New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956

What is in This Collection?

This article describes multiple collections. These collections are indexes to selected marriage records:

The "New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980" collection consists of an index to selected marriage records located at the New Jersey State Library and to marriage card indexes created by the Gloucester County Historical Society, the Salem County Historical Society and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

The "New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956" is a name index of county marriage records for New Jersey. Currently this collection is 100% complete. Due to contract restrictions some images from the following counties may not be available for view: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Union, and Warren.

Marriage information is generally handwritten on sheets of paper. After 1848, information was recorded on pre-printed forms. After 1897, forms were required from the witnesses and the bride and groom requiring additional information.

The earliest law requiring marriage registration in New Jersey was in 1673, but few counties complied with the law. Marriages were performed either by a clergyman or justice of the peace. In 1719, law required that marriages have a license or banns published three weeks before the marriage. In the colonial period, it is estimated that most marriages were by banns, but about 25 percent were by license. Some marriage bonds from 1711-1795 do exist. Beginning in 1795, marriages were recorded by county courts of common pleas. State registration of marriages began in May 1848.

Marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs.

Information included on marriage records is usually considered fairly reliable. Sometimes the bride or groom would lie about their age. If someone other than the groom, a relative or friend applied for the license, he may not have known all the information called for on the license.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Names of the bride and groom Date of marriage County of marriage Name and title of officiator Date and place of marriage Names of the bride and groom

Age of bride and groom Whether single or widowed Officiator at marriage, their title and residence Names of parents Occupation Number of times previously married

Was marriage terminated by death or divorce Birthplace of the bride and groom Any impediments to the marriage which might exist Parental consent, if required

Collection Content

Coverage Table

The coverage table shows the places and time periods covered in the indexed records for this collection. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

County	Years Covered in Index
Atlantic	1772-1779, 1781-1787, 1789-1793, 1809, 1812-1813, 1817, 1830, 1833-1880, 1884-1887, 1890
Bergen	1795-1878, 1905-1907, 1913-1914
Burlington	1676-1681, 1683-1705, 1707, 1712-1719, 1721, 1723-1725, 1727-1730, 1732-1734, 1736-1738, 1744-1748, 1750-1763, 1765-1855, 1880-1881, 1899
Cape May	1693, 1695, 1697, 1706, 1708-1709, 1713, 1715, 1720, 1722, 1734, 1749-1753, 1756-1758, 1763-1767, 1770-1775, 1778, 1784, 1786, 1791-1793, 1795-1900, 1902, 1904, 1908, 1910-1911, 1914-1915, 1917, 1920, 1927, 1929, 1932, 1937, 1940-1943, 1946
Cumberland	1777, 1789-1790, 1795-1880, 1882, 1892, 1898, 1916, 1937, 1939-1940, 1943, 1945-1947, 1952, 1963, 1967
Essex	1794-1879, 1883-1885, 1889-1890, 1893, 1897-1910, 1916, 1932, 1981
Gloucester	1082, 1660, 1671, 1674, 1679-1680, 1683-1693, 1695-1699, 1701-1878, 1880-1882, 1885-1887, 1889, 1891, 1893, 1897, 1904, 1911, 1916, 1958
Hunterdon	1184, 1519, 1632, 1779, 1789-1790, 1793-1881, 1883-1887, 1893-1898, 1908, 1913, 1919, 1929-1930, 1933, 1936, 1940, 1947
Mercer	1815, 1832, 1836, 1841, 1843, 1848-1881, 1884, 1886-1887, 1897-1910
Middlesex	1788, 1794-1886, 1889-1890, 1892, 1895-1896
Monmouth	1701, 1707, 1711, 1720, 1723, 1727-1846, 1848-1879, 1881, 1886
Morris	1747, 1775, 1790, 1795-1879, 1881, 1885, 1888, 1892-1893, 1895-1909
Ocean	1773, 1826, 1833, 1835-1836, 1838-1845, 1848-1880, 1883, 1890, 1894, 1896, 1899-1906, 1908, 1977
Passaic	1826, 1836-1851, 1853-1881, 1883-1887, 1891, 1893
Salem	1674, 1677, 1680-1684, 1686-1697, 1699-1708, 1710, 1712, 1714, 1717-1719, 1722-1724, 1726-1728, 1730-1748, 1750, 1752-1753, 1755-1780, 1784-1786, 1790-1883, 1885-1889, 1893-1897, 1899-1901, 1903-1909, 1928, 1937, 1939-1940, 1942-1943, 1945-1956
Somerset	1778, 1787-1790, 1794-1882, 1884-1887, 1894, 1897-1910
Sussex	1617, 1794-1879, 1896, 1898, 1901-1902, 1909-1910, 1935
Union	1850-1852, 1854-1878, 1897, 1903-1910, 1964
Warren	1151, 1795-1798, 1803, 1815, 1821, 1823-1879, 1881, 1883, 1885, 1902, 1963

Digital Folder Number List

This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. The list does not contain any description of the DGS folder's content. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at New Jersey, County Marriages Digital Folder Number List.