealogy References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hudson County, New Jersey" in Wikipedia : the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_County,_New_Jersey accessed 29 August 2018.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hudson County, New Jersey . Page 464-465 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 460.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hudson County, New Jersey," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_County, New Jersey#Communities accessed 10 March 2020.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hudson County, New Jersey page 464, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
