New Jersey Genealogy Records Online

It is easy to find New Jersey genealogy records with the NJ Archives website. They have a variety of links that lead to different types of records that would be extremely helpful to the hobby genealogist or anyone interested in building their family tree. Genealogical studies are interesting to a lot of people and the internet is an excellent resource that can be used in family history research.

Some New Jersey genealogy records are not government documents. On the NJ Archives website, there is an alphabetically organized series of links that show family names. Under the family names there are personal documents or other family papers descriptions that will tell you what is one file. There are maps, Bibles, chronological records and other items under specific individual or family names. There are dates listed as well as the number of items in the storage box. Perhaps someone that you were related to is listed there. The state only collects these old personal and family records if they are related to early military service, land transactions or government activities.

Military service is something that our country honors. If your ancestors participated in any kind of military service, they are probably noted somewhere within government records and some public records. Naturally, the more active they were and the more merits they earned, the easier it may be to actually find documentation of their service. This does not mean, however that you won't be able to find a lower rank soldier at all, they just may not be on as many records or highlighted. New Jersey genealogy records may hold information about your relative.

In addition to searching in order to find the names of your ancestors, you can search to find other facts about the individuals that came in previous generations. For instance, you can search old publication archives for stories. Perhaps your great, great grandparents were active in the community, or maybe one of them reported for the paper! Wills, testaments and probates can reveal the deceased's personality and which people they care about the most. There could be family heirlooms that you can claim. It can be fascinating to find out the jobs and hobbies of your relatives of the past.

The NJ Archives also have wills and inventories. These date back all of the way prior to 1700! These are commonly stored among state or county court records. Court records are a good place to start if you wish to investigate a probate, citizenship or adoption. Many times you can find vital information such as birthdates or dates of marriage, divorce or death on court documents. Sometimes land ownership and other court records are a matter for the courts.

When dealing with court records, it is inevitable that criminal records are a part of what you might find. You may find out about a juvenile record or a misdemeanor case that one of your predecessors where involved in. They may be funny or embarrassing situations that they may not have wanted to talk about with you if they were still alive!