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Local History and Genealogy
SCLSNJ offers a wealth of valuable and unique resources for genealogy and local history research, including: local newspapers, family histories, community scrapbooks, memorabilia, and more!
Our branch locations have rich physical collections to help with your research. You can also use most of our digital collections and online research resources from home.
Online Resources
Ancestry Library
Available in library branches only. Access billions of names in thousands of genealogical databases including Census and Vital Records, birth, marriage and death notices, the Social Security Death Index, Passenger lists and naturalizations, Military and Holocaust Records, City Directories, New York Emigrant Savings Bank records, and African American and Native American Records. Research aids may be found under the “Learning Center” drop-down.
HeritageHub
U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images.
Historical New York Times with Index
Full-text coverage of New York Times publications from the first issue in 1851 up to three years prior to the current year. Every issue of each title includes the complete paper, cover-to-cover, with full-page and article images in easily downloadable PDF format.
Newspapers.com World Collection
Newspapers.com is an extensive database that provides online access to historical newspapers from nearly 60 locations in the U.S. and worldwide. The World Collection is a prime resource for genealogy and historical content. Find full-page images with searchable full text for millions of pages of newspapers dating from the early 1700s into the early 2000s. Newspapers.com Library Edition contains full runs and portions of runs of known, regional, and state titles to small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.
Historical Collections at Our Branches:
- American Cyanamid Superfund Site Repository
- “Courier-News” affiliated titles on microfilm (6/2/1884 to present)
- “Hillsborough Beacon” on microfilm (1979 to 2007)
- “Messenger-Gazette” affiliated titles on microfilm (10/16/1823 to 6/2007)
- “Star-Ledger” on microfilm (1/1/1996 to 12/31/2013)
- Somerville City Directories in print and on microfilm (1917 to 1984)
- Plainfield City Directories in print and on microfilm (1902 to 1982)
- New Brunswick City Directories in print and on microfilm (1968 to 1987)
- Bridgewater Library Clippings Files on microfilm
- Somerset County Cultural Resource Survey of 1989
- Somerset County Veterans Grave Registration Card Collection
- New Jersey Municipal Budget Collection (1978 to Present)
- Miscellaneous Historical Map Collection
- Hillsborough High School Yearbooks (1975 to present)
- Hillsborough Township Master Plan and Amendments in print (1965 to 2010)
- Document Repository for various Gas Pipeline projects (2001 to 2013)
- Document Repository for GSA Somerville/Belle Mead Depot Redevelopment (1994 to 2004)
- “Historic Cemeteries Located in Hillsborough Township” in print
- Manville High School Year Books (Incomplete collection from 1958 to 2016)
- The Manville News in print (1946-2016)
- Montgomery High School Year Books
- Van Harlingen Historical Society Oral History Series
- Montgomery Citizen
- Montgomery News
- Rocky Hill Gazette
- Family Burying Grounds Montgomery Township (Revised)
- Family Burying Grounds Montgomery Township
- History of the NJ State Village for Epileptics
- North Plainfield High School Canuck Yearbooks (1928-2007)
- North Plainfield High School Alumni Association Directories (1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010) and Newsletters (1991-2009)
- Washington Park Historic District Document Collection
- North Plainfield Library Association and Advisory Board Meeting Minutes and Document Repository
- Plainfield, North Plainfield, and Warren Area Historic Map Collection
- Blue Hills Historical Society Document Collection
- Master Plan for Development of The Green Acres Tract in North Plainfield, NJ
- Various historic photographs and scrapbooks
- Blairsden Collection — Artifacts, photographs, articles, and press clippings related to C. Ledyard Blair, the Blairsden family, and the Blairsden Estate in Peapack.
- Reference desk (1942 to 1954, 1956 to 1972, 1974 to 1987, 1990 to 2005)
- Somerville High School Pioneer in print (1942 to 1972, 1974 to 1984, 1987 to 1988, 1990 to 1993, 1995 to 2006, 2009 to 2014)
- Somerville High School Valkyrie (1916 to 1929)
- Biographical and portrait encyclopedia of third congressional district, comprising Somerset, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties, in PDF form, available at the reference desk (1896)
- Biographical Encyclopedia of New Jersey of the Nineteenth Century, in PDF form, available at the reference desk
- Extensive breakdown of businesses on West Main Street and Division Street, Somerville, in PDF form available at the reference desk
- Index to the Somerville Public Library branch New Jersey Room Vertical File, in PDF form, available at the reference desk
- Index to the Somerville Public Library New Jersey Room Closet, in PDF form, available at the reference desk
- Chronology of Somerset County and Somerville: Pre-Revolutionary through 2010, last updated 10/27/15, in PDF form, available at the reference desk
- Extensive image collection for Somerville and environ, scanned to 600 dpi, available at the reference desk
- Powerpoint presentation (slides on DVD, slides converted into image files): How Somerville Grew: A History in Maps. Slides available at the reference desk, DVD available in the New Jersey Room.
