Most of the genealogical materials at Rutgers can be found in the Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives unit which is housed in the Alexander Library in New Brunswick. In addition to the Libraries' own New Jersey holdings, the collection includes the papers of the New Jersey Daughters of the American Revolution and the papers of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Available material includes transcriptions of family Bible records, gravestone inscriptions, church records, papers and genealogical compilations on New Jersey families, and many other printed materials. See the Hours and Directions page for specific hours.

In addition to the New Jersey materials housed in Special Collections, there are also major microform collections available at other Rutgers Libraries. The Alexander Library in New Brunswick has all available enumeration schedules for New Jersey federal and state censuses, collections of New Jersey city directories, and many New Jersey newspapers in its Microforms Collection. The Robeson Library in Camden also has the Camden/Southern Jersey portion of many of these in its collections. Printed materials of interest may also be found in other Rutgers libraries.

For more information see the New Jersey Genealogy guide.

The Rutgers Libraries have a large collection of New Jersey newspapers. In addition to any original copies that may be housed in Special Collections and Archives, the Alexander Library also maintains an extensive newspaper collection on microfilm.

To find out what the Rutgers Libraries' may own in print or on microfilm, check the Library Catalog, under the title of the newspaper in which you are interested.

More Information.

While we do not offer a "look-up" service for obituaries, the Rutgers Libraries will usually (although not always) lend newspapers on microfilm to other libraries via interlibrary loan. So if you are not able to come and use the materials on site, you may have a library that you are affiliated with request that the reels of the newspaper for the period in which you are interested be sent to that library for your use.

To find out what the Rutgers Libraries' may own in print or on microfilm, check the Library Catalog under the title of the newspaper in which you are interested.

More Information.

In addition to the large compilations of New Jersey city directories that the Rutgers Libraries have available in microfilm/microfiche, there are some 800 directories in Special Collections and Archives.

Many of these directories have been cataloged and can be found by searching the Library Catalog At the Library Catalog search screen, enter the name of the city followed by the word "directories" as your search term and then select SEARCH EVERYTHING as your search type.

An unpublished finding aid to this collection is also available in the Special Collections department.

More Information.

The Rutgers Libraries' Special Collections and Archives Department maintains a large card catalog of transcribed tombstone inscriptions. These were originally recorded in the 1930s as the result of a survey of over 800 New Jersey cemeteries and graveyards conducted by the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Arrangement is by county and name of cemetery; there is also a surname index (16 file drawers) covering selected cemeteries. Not all New Jersey cemetaries were represented in this survey.

If you wish to know if the inscriptions from a particular cemetery are represented in this collection,please refer to the Genealogical Society of New Jerseys online Cemetery Inventory ( http://www.rootsweb.com/~njgsnj/cemetery.html).

If you are unable to use the New Jersey Cemetery Records on-site and would like to know if a name is listed for a particular cemetery, please see the section on Genealogical Research (http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/genealogy/genealogy.shtml) on the SC/UA webpage.

More Information.

As part of its Genealogical Society of New Jersey collection, Rutgers' Special Collections and University Archives houses the largest collection of records copied from New Jersey family Bibles.

This collection consists of over 5,500 records. The majority of the records pertain to 19th century individuals, although many 18th century names are listed as well. Individual records are listed in a file by surname. If you would like to know if a family name that you are interested in appears on this list and are unable to use the collection on site, please see the section on Genealogical Research (http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/genealogy/genealogy.shtml) on the SC/UA webpage.

More Information.

The Rutgers' Libraries have copies of all available census enumeration schedules (the sheets with individual/family names and information) for New Jersey on microfilm.

By law, individual records from the federal population censuses remain confidential for 72 years. The 1930 records were released in April 2002 and are available in the Microforms section of Alexander Library.

More Information.