Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Cape May County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Deeds and land
- Clerk's Office · Deeds, 1692 - 1901 and Indexes, 1692 - 1926 · CCPCL0011692 - 1926
- Clerk's Office · Ancient Deeds, 1759 - 1888 · CCPCL0021759 - 1888
- Clerk's Office · Mortgages, 1692 - 1862 and Indexes, 1692 - 1926 · CCPCL0061692 - 1926
- Surrogate's Office · Divisions of Land, 1802 - 1924 · CCPSU0041802 - 1924
Court records
- Clerk's Office · Returns of Special Election to Determine the Location of the County Seat and Courthouse, 1848 · CCPCL0031848
- Clerk's Office · Justice of the Peace Dockets, 1786 - 1913 · CCPCL0041786 - 1913
- Clerk's Office · Circuit Court Executions, 1839 - 1903 · CCPCL0091839 - 1903
- Clerk's Office · Circuit Court Clerk's Book, 1838 - 1854 · CCPCL0101838 - 1854
- Clerk's Office · Circuit Court Minutes, 1813 - 1903 · CCPCL0111813 - 1903
- Clerk's Office · Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery Minutes, 1813 - 1925 · CCPCL0121813 - 1925
- Clerk's Office · Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery Judgments, Volume 1, 1852 - 1906 · CCPCL0131852 - 1906
- Clerk's Office · Circuit Court Judgments, 1839 - 1911 · CCPCL0141839 - 1911
- Clerk's Office · Supreme Court Docket of Judgments in the Circuit Court and Court of Common Pleas, No. 1, 1859 - 1964 · CCPCL0151859 - 1964
- Court of Common Pleas · Court of Quarter Sessions · Minutes, 1790 - 1903 · CCPCP0011790 - 1903
- Court of Common Pleas · Court of Quarter Sessions · Judgments, 1799 - 1924 · CCPCP0021799 - 1924
- Court of Common Pleas · Judgments from the Court of Small Causes, No. 1, 1853 - 1906 · CCPCP0031853 - 1906
- Court of Common Pleas · Court of Quarter Sessions · Executions. 1793 - 1902 · CCPCP0041793 - 1902
- Coroner's Office · Inquests, 1795 - 1881 · CCPCR0011795 - 1881
Marriages, births and deaths
County government
Naturalization records
Wills and estates
- Surrogate's Office · Index to Estate Papers, 1804 - 1980 · CCPSU0011804 - 1980
- Surrogate's Office · Dockets, 1917 - 1980 · CCPSU0021917 - 1980
- Surrogate's Office · Orphans Court Minutes and Record Books, 1786 - 1905 · CCPSU0031786 - 1905
- Surrogate's Office · Will Books, 1804 - 1922 and Index, 1804 - 1970 · CCPSU0051804 - 1970
- Surrogate's Office · Receipts and Releases, 1812 - 1914 · CCPSU0061812 - 1914
- Surrogate's Office · Guardians' Inventories and Accounts, 1832 - 1857 · CCPSU0071832 - 1857
- Surrogate's Office · Letters Testamentary and of Administration and Guardianship, 1852 - 1902 · CCPSU0081852 - 1902
- Surrogate's Office · Administration Bonds, 1863 - 1902 · CCPSU0091863 - 1902
- Surrogate's Office · Record Books, 1863 - 1916 · CCPSU0101863 - 1916
- Surrogate's Office · Final Settlements, 1870 - 1908 · CCPSU0111870 - 1908
- Surrogate's Office · Petitions, 1871 - 1915 · CCPSU0121871 - 1915
- Surrogate's Office · Renunciations, 1871 - 1916 · CCPSU0131871 - 1916
- Surrogate's Office · Reports of Sales, Volume 1, 1871 - 1919 · CCPSU0141871 - 1919
- Surrogate's Office · Applications for Letters of Administration, 1878 - 1908 · CCPSU0151878 - 1908
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected county-created series from the New Jersey State Archives current searchable catalog. Dates, series identifiers and creating offices are retained. Statewide records appearing in county searches were excluded. A catalog entry may describe paper or microfilm held on site; consult its format, restrictions and detailed contents before requesting access.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Cape May County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and the surrogate, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Deeds, mortgages and other land records, and naturalizations.
- The surrogate
Wills and estates.
- The New Jersey State Archives
In Trenton: state birth, marriage and death records from 1848, and the original wills and estate papers proved before 1901.
- New Jersey State Archivesfree
The state archives in Trenton, with state vital records from 1848, colonial and state wills, court records and state censuses.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "New Jersey, Cape May" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Land not yet in any county
The Atlas data for Cape May County begins in 1692, later than the 1685 date above, so this is the earliest boundary on file, not its original one.
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1685, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
New Jersey began statewide registration in 1848, earlier than most states. The State Archives holds those records for the early years and also the wills proved before 1901.