Looking to Research Your Family History in the Somerset Hills?
Genealogy is one of the local historical society’s most requested interest areas. While the Society has limited space to store family historical information, we do have the ability to help you get started on your search.
However, in partnership with the Bernards Township Library, there is a dedicated group there that might be able to assist with your research requests. There is also a tremendous amount of information at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church records in Basking Ridge as well as burial records in other towns.
Getting Started
Local Information
Bernards Township Vital Records
1850-present
Health Dept. (908) 204-2520
262 S. Finley Ave.
Basking Ridge, 07920
Family History Interest Group (FHIG)
meets in the Bernards Township Library
32 South Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge
4th Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. Coffee is served at 6:30 pm.
Call the Ref. Dept. at (908) 204-3031 extension 4 for more information.
Local Churches
- Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church
- Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church
- Morristown Presbyterian Church
- Who’s Who in the Graveyard
Historical Societies
- Somerset Co. Historical Society 9 Van Veghten Dr., Bridgewater
- Jim Kurtzenberger, Pres.
- Dorothy Stratford VP (908) 218-1281 – Open Tues. noon-3 & 2nd Sat. Dec Apr. 1 – Dec. 15
- Morris Area Genealogy Society
- Lynn Forester PO Box 105, Convent Station, NJ 07961-0105
- See State Historical Societies below.
- Somerset County, NJ Genealogy Forum
Documents
“Somerset County Historical Quarterly“, 8 volumes 1912-1919
Includes: Inscriptions of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Churchyard (Vol. 1),
Somerset County Marriages 1795-1879 (Vol. 1, 2,7)
Allan Duncan (ADuncan282@aol.com)
Has put the cemetery records from this in a binder titled
“Somerset Burial Grounds” at the Somerset Co. Historical Soc.
“The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey“
Published by (The Genealogical Society of New Jersey (GSNJ))
has periodical articles on “Somerset County Gravestones”.
Vol. 39:3, 1964 has the “Liberty Corner Presbyterian Churchyard” gravestones, copied by members of the Genealogical Society in 1922 and checked again in 1940.
(Note: The author of this page is working on an update to that document.)
“Notices from New Jersey Newspapers 1791-1795“, published 2002, Thomas Wilson and Dorothy Stratford
“Cemetery Records of Warren Township“, Alan A. Siegel
avail. at: The Somerset Co. Historical Soc.
The Bernardsville Public Library
Libraries
Bernards Township Library – (908) 204-3031
32 South Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Database Search
Bernardsville Public Library – (908) 766-0118 1 Anderson Hill Rd., Bernardsville
Local History RoomTues. & Thu. 1 – 5PM
Email: localhistory@hublib.lib.nj.us
Clarence Dillon Public Library – Bedminster (908) 234-2325 (www.dillonlibrary.org/)
2336 Lamington Rd., Bedminster
Joint Free Public Library of Morristown – (973) 538-6161
Local History and Genealogy Dept. – (973) 538-3473
1 Miller Rd. and South St. (next to the church above), Morristown NJ
Online Resources
Somerset County GenWeb Project
Somerset County Resource List at:
- Cindi’s List
- RootsWeb
- Somerset County, NJ Genealogy Forum
- County Cemetery Locations
- The Political Graveyard (Somerset Co.)
State Information
New Jersey State Archives May 1848-May 1878
Division of Archives and Records Management (NJDARM)
M-F 8:30 – 4:30 – (609) 292-6260, 6265
State Library Building, 225 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08608-1101
New Jersey Bureau of Vital Statistics 1878-1940
M-F 8:30 – 5:00 (609) 292-4087
Department of Health and Senior Services, Trenton, NJ
The Genealogical Society of New Jersey (GSNJ)
“The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey“, the GSNJ Newsletter,
New Jersey History Room
Alexander Library Rutgers U (732) 932-7851
169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
New Jersey Historical Society 52 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973-596-8500
Tu-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
List of New Jersey Historical Societies
New Jersey Church & Cemetery Records
Presbyterian Historical Society Web Site
Genealogy Files at the Historical Society in Basking Ridge
So with nothing better to do, I went to the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills in Basking Ridge and gathered the names of every file in their position. Below is that list of surnamed folders on hand in the THSSH archives: 206 in all.
