Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy
Morris 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.
Morris County, New Jersey | |
Map | |
![]() Location in the state of New Jersey, United States Genealogy | |
![]() Location of New Jersey in the U.S. | |
Facts | |
Founded | March 15, 1739 |
---|---|
County Seat | Morristown |
Courthouse | |
Address | Morris County Courthouse Hall of Rec Admin Bldg Court St, PO Box 315 |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Description
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 Morris County, New Jersey Historical Facts
- 5 Morris County, New Jersey Genealogical Resources
- 5.1 Bible
- 5.2 Cemeteries
- 5.3 Census
- 5.4 Church Records
- 5.5 Court Records
- 5.6 Emigration and Immigration
- 5.7 Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
- 5.8 Gazetteers
- 5.9 Genealogy
- 5.10 History
- 5.11 Land and Property
- 5.12 Maps
- 5.13 Migration
- 5.14 Military
- 5.15 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 5.16 Newspapers
- 5.17 Occupations
- 5.18 Periodicals
- 5.19 Poorhouse, Almshouse
- 5.20 Populated Places
- 5.21 Probate Records
- 5.22 Repositories
- 5.23 Schools
- 5.24 Taxation
- 5.25 Vital Records
- 6 Morris County, New Jersey Websites
- 7 Morris County, New Jersey Municipalities
- 8 Morris County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties
- 9 Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Morris County is located in the north central region of the state. It was created on March 15, 1739 . Morristown is the county seat. The county was named for Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation.[1]
Morris County, New Jersey Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1901 | 1795 | 1901 | 1739 | 1765 | 1785 | 1830 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Morris County Courthouse
Hall of Rec Admin Bldg;
Court St; PO Box 315
Morristown, NJ 07963
Phone: 973.285.6120
County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1881,
court records 1739-1978, land records from 1785,
slave records 1804-1820, naturalization records
from 1816 and military discharge records from 1945.
County Surrogate Court has probate records. These provide death date, executor's name and probate file number: click on link to search records by name [accessed March 7, 2014]
Clerk Superior Court has divorce records. [3]
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/morris/index.htm
Washington & Court Sts.
Morristown, NJ 07960-0910
973-656-4000
Morris County, New Jersey Historical Facts[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.
- Morris County was first settled by the white man in the early 1700s.
- Named after Lewis Morris, who was then the Governor of the Province of New Jersey
- Beginning in 1740 Morris County had 3 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover Twp., Morris Twp., and Pequannock Twp.)
- Beginning of the 19th century (1800) Morris County had 7 Municipal Subdivisions (Hanover, Morris, Pequannock, Chester, Mendham, Roxbury and Washington Townships).
- Beginning of the 20th century (1900) Morris County had 25 Municipal Subdivisions.
- Beginning of the 21st century (2000) Morris County is composed of 39 Municipal Subdivisions.
Morris County Library has a more detailed Genealogy geography - to view, click here. [accessed March 7, 2014]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
- 15 March 1739: Morris County was created by an Act of the State Legislature separating it from Hunterdon County. (Worldcat)
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
- 16 May 1753: Sussex County set off. (Worldcat)
- 1749 the boundary with Somerset County was 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.
Morris County, New Jersey Genealogical 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. |
Census[edit | edit source]
Historical populations | ||
---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± |
1790 | 16,216 | — |
1800 | 17,750 | 9.5% |
1810 | 21,828 | 23.0% |
1820 | 21,368 | −2.1% |
1830 | 23,666 | 10.8% |
1840 | 25,844 | 9.2% |
1850 | 30,158 | 16.7% |
1860 | 34,677 | 15.0% |
1870 | 43,137 | 24.4% |
1880 | 50,861 | 17.9% |
1890 | 54,101 | 6.4% |
1900 | 65,156 | 20.4% |
1910 | 74,704 | 14.7% |
1920 | 82,694 | 10.7% |
1930 | 110,445 | 33.6% |
1940 | 125,732 | 13.8% |
1950 | 164,371 | 30.7% |
1960 | 261,620 | 59.2% |
1970 | 383,454 | 46.6% |
1980 | 407,630 | 6.3% |
1990 | 421,353 | 3.4% |
2000 | 470,212 | 11.6% |
2010 | 492,276 | 4.7% |
Source: "Wikipedia.org". |
State Census Records
- 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
- Morris County, New Jersey, 1749
- Morris County, New Jersey, 1771
- Morris County, New Jersey 1780 Census Index
Federal Census Records
- United States Census (Mortality Schedule), 1850
- United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850
- United States Census 1850
- United States Census, 1850
- United States Census, 1860
- United States Census 1860
- United States Census, 1870
- United States Census 1870
- United States Census, 1880 (Index only)
- United States Census 1880
- United States Census, 1900
- United States Census 1900
- United States Census 1910
- United States Census, 1920
- United States Census 1920
- Many Directories for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.
