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Doing a genealogy project? Newark Public Library can help!
Please read the information below about NJ/Newark resources and if you have more questions submit them here (if an obit request here) we are always happy to help!
A fee of $15 for up to three obits, or 10 pages of copies, and 30 minutes research will apply for out-of-state residents. There is a limit of three (3) obituary, death notice, or article lookups or 30 minutes research per month per patron.
If you have a project that requires more than 30 minutes of research please see our Gateway Service fees. We also recommend using a professional researcher.
Click the plus signs to expand the sections below.
Just Starting?
Just starting?
Familysearch.org is free and has censuses and other records. We have ancestry.com in the library for public use which has many digitized records!
Newspaper articles & Obits
Obituaries, newspaper articles, and death notices:
Obituaries, articles and death notices are a major genealogical resource! In Newark papers these can be found at the library. For obit requests please include: date of death (if possible) and full name of deceased & submit here. We have a list of digitized NJ newspapers and newspapers we have on microfilm which tells you where to find different papers. See “Newspapers” tab on our home page for more information. The most useful digital newspapers are the Star Ledger (back to 1945, incomplete) and Jewish Chronicle on GenealogyBank (paid resource) and the Jewish News here. The Newark News the biggest paper in Newark has been digitized through 1931. After that you must send in your question or come in!
The information files of the Newark News (index at the TOP of the page) also have hundreds of thousands of topics and may have a file on any prominent relatives such as police officers, judges, storeowners, politicans, principals, sports stars, etc.
Places to look for a date of death:
- US Social Security Death Index
- FindAGrave
- New Jersey Death Index (some years missing, may give month only)
- Catholic Cemetery Search
- Jewish Cemetery Search
- Rosedale / Rosehill Cemetery (Linden)
- New Jersey Records Preservation Group Cemetery Databases
- Mount Pleasant Cemetery: the library has internment records c.1844-2000
- Call the cemetery of burial if known
- Obtain a death certificate (see below)
Vital Records
Vital Records:
The library does NOT have most vital records. We have a small amount of published early vital records listed here: Early Vital Records at NPL.
There are a variety of digitized New Jersey vital records.
Browse (free)
- Birth Index 1901-1929
- Marriage Index 1901-2017
- Death Index1901-2006 (Gaps: 1904-1919 and 1930-1948)
Search (free)
- Marriage Index 1848-1900 (+ colonial marriage bonds 1666-1799)
- Death Index 1848-1900
- Death Index (2001-2017)
Search with Ancestry.com Subscription:
- Birth Index 1848-1878, 1901-2017
- Marriage Index 1901-2016
- Death Index 1848-1878, 1901-2017 (Gaps: 1904-1919 and 1930-1948)
Browse with Ancestry.com Subscription
- Original birth, marriage and death ledgers from 1711-1878 (by county so look for Newark under “Atlantic-Hudson” and then Essex County)
If you find a record in the indices above you can request from the New Jersey State Archives (years available here) or more recent records from the Department of Health.
Newark records are also held at the City Hall Department of Vital Records, birth records starting at 1922.
- Many cities, towns or counties offer vital records service in the city in a Department of Vital Records or Department of Health i.e. Montclair, Union County, Orange however, some like Jersey City do not, and you must go to Trenton.
Other Resources at the Library
City Directories:
City directories can tell where an ancestor lived at any given period. The CFCNJIC owns city directories for many towns in NJ. We have digitized Newark directories here through 1957. See our Inventory of Directories for other towns. We also have phonebooks for the early 20th c. to 1990 statewide.
Pictures:
If you have a famous ancestor or your ancestor had their picture in the newspaper, the library may have a picture of them. We also have photos from Al Henderson, Newark photographer Here is an index to the Al Henderson photos. See our home page for information about other photos.
Books:
Some books cover certain families or towns. See “Books” tab, our catalog, and our Guide to Genealogical Books. Yearbooks are also a helpful genealogical source. See our Inventory to Yearbooks and our digitized yearbooks (in progress). Note that we did not historically collect yearbooks. If we don’t have the yearbook you need there is information on other places you might try here.