- Echoes Sentinel – in PDF form, 11/14/1963 to 12/30/2010
- Cemetery Records of Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, in print (1998)
- Cemetery Records of Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, 2nd Edition, 2002
- Somerset County, New Jersey Marriages, (1795-1878), in print
- Warren History: The Newsletter of the Warren Township Historical Society, 4 volumes published between 1994 and 2010 , in print
- Warren Township in Historic Photographs: a selection of photographs from the collection of the Warren Township Historical Society, 2 volumes published in 2006
- Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, register of births: 1849-1878
- A History of Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church, by Susie B. Boyce 1997
- A History of Springdale United Methodist Church, by Susie B. Boyce, 1995
- Warren Township (Images of America) by Alan A. Siegel
- The Kirch-Ford House by Alan A. Siegel
- The Mount Bethel Baptist Meeting House, Cemetery and Church by Alan A. Siegel
- Villages at the Crossroads: A History of Warren Township 1806-1976 by Barbara Tomblin
- War Veterans of Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
- Warren A-Z: An Entertaining Guidebook to the 275-Year History of Warren Township, New Jersey
- Warren History, Newsletter of the Warren Township Historical Society
- Warren Township Register of Births, 1849 – 1878
- Watchung (Images of America) by David B. Page
- Genealogy of the Moldenke Family
- “History of Watchung” — Articles regarding Watchung and Moldenke’s Castle, Bicentennial booklet, also contains some information on Native American tribes
- The Deserted Village and the Blue Brook Valley prepared and edited by James B. Hawley
- The Revolutionary War in Somerset County New Jersey compiled by the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission, published in 2001
- Somerset County: Crossroads of the American Revolution by William A Schleicher and Susan J Winter
- The Indians of Lenapehoking (the Lenape or Delaware Indians) by Herbert C Kraft and John T. Kraft
- The Lenape Indians of New Jersey by Herbert C Kraft
- Atlas of Somerset County, New Jersey, 1873, reprint
Somerset County History
With the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, SCLSNJ created a digital archive of Somerset County’s community memories. The archive includes photographs, postcards, and other digital images of the past and present. Through special partnerships with community organizations, Rolling Thunder and Frontline Arts, special collections of artwork and historical documents have been digitized and added to our collections. We continue to add to our collections every day.
Explore SCLSNJ's Historical and Community Memories Archive
Want to share a personal photo, video, story, or poetry? Make your mark in Somerset County history by submitting a digital item to the SCLSNJ Historical and Community Memories Archive.
In 2017, Mary C. Nelson, Hannah M. Kerwin, and the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ) published a multi-volume historical resource, "The Old Presbyterian Graveyard, Bound Brook, New Jersey: A Resource."
New Jersey History
Branchburg and the river towns of Burnt Mills, North Branch, North Branch Depot, South Branch, and Neshanic Station
By Schleicher, William A
Manila John : the life and combat actions of Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, hero of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima
By Grasso, Joseph A
Remarkable women of the New Jersey Shore : clam shuckers, social reformers and summer sojourners
By Schnitzspahn, Karen L
Owning New Jersey : historic tales of war, property disputes and the pursuit of happiness
By Grabas, Joseph A
The lights of Washington Park : the beauty and history of some of North Plainfield, New Jersey's most distinctive stained-glass windows
By Lombardo, Ken
Less stately mansions : the eighteenth & nineteenth century churches & meetinghouses of Hunterdon County, New Jersey
By Greenagel, Frank L.
Legends & lore of Somerset County : Knitting Betty, the Great Swamp Devil & more tales from central New Jersey
By Haynes, Michael A.
Birth of the Jersey Shore : the personalities & politics that built America's resort
By Gabrielan, Randall
Revolutionary New Jersey : forgotten towns and crossroads of the American Revolution
By Mayers, Robert A.
The County's handsomest house : the story of Somerville's American-Gothic classic
By Somerville Historical Advisory Committee (Somerville, N.J.)