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Doing a genealogy project? Newark Public Library can help!
Unable to come into the library? Submit your question here or if an obituary request here. $15 fee applies for out-of-state residents for up to three obits, or 10 pages of copies, and 30 minutes research. 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.
1) Use genealogy websites & census records.
Familysearch.org is free and has censuses and other records. Newark is a FamilySearch partner, so some locked records can be viewed onsite at the library. We also have ancestry.com in the library for public use which has many digitized records!
The census is available from the 1790 through 1950 and shows name, job and other information.
2) Check our 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 1964. See our Inventory of Directories for other towns. We also have phonebooks for the early 20th c. to 1990 statewide.
Clip of city directory 1935
Obituaries, articles and death notices are a major genealogical resource! Newark’s largest paper The Newark Evening News is now available online from 1883-1972, as well as the Sunday Call from 1872-1946. The Star Ledger has also been digitized (available in-house) back to 1945. You can also check other newspapers we have on this list! The NJRPG Newspaper Obit Database includes an index to News and Call obits through 1901.
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, politicians, principals, sports stars, etc.
Newark Evening News, 1911
If you don’t know when someone died, it may be difficult to find in the newspaper. There are a large number of Newark cemetery databases you can use to check dates of death.
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
- Woodland Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) index, 1895-1980
- First Presbyterian Church cemetery inscriptions; Newark, New Jersey
- New Jersey, Newark, Mount Olivet Cemetery records, 1871-1984
- NJRPG Cemetery Database (Woodland, Clinton, Newark City (partial), Defunct)
- NJRPG Newspaper Obit Database (1872-1901)
- Mount Pleasant Cemetery: the library has internment records c.1844-2000
- Call the cemetery of burial if known
- Obtain a death certificate (see Vital Records)
Pictures: If you have a famous ancestor or your ancestor had their picture in the newspaper, the library may have a picture of them. You can check the library’s digital collections, for photos including Al Henderson’s portrait studio, but many of our photos aren’t digital. See “Pictures” tab on our home page for information about other photos.
Books & Yearbooks: 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. If we don’t have the yearbook you need there is information on other places you might try here.
Land Documents:
- Manual of Real Estate Owners of the City of Newark (by address or name: 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1930)
- Manual of Owners of Real Estate of the City of Newark (by block/lot, 1902)
- Essex County Road Records (1698-1804)
Building Documents: The library has very few blueprints. 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. Other 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 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 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:
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 Library , Franklin Township Public Library
- Sussex: Sussex County Library
- Union: Plainfield Public Library, Elizabeth Public Library
- Warren: Warren County Public Library
Research help:
- The Genealogical Society of New Jersey [Professional Researchers]
- Association of Professional Genealogists
- Obituary Lookup Volunteers
Online Resources:
- Family Search free resource with census and other records. We are a Partner library, which means at the library, you get access to databases you can’t get elsewhere.
- Ancestry.com for use at the library
- 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