Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Salem County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Court records
- Clerk's Office · Justice of the Peace Dockets, 1758 - 1948 · CSACL0011758 - 1948
- Clerk's Office · Records relating to Chancery Court, Court of Oyer and Terminer, and Supreme Court Cases, 1779 - 1877 · CSACL0031779 - 1877
- Clerk's Office · Record of Indictments Pending, Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1854 - 1865 · CSACL0051854 - 1865
- Clerk's Office · Minutes of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1869 - 1953 · CSACL0111869 - 1953
- Clerk's Office · Circuit Court Case Papers, 1799 - 1920 · CSACL0121799 - 1920
- Clerk's Office · Record of Sheriff's Bonds, 1897 - 1926 · CSACL0151807 - 1926
- Clerk's Office · Court Fee and Receipt Book, 1864 - 1869 · CSACL0161864 - 1869
- Clerk's Office · Cost Dockets of Enoch S. Fogg, 1870 - 1899 · CSACL0171870 - 1899
- Clerk's Office · Lists of Causes in the Salem County Courts [Printed], 1905 - 1925 · CSACL0191905 - 1925
- Court of Common Pleas · Case Papers, 1733 - 1920 · CSACP0011733 - 1920
- Court of Common Pleas · Court of General Quarter Sessions · Minutes, 1706 - 1911 · CSACP0031706 - 1911
- Court of Common Pleas · Fishery Bonds, 1844 & 1873 - 1894 · CSACP0071844 - 1894
- Justices Court · Records, 1797 - 1868 · CSAJU0011797 - 1868
- Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace · Petitions for Peddler's Licenses, 1739 - 1764 · CSAQU0011739 - 1764
- Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace · Warrants and Subpoenas, 1751 - 1900 · CSAQU0021751 - 1900
- Sheriff's Office · Executions, 1834 - 1884 · CSASH0021834 - 1884
- Small Cause Court · Cases Files, 1897 - 1922 · CSASM0011897 - 1922
County government
- Clerk's Office · Reports of Hunting and Fishing Licenses Issued, 1909 - 1933 · CSACL0021909 - 1933
- Clerk's Office · Jury Records, 1851 - 1940 · CSACL0101851 - 1940
- Clerk's Office · Notarial Protests against Promissory Notes, 1849 - 1858 · CSACL0131849 - 1858
- Clerk's Office · Miscellaneous Records, ca. 1752 - 1911 · CSACL0181752 - 1911
- Clerk's Office · Appointment and Commission Certificates, 1841 - 1865 · CSACL0201841 - 1865
Deeds and land
- Clerk's Office · Deeds, 1786 - 1900 and Indexes, 1786 - 1923 · CSACL0041786 - 1923
- Clerk's Office · Mortgages,1766 - 1860 and Indexes, 1766 - 1935 · CSACL0091766 - 1935
- Clerk's Office · Chattel Mortgages, Book A, 1864 - 1872 · CSACL0141864 - 1872
- Court of Common Pleas · Divisions of Property, 1791 - 1935 · CSACP0051791 - 1935
- Court of Common Pleas · Executions to Sell Real Estate of Loyalists, 1778 - 1779 · CSACP0061778 - 1779
- Sheriff's Office · Accounts of Property Sales, 1827 & 1830 · CSASH0011827 - 1830
- Surrogate's Office · Divisions of Land, 1785 - 1898 · CSASU0061785 - 1898
Marriages, births and deaths
Military records
Naturalization records
Wills and estates
- Surrogate's Office · Index to Administrations, 1804 - 1970 · CSASU0011804 - 1970
- Surrogate's Office · Applications for Administration, 1883 - 1900 · CSASU0021883 - 1900
- Surrogate's Office · Probates and Applications of Executors, 1883 - 1908 · CSASU0031883 - 1908
- Surrogate's Office · Will Books, 1804 - 1968 and Indexes, 1804 - 1970 · CSASU0041804 - 1970
- Surrogate's Office · Bonds and Letters of Administration, 1804 - 1901 · CSASU0051804 - 1901
- Surrogate's Office · Guardianship Records, 1804 - 1913 · CSASU0071804 - 1913
- Surrogate's Office · Orphans Court Minutes, 1802 - 1908 and Indexes 1803 - 1907 · CSASU0081802 - 1908
- Surrogate's Office · Miscellaneous Estate Papers, 1748 - 1845 · CSASU0091748 - 1845
- Surrogate's Office · Surrogate's Minutes, 1855 - 1895 · CSASU0101855 - 1895
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
- Salem 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, Salem" 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
Later formed partly from Salem County: Cumberland County
The Atlas data for Salem County begins in 1710, later than the 1681 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 1681, 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.