Building Documents:
Deeds and mortgages can be found at the Essex County Hall of Records . A limited collection of building permits is at the Newark City Archives.
Misc Documents:
The library has a collection of city annual reports and other documents (our collection also includes non-city organizations like day care centers, social service organizations, and clubs) that may pertain to ancestors. Further city documents can be found at the Newark City Archives.
Newark and NJ Maps:
The Newark Library has now digitized the majority of its historical maps and atlases. You can see a specific ancestor’s house on a map using our city atlases. We have city atlases from 1868, 1873, 1889, 1901, 1912 and 1926 that show every house (plus a county atlas from 1906 that only shows a small section of the city). We also have a Sanborn map updated through 1989 and earlier Sanborn maps on microfilm. Newark maps from our collection have been digitized by NJIT here and here, including some atlases and Sanborn maps. A limited collection of Sanborn maps of Newark and NJ is available online for free through Princeton University. If you have access through a university, library, or workplace Digital Sanborn Maps is generally the best way to access Sanborn maps. Other digitized NJ and Newark maps can be found through Rutgers digital collection.
Archives:
The best way to search for the archives of a particular school or church that an ancestor attended in Newark, or from a particular neighborhood in Newark is the Newark Archives Project. This website contains an index to archives from all over the United States. You can also search our catalog or our finding aids . We recommend contacting a local library if you are looking for non-Newark material.
Other Archives
Other Newark Archives:
- Barringer High School Archive
- Episcopal Diocese of Newark
- Essex County Hall of Records
- Essex County Park Archives
- Ironbound Environmental Justice Archive (at Van Buren branch, online exhibit)
- Museum of the Old First Ward
- New Jersey Historical Society
- Newark City Archives
- Newark Museum Archives
- Newark Police Musuem
- Newark Public School Archives
Other Places In NJ with Genealogical Collections:
List of New Jersey Resources from GSNJ
General
- Jewish Historical of New Jersey
- New Jersey Branches of the Family History Center
- New Jersey State Archives (Vital Records & more)
- Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives
- Seton Hall University (Catholic church records are here)
By county:
- Atlantic: Atlantic County Library System, Atlantic County Historical Society
- Bergen: Johnson Public Library
- Burlington: Burlington County Library System, Burlington County Historical Society
- Camden: Camden County Historical Society
- Cape May: Cape May County Genealogical Library
- Cumberland: Cumberland County Historical Society
- Essex: Newark Public Library, Millburn Public Library ,East Orange Public Library, Bloomfield Public Library
- Gloucester: Gloucester County Historical Society
- Hudson: Jersey City Public Library
- Hunterdon: Hunterdon County Historical Society
- Mercer: Trenton Public Library
- Middlesex: New Brunswick Public Library
- Monmouth: Red Bank Public Library , Long Branch Public Library
- Morris: Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township
- Ocean: Ocean County Historical Society
- Passaic: Passaic County Historical Society , Paterson Public Library
- Salem: Salem County Historical Society
- Somerset: Somerset County Historical Society , Franklin Township Public Library
- Sussex: Sussex County Library
- Union: Plainfield Public Library, Elizabeth Public Library
- Warren: Warren County Public Library
More Resources
Research help:
- The Genealogical Society of New Jersey [Professional Researchers]
- Association of Professional Genealogists
- Obituary Lookup Volunteers
Online Resources:
- Ancestry.com for use at the library
- Family Search free resource with census and other records.
- National Archives and Records Administration Genealogy page
Descriptions about finding aids and research tools available on a federal level. Important information about naturalizations, military records, federal employees, passenger lists and African Americans are accessible through this site. Some NARA material is also available online here. - Newark Archives Project searchable index of many Newark archives including NPL
- Social Security Death Index
Contains listings and information provided by the Social Security Administration.
Further links of interest