Other Resources

The New Jersey Historical Society has an extensive archives and library, but we don’t have everything! Try these sites to further explore New Jersey’s past and present.

 

1. General New Jersey Sources:

The New Jersey Historical Commission
New Jersey Department of State – Historical Commission (nj.gov)
An agency of the Department of State, the Commission was created by law in 1967 to advance public knowledge of the history of New Jersey. Its website includes a calendar of events, listings of publications and online publications, an extensive history guide, special projects, grants and prizes, and links to other New Jersey history resources on the Internet.

New Jersey Online
http://www.nj.com
NJ Online is affiliated with seven major daily New Jersey newspapers including the Star-Ledger, Times of Trenton, Jersey Journal, Express-Times, Gloucester County Times, Bridgeton News and Today’s Sunbeam. The website contains today’s national, state, and local news, community forums, an events guide, classified advertising and more!

The New Jersey State Legislature
www.njleg.state.nj.us/Default.asp
Updated often and full of information, this site is great for information on the laws of the state, bills pending in the Assembly, current legislators, the legislative process, and the organization of state government in New Jersey. The site provides a “bill search” to find current session bills, provides the legislative schedule, and even has a kids section with activities.

The State of New Jersey home page
www.state.nj.us
This is the official site for the state and contains information on state services and departments, as well state political information, statistics, press releases, and projects spearheaded by state government. There is a section here for children, as well as for travel and tourism within the state, and education information on New Jersey public schools.

Newark Arts Council
www.newarkarts.org
The Newark Arts Council is a non-profit agency which provides leadership, direction, and technical assistance through partnerships with Newark’s many artists, arts administrators, community organizations, community development corporations, planning groups, economic development agencies, and the general public. This website includes information on programs, grants, a calendar of events, a newsletter, as well as other Newark arts and cultural links.

Rutgers Cartography
http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/MAPS.html
Rutgers Cartography, a collection of historical maps of New Jersey.

 

2. Other New Jersey Libraries with an emphasis on New Jersey History:

The New Jersey State Library
www.njstatelib.org/cyberdesk/
Affiliated with Thomas Edison State College, the library for state government is also open to the general public. It is a good place to go for NJ legal and political information as well as for books, pamphlets, journals and maps on all aspects of the Garden State. They also maintain a great book collection of genealogies, genealogical guidebooks and published records as well as many items on microfilm, including all the extant NJ censuses.

The New Jersey State Archives
www.njarchives.org/
The State’s official repository for all public records of colonial and state government, The New Jersey State Archives has a newly renovated facility with access to wonderful documents and microfilm pertaining to the history of New Jersey government and politics. A great repository for students, local historians and genealogists with resources such as vital records, wills, land deeds, newspapers, maps, and much more.

The Newark Public Library
http://www.npl.org
Our neighbor just down the street, the Newark Public Library maintains a lot of useful New Jersey materials and has great collections documenting the last 100 years. The image collection is substantial with photographs and illustrations from all over the state, and the newspaper indices of the Newark Evening News (1914-1970) and the “Cummings Index” of the Star Ledger (1971-1996) provide subject content within those papers for researchers. The library has a great collection of 20th century newspapers, New Jersey books and pamphlets, as well as local, state, and federal government documents.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,
Special Collections/University Archives
www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/special _coll/special_coll.shtml
Located in the Archibald S. Alexander Library, the Special Collections and Archives holds much material related to the state of New Jersey including manuscripts, New Jersey town records, diaries, maps, newspapers, books and pamphlets, early prints and photographs. Special Collections has a good collection of books printed before 1500, first and signed first editions of literary works, almanacs, and the Collections of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Of note, the Sinclair New Jersey Collection is one of the most comprehensive collections of books of political, municipal, religious, business, agricultural (and many other) histories pertaining to the Garden State.

 

3. Architectural Preservation Organizations in New Jersey:

New Jersey Historic Preservation Office
www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo
New Jersey’s Historic Preservation Office brings expertise in a variety of fields essential to preserving historic resources. They have staff historians, researchers, planners, architectural historians, architects, engineers, and archaeologists all on hand to respond to more than 40,000 calls yearly from people working to preserve, protect and promote New Jersey’s historic resources. (taken from The New Jersey Historic Preservation Office web site).

The New Jersey Historic Trust
www.njht.org
The New Jersey Historic Trust was created by the state in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to provide financial support of historically significant resources to administering organizations throughout the Garden State. The fifteen-member board governs the Trust and is appointed by the state Governor.

 

4. Art, Paper, and Book Conservation Work:
For questions regarding artifact conservation work (silver, ceramics, furniture, etc.) contact the Historical Society’s Collection Manager [(973) 596-8500, ext. 230] for more information.

The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA)
www.ccaha.org
Established in 1977 as a not-for-profit organization, the CCAHA, specializes in the treatment of art and historic artifacts on paper. Treatment services are available for drawings, prints, maps, posters, historic wallpaper, architectural drawings, musical scores, photographs, rare books, scrapbooks, manuscripts, and related materials such as parchment and papyrus. (information taken from the CCAHA web site)

Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)
www.nedcc.org
Based in Andover, Mass., NEDCC provides educational training and conservation services to libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural organizations for the care of books, paper, and photographs. NEDCC provides photograph duplication and preservation microfilming services as well as sponsoring conferences and providing publications on collections care.

 

5. New Jersey Genealogical Research:
(see also list of libraries on this page)

Genealogical Society of New Jersey
www.gsnj.org
Publisher of a variety of books on New Jersey genealogy as well as the semi-annual journal, the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey. The GSNJ also holds two seminars per year and maintains a collection of materials at the Special Collections/University Archives of Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

National Archives and Records Administration, Genealogy Page
www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/index.html
Use this site for information concerning the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and the regional branches, their holdings, and online articles concerning genealogical topics.

New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services, Vital Statistics
www.state.nj.us/health/vital/vital.htm
Contact this office to obtain birth, death, or marriage certificates that occurred in the state of New Jersey after May 31, 1878 (contact the NJ State Archives for vital records from May 1, 1848-May 31, 1878).

New Jersey Gen Web Project
www.rootsweb.com/~njgenweb/index.html
An all-volunteer effort to provide genealogical information for the state and each county, the NJ Gen Web is a part of the larger US Gen Web project. Helpful facts such as county formation, repositories for genealogical research, submitted genealogical information (such as newspaper records, census transcriptions, and cemetery gravestone information), names of people who will perform look-ups, as well as maps and historical content can all be found in this handy resource.

New Jersey Research Outline from FamilySearch.org
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
NJ Research Outline
A great basic introduction to New Jersey genealogical research that includes explanation of different record sources and their location, archives and libraries with information on the state, and aspects of genealogical research that are unique to the Garden State.

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org
Popularly known as the “G & B,” The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society was founded in 1869 as a non-profit educational institution, whose purpose is to collect and make available information on genealogy, biography and history, particularly as it relates to the people of New York State. Since New York and New Jersey’s history often intertwine, their library and publications often contain extensive information about New Jersey sources, migrations, and published family information.

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