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Search the Land Records from All States, View Property Reports Now!
The earliest sales of land in New Jersey were by the proprietors of East and West Jersey, which still hold some land today and maintain their records, although those for West Jersey are on film at the state archives. Until the Land Act of 1785 transferred the recording of deeds to the counties, land conveyances after the initial grants from the proprietors were recorded in the East and West New Jersey capitals, Perth Amboy and Burlington, and in 1795 transferred to Trenton, where they became known as the Secretary of State's Deeds. These deeds, dating 1664 to the 1800s, are at the state archives. It has been estimated that only a quarter of colonial land transfers were recorded.
At the county level are found the usual deeds and mortgages, with corresponding indexes to each type of record. These records begin for most counties at two stages. Mortgages have been recorded with the county clerk from 1766 and deeds from 1785, and generally one would expect to find such records for all counties established by these dates. There is, however, some variance, and some counties recorded deeds in earlier years. At least two counties, Hudson and Passaic, have abstracts of deeds pre-dating the formation of the county that pertain to lands previously in parent counties. Microfilm of deeds, recorded about 1900, and mortgages, to about 1850, for almost all New Jersey counties are available at the New Jersey State Archives. Also with the county clerk are divisions or partitions of lands that include descriptions and often maps showing how the real property of a person who died intestate was divided among his or her heirs. Many unrecorded deeds are found at the state archives, the New Jersey Historical Society, Rutgers, and in several local historical societies.
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Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"
Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone,
In Land and Property Research in the United States
U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3
The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.
Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.
Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.
The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).
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