Union County, New Jersey Genealogical Records Information

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Union County History and Information

Union County Facts

Union County was created on 19 March 1857 (becoming effective on April 13, 1857) and was formed from the southern portion of old Essex County. Consult the Essex County for pre-1857 records. It was the last of New Jersey's counties to be created. Union County -- one of 17 counties in the nation to bear that name -- is the oldest of the group. While it is the second smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties (larger only than Hudson County), its half-million residents also make it the most densely populated. Again named as the County seat, Elizabethtown regained its historic economic prominence that was lost in the shadow of Newark. The County was named for the Union which was threatened by the American Civil War. The County Seat is Elizabeth.

Although no one is certain why the name "Union County" was chosen, some historians credit it to the growing Pre-Civil War concern to protect the federal union. Others believed it more reflected the local prediliction for independence and unity, for which the southern Essex County towns had long struggled. Whatever the reason, Union County residents at that time are often portrayed as being strongly united as they moved forward together to create an equitable and forward-looking County government.

As the seven original municipalities developed an industrial base and transportation infrastructure, they were broken apart and joined to create new townships, resulting in the Union County municipalities as we know them today. Linden was created in 1861 from parts of Elizabeth, Rahway and Union, with Clark following in 1864, set off from Rahway. Summit followed in 1869, Cranford in 1871, Roselle in 1894, Mountainside and Fanwood in 1895, Berkeley Heights in 1899, Roselle Park in 1901, Garwood in 1903, Kenilworth in 1907, Hillside in 1913, and Scotch Plains in 1917. Winfield Township was the last of Union County's 21 municipalities, joining the ranks in 1941. By 1930, the county's population was 200,000, having nearly doubled its population from the turn of the century. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Union County are Essex County (north), Hudson County (east), Richmond County, New York (east), Middlesex County (south), Somerset County (west), Morris County (west).

Union County Cities Include Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, Summit. Towns Includes Westfield. Townships Include Berkeley Heights Township, Clark, Cranford, Hillside, Scotch Plains, Springfield Township, Union Township, Winfield Township. Boroughs Include Fanwood, Garwood, Kenilworth, Mountainside, New Providence, Roselle Park, Roselle.

The Union County Official Government Website
Union County, New Jersey History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Union County Courthouse

See Also New Jersey Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below are in the Union County Courthouse, 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207; (908) 659-4100, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.unioncountynj.org/. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Union County Clerk has Land Records & Marriage Records from 1857 and is located at the address above. Phone Number: (908) 527-4787
New Jersey county clerks are responsible for land records, including deeds and mortgages, naturalizations, marriages (usually 1795-1840s), and various county court records. A few original county justice of the peace dockets are at the New Jersey State Archives. Estate matters are handled in the surrogate's and orphans' courts.

Union County Surrogate Court / Orphan's Court has Probate Records from 1857 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (908) 527-4280
By virtue of laws enacted since 1844, the responsibilities of the County Surrogate have been expanded. The County Surrogate now has two major functions:

As Judge and Clerk of the County Surrogate's Court, the Surrogate is responsible for settling the estate of every county resident who dies individually owning any assets in New Jersey--whether or not that resident dies leaving a will. Therefore, the Surrogate reviews and probates wills and appoints Executors, Administrators and guardians of minors. In addition, the Surrogate administers and invests monies (now more than $30 million in Bergen County) primarily for minor children who receive judgments in the courts in Bergen County; and
As Deputy Clerk of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part, the Surrogate dockets, reviews and schedules all actions pertaining to will contests, estate matters, accountings, mental incompetencies, guardianships of incompetents and all adoptions occurring in Bergen County. In addition, all documents involved in all County Surrogate Court matters are recorded, stored and maintained by the County Surrogate's Court.

Click Here to Search New Jersey Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Union County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Union County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Index to Marriage Records, 1666-1799
Index to Supreme Court Cases, 1704-1844
Index to Marriage Records, 1848-1867
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Union County, New Jersey Court Books at Amazon.com
New Jersey Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Union County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Because New Jersey's pre-1830 federal censuses have not survived, tax records are quite an important substitute for placing persons and families prior to that time. Tax lists arranged by township are available for 1773-1822. The originals, at the New Jersey State Archives, show heads of households, landowners, and single adult males, with information about their property that was taxable, including land, horses, cattle, slaves, and mills. Only about half of the 1773-4 lists are extant, and for some places, such as Sussex County, coverage is very slight. Microfilms of these records are at the state archives, the New Jersey Historical Society, Rutgers University, and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. The 1784 tax lists for thirty-eight municipalities (predominantly in southern New Jersey) are the only ones to indicate the size of a household, with a column for number of whites and a column for number of slaves.

Later tax records are found in the counties starting about 1869-70. Tax lists for some extinct New Jersey municipalities are at the state archives.

