New Jersey, state in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States. Its long eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. To the northeast and north it is bordered by the Hudson River and New York. To the west lies Pennsylvania. New Jersey is separated from Delaware on the south and southwest by Delaware Bay and the Delaware River. Trenton is the capital of New Jersey. Newark is the largest city.
New Jersey is the fifth smallest state but one of the most diversified. Lying between New York City and Philadelphia, in the heart of the highly urbanized area called a megalopolis by some population experts, it is the second most urbanized state, behind only California, and the most densely populated. New Jersey is the only state in which all 21 counties are officially classified as “metropolitan” by the census. Yet it has wilderness areas, in the mountains of the northwest and the sparsely settled southern tidelands. New Jersey is in the forefront of industrial research and development, but the continuing importance of farming is reflected in its nickname, the Garden State. New Jersey’s ready access to the markets of New York City and Philadelphia led to an early specialization in fresh fruits and vegetable production. As early as the 17th century, colonists described the area as a garden because of its agricultural bounty.
Proud of its status as the third state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, entering the Union on December 18, 1787, New Jersey traces its history back more than 350 years. Its name derives from the island of Jersey in the English Channel, the birthplace of Sir George Carteret, a co-owner of New Jersey in the 17th century. The state contains many well-preserved monuments commemorating the American Revolution (1775-1783), many of whose battles were fought on New Jersey soil, including George Washington’s famed crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776, to defeat the British at Trenton. The Official State Website is http://www.state.nj.us/. See More on State history
The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.
Below is a list of New Jersey Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc.
