New Jersey Research Tips and Strategies

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Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page

The New Jersey Research Tips and Strategies page consists of links to specific research strategies for New Jersey. It also contains general tips and other resources for finding your ancestors in this locality.

New Jersey Research Strategies[edit | edit source]

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in New Jersey:

Finding New Jersey Birth, Marriage or Death Records[edit | edit source]

Finding New Jersey Records[edit | edit source]

New Jersey Statewide Databases[edit | edit source]

New Jersey Research Process[edit | edit source]

New Jersey Research Tips[edit | edit source]

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in New Jersey:

Birth and Death information:

  • Statewide birth registration: In 1848 New Jersey became the second state (after Massachusetts) to require statewide registration, but the early registration was not complete. General compliance was in 1920.[1]
  • Statewide death registration: The first laws requiring town clerks to register vital records were made in 1675 and 1682, but few clerks complied.[2]
  • Access to records: See Delaware Vital Records for more information about birth, marriages, and deaths in Delaware.


Substitute Records:

  • Secondary source: Substitute records are used when primary sources do not exist for an event, such as birth, marriage, and deaths. Secondary sources list information about the event but they were not recorded at the time of the event and they are not an official record of the event.
  • Accuracy: Because the information about an event in substitute records was not the official recording of the event (such as, cemetery or obituary records) inaccuracy may occur. Use other substitute records to help verify information.
  • List of substitute records: See Delaware Substitute Records for more information.


Finding Parents:

  • Death records: Death returns from 1848 to 1878 show the names of parents, the exact date of death, and the age at death. Death certificates from 1878 to 1900 may show the names of the parents, but the death registers do not.[3] In 1912, the New Jersey State Office of Vital Statistics began to register deaths. Certificates required information about the names of the parents. Information was not always provided and the accuracy of the information was limited by the grieving relatives' memory.
  • Obituaries: Official obituaries can also include the names of parents and other family members. See Delaware Newspapers and Delaware Obituaries for more information.
  • Church records: Knowing the denomination of the church the family belonged to helps in locating information about the parents. See Delaware Church Records for more information.


Census Records:

  • Check all census years: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census to learn more about them and their family members. See Delaware Census Records for more information.
  • Clues to other records: There are clues in censuses regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records.
  • Finding families: Starting in 1850, all members of the household were listed in the census. By 1880, relationship to the head of household was added.

Further New Jersey Research[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ New Jersey Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1991, 55-56. (Accessed 20 Feb 2025). Online at: BYU University - Provo
  2. ↑ New Jersey Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1991, 55-56. (Accessed 20 Feb 2025). Online at: BYU University - Provo
  3. ↑ New Jersey Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1991, 57. (Accessed 20 Feb 2025). Online at: BYU University - Provo
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