| Alexander, Lord Sterling | Fitzrandolph | Pyne |
| Allen, Quilts | Flint | Quincy |
| Allen | Forbes | Rankin |
| Alward | Ford | Reeve |
| Anderson | Garrabrant | Reid |
| Annin | Grant | Reynolds |
| Badgley | Greene | Richardt |
| Baldwin | Guerin | Rickey |
| Barclay | Gutleber | Robison |
| Barkalow | Haas | Rozewski |
| Barker | Hall | Riggs |
| Barre | Hancock, Rev | Roberts |
| Bateman | Hand | Roebling (Brooklyn Bridge) |
| Bedell | Hankinson | Rolfe |
| Beers | Hannigan | Ross |
| Bergen | Happe | Rozewski |
| Bird | Harrison | Rush |
| Blair | Hart, John | Schenck (Scherck)? |
| Blazier (Blazure) | Headley | Schley |
| Boak | Heath | Schiff |
| Backoven | Hodges | Scheuerman |
| Bonham | Helmke | Schmidt |
| Booth | Hilmer (Helmer) | Schumacher |
| Boudinout | Henry, Dr. Claire | Seney |
| Boylan | Hine | Sidar, Jean Wilson |
| Boyle | Holmes | Sloan |
| Brady | Honeyman | Smalley |
| Brownlee | Hasmer | Smith |
| Breese | Howlett | Snable |
| Bruno | Hunter | Southard |
| Buck | Johnson, William | Speer (Spear) |
| Bunn | Jones, FC | Spencer, Lt. Austin |
| Carswell | Kampmier (Kamprnier) ? | Spinning, E.S |
| Chapin | Kearns, Anthony | Stanin |
| Chapen | Kemble | Stelle |
| Childs | Kennedy, Rev. Samuel | Stockton |
| Comption | King | Sutphen |
| Condict | Kinnan, Mary | Sutro |
| Conkling | Kirkpatrick | Sutton, Jeremiah |
| Connolly | Koechlein | Swody |
| Coon | Kramer | Terrell |
| Cooper, Daniel | Kuser | Thompson |
| Cooper, Peter | Ladd | Tiger |
| Coriell | Lafayette | Tunis |
| Cormier | Lathrop | Turner |
| Cory | Lewis | Turpin |
| Craft, Warren | Lindabury | Vail |
| Craig | Lindsley, Philip | Vance |
| Crampton | Line, Joseph (Ling)? | Vanderveer |
| Cross | Linn | Van Daren |
| Daggett | Looker | Van Dorn |
| Day | Lyon | Van Nest, Abraham |
| Dayton | McCain | Voorhees, Dr. Amadee |
| DeCoster | McCall | Whitaker |
| Dillion | McCollum | Whitenack |
| Dorsey | McDowell | Wilcox |
| Doty Southard | McMurtrie | Williams |
| Douglas | Matheny | Wilson |
| Dreesen | Malone | Windes- Cory Family |
| Dryden | Meeker, Davis | Winn |
| Durham | Meeker, Halsey | Wood |
| Eberhardt | Moffett | Woodward |
| Ellis | Moore | Wright |
| Erving | Morse, Samuel | Zander |
| English | Marton | |
| Fenwick | Mundy | |
| Finley | Naegele | |
| Nishwitz | ||
| Osborne | ||
| Palmer | ||
| Pelaccio, Giovanni | ||
| Penn | ||
| Pennington, Dr. William | ||
| Peppard, Rev Francis | ||
| Philhower | ||
| Pitney | ||
| Patts |
Additional Information