Below is a list of online resources for Union County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Union County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Union County, New Jersey Tax Books at Amazon.com

Union County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other New Jersey Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Union County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Union County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Cranford Historical Society, 38 Springfield Avenue, C ranford, NJ 07016; 908-276-0489
Union County Historical Society 116 E. Fourth Ave., Roselle, NJ 07203; 908-245-9010
(In existence circa 1870, the society is primarily interested in history, historic events, and historic preservation in Union county. The society is not involved in much genealogy. Contact them for publications.)
Local New Jersey Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Department of State Division of Archives and Records Management
Bureau of Archives and Records Preservation State Library Bldg, 185 West State Street, CN-307, Trenton, NJ 08625-0307
The New Jersey State Archives has many of the basic research materials for the state, such as federal and state census records; probate, land, and court records; newspapers; and vital records.
New Jersey State Library, State Library Building, 185 West State Street, CN-520, Trenton, NJ 08625-0520
Genealogical Society of New Jersey, PO Box 1476, Trenton NJ 08607-1476
The Genealogical Society of New Jersey has published The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey since 1925. The society houses its collection of genealogical materials, including cemetery transcriptions, family Bibles (over 4,800), military records, notes of genealogists, and so forth, in the A. S. Alexander Library at Rutgers University.
The New Jersey Historical Society, 52 Park Pl., Newark, NJ 07102; 973-596-8500 ext 248 or 249
New Jersey Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
New Jersey Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Union County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search New Jersey Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Union County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Union County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Many New Jersey church records have been published in state historical and genealogical journals, such as The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey. Original and transcribed material is to be found at the New Jersey Historical Society (including the DAR collection), Rutgers, the Glouster County Historical Society, and elsewhere, and in New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania sources and libraries, particularly in the Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

The important work of grave marker transcribing has been the goal of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, which was originally formed by "Tombstone Hounds." Their core collection is at Rutgers University, where there is a card index by county and name of the cemetery as well as a "master index" arranged alphabetically by surname but only for selected cemeteries. Many of the society's transcriptions have been published in their journal, The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey. Another large collection of cemetery records is that gathered by the New Jersey DAR chapters, with copies deposited at the New Jersey State Library and the New Jersey Historical Society. Both these places have other cemetery records, as do the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and the New York Public Library. Some individual books of cemetery inscriptions have been published, and some are found in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

Below is a list of online resources for Union County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Union County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search New Jersey Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Union County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Union County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Union County ] [ New Jersey ] [ Main Page ]
Union County NJGenWeb Archives
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
The New Jersey Family Group Sheet Project
Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
New Jersey Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Union County, New Jersey Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

From the 15th to 17th Centuries, the Dutch and English were drawn to this area -- then occupied by the Lenni Lenapi Indians (or Delaware tribe, as the Europeans called them) -- because of its incredibly easy access by sea. They developed the first colonial settlements in the area because of its natural beauty, vast abundance of fertile fields and natural resources, and offer of personal freedom. The development of the area was greatly helped by the criss-cross network of Indian trails, which became colonial roads and, centuries later, major highways.

In the historic Elizabethtown Purchase of 1664 -- the Lenni Lanapi gave a group of English settlers title to an immense tract of land that extended from the Raritan to the Passaic Rivers, and westward for over thirty miles. (It is interesting to note that the Indians believed they were selling the rights to use the land for hunting, fishing, farming and such. The English concept of "owning" land was unknown to them at that time.) The purchase led to the first permanent English settlement in New Jersey. Elizabethtown was laid out along the Elizabeth River near the present Union County Courthouse. As the port of entry and first seat of New Jersey government, Elizabeth became a prominent and thriving economic center, and the leading settlement in the state. (It should also be noted that Warinanco and Matteo were two Indians whose names were later given to two County parks.)

In 1683, the General Assembly, meeting in Elizabethtown, divided East New Jersey into four counties: Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth. What we know as Union County was originally a part of Essex County.

With the growth in population and continuous division and sale
of land parcels, Elizabethtown's boundary lines continued to expand and divide. State legislature created the towns of Springfield (1793), Westfield (1794), Rahway (1804), Union (1808) and
New Providence (1809).

The creation of Plainfield in 1847 fueled the movement to secede
from Essex County, to create a new county better equipped to meet the needs of the southernmost towns. The animosities between Elizabethtown and Newark heightened in 1807 when Newark replaced Elizabethtown as Essex County's seat of justice, and gradually overcame Elizabethtown in economic importance. It accelerated when Elizabeth incorporated in 1855.
Union County Is Created

Union County was officially formed by state legislature on March 19th, 1857, (becoming effective on April 13, 1857). It was the last of New Jersey's counties to be created. Union County -- one of 17 counties in the nation to bear that name -- is the oldest of the group. While it is the second smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties (larger only than Hudson County), its half-million residents also make it the most densely populated. Again named as the County seat, Elizabethtown regained its historic economic prominence that was lost in the shadow of Newark.

Although no one is certain why the name "Union County" was chosen, some historians credit it to the growing Pre-Civil War concern to protect the federal union. Others believed it more reflected the local predilection for independence and unity, for which the southern Essex County towns had long struggled. Whatever the reason, Union County residents at that time are often portrayed as being strongly united as they moved forward together to create an equitable and forward-looking County government.

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