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.
- Morris County, New Jersey Churches
- 1675-1970 - New Jersey, Church Records, 1675-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
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]
- Linkpendium Maps and Gazetteers
- 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.
- The Founding of Morris County, New Jersey
- Morris County Biorgraphy Bibliography (WorldCat)
- Many History Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the topic details.
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.
- The Land Past and Present
- Many Land Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the topic details.
- Beautiful Homes of Morris County and Northern New Jersey (1900) - book freely available at the Internet Archive.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- The Changing Landscape of Morris County, New Jersey
- Morris County New Jersey 1895
- Morris County Map
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military[edit | edit source]
- The Revolutionary Forefathers of Morris County: an address delivered at Morristown, N. J., July 4, 1876
- World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 1)
- World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, Morris County (page 2)
- Many Military Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1796-1991 - New Jersey Naturalization Records, 1796-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- Many Naturalization and Citizenship Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Occupations[edit | edit source]
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]
Boroughs | ||
Towns | ||
Unincorporated communities | ||
Census-designated places | ||
Townships | ||
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Morris 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 Morris 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
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
New Jersey, Middlesex County Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
- Many Probate Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the topic details.
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]
Morris County Courthouse
Hall of Rec Admin Bldg;
Court St; PO Box 315
Morristown, NJ 07963
Phone: 973.285.6120
County Clerk has marriage records 1795-1881,
court records 1739-1978, land records from 1785,
slave records 1804-1820, naturalization records
from 1816 and military discharge records from 1945.
County Surrogate Court has probate records. These provide death date, executor's name and probate file number: click on link to search records by name [accessed March 7, 2014]
Clerk Superior Court has divorce records. [3]
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/morris/index.htm
Washington & Court Sts.
Morristown, NJ 07960-0910
973-656-4000
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
- Dover New Jersey Family History Center
- Ledgewood New Jersey Family History Center
- Morristown New Jersey Family History Center
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Morris Area Genealogy Society
Mailing address P.O. BOX 105
Covent Station, NJ 07961-0105
Currently meeting at Morris County Library
30 East Hanover Ave.
Whippany, NJ
Website
Morris County Historical Society
68 Morris Avenue
Morristown 07960
Telephone: 973-267-3465
Website
Historical Society of Boonton Township
591 Powerville Road
PO Box 362
Boonton Township New Jersey 07005
Website
Chatham Historical Society
24 Southern Boulevard
Chatham 07928-0262
Website
Chester Historical Society
PO Box 376
Chester NJ 07930
Telephone: 908-866-6717
E-mail:historicchesternj@gmail.com
Website
Cornish Heritage Society
East 197 Wykertown Rd
Branchville, New Jersey 07885
Denville Historical Society
Diamond Spring Rd
Denville, NJ 07834
Telephone: 973-627-6894
Harding Township Historical Society
16 Village Road
New Vernon, NJ 07826-4431
Telephone: 973-292-3661
E-mail:varker@optonline.net
Lake Hopatcong Historical Society
PO Box 668
Landing, NJ 07850
Telephone: 973-398-2616
Website
Historical Society Of Rockaways
Mount Hope Rd
Rockaway, NJ 07866
Telephone: 973-366-6730
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Schools[edit | edit source]
- Schools of Morris County, New Jersey
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.
- Many Taxation Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the topic details.
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
- Bill of Mortality Being a Register of Deaths
- Death Records, June 1878 - June 1885
- New Jersey Vital Records
- Many Vital Records for Morris County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.
Morris County, New Jersey Websites[edit | edit source]
- The Morris County NJGenWeb Project, a member of The NJGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
- Morris County, New Jersey History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
- Morris County NJ Genealogy
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Morris County.
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Morris County. (Backup site)
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Linkpendium Morris County
Morris County, New Jersey Municipalities[edit | edit source]
- Municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Morris County, New Jersey" in Wikipedia : the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_County,_New_Jersey accessed 23 September 2018.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Morris 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Morris County, New Jersey page 465, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Morris County, New Jersey," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_County,_New_Jersey#Communities accessed 15 March 2020.