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Morris County, New Jersey genealogy and family history 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.

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Morris County, New Jersey
Map
Map of New Jersey highlighting Morris County
Location in the state of New Jersey
Map of the U.S. highlighting New Jersey
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
Morristown, NJ 07963
Phone: (973) 285.6120
Morris County Website

Contents

County Courthouse 

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 has probate records.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce records. [1]

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

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.

Parent County

  • 15 March 1739: Morris County was created by an Act of the State Legislature separating it from Hunterdon County. (Worldcat)

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

Morris County, New Jersey Genealogical Resources

Bible

Cemeteries

Census

Church Records

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.

Court Records

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

Gazetteers

Genealogy

History

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.

Land and Property

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.

Maps

Migration

Military

Naturalization and Citizenship

  • 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

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Morris County, New Jersey newspapers in online catalogs like:

Occupations

Periodicals

Poorhouse, Almshouse

Probate Records

Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Morris County, New Jersey 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 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

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.

Repositories

Archives
Courthouse
Family History Centers
Libraries
Museums
Societies

Schools

Taxation

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

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.

Morris County, New Jersey Web Sites

Morris County, New Jersey Neighboring Counties


Morris County, New Jersey Genealogy References

  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.
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Topics
Counties
Atlantic · Bergen · Burlington · Camden · Cape May · Cumberland · Essex · Gloucester · Hudson · Hunterdon · Mercer · Middlesex · Monmouth · Morris · Ocean · Passaic · Salem · Somerset · Sussex · Union · Warren
Ex-Countries
Major
 Repositories
Migration
 Routes
Ellis Island · Atlantic Coast Ports · Delaware River · Passaic River · Raritan River · Great Shamokin Path · King's Highway (or Delaware Indian Path) · Lincoln Highway · Delaware and Raritan Canal · Morris Canal
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  • This page was last modified on 15 May 2013, at 15:39.
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