Morris County Library, NJ > NJ History collection > Census records
NJ Census Records
All of the existing Federal Census records which have been published can be searched and viewed online on AncestryPlus. In addition, book or microfilm indexes exist for some years.
Federal (U.S.) Census
1790 – not available for New Jersey; probably destroyed.New Jersey State Census
1800 – Cumberland County has been reconstructed from a found manuscript; the rest of New Jersey is not available.
1810 and 1820 – not available for New Jersey; probably destroyed.
1830, 1840, 1850, and 1860 – Morris County Library owns; has a book index.
1870 – Morris County Library owns; has a book index with separate volumes for Essex County, including Newark.
1880 – Morris County Library owns; has a Soundex (microfilm) index.
1890 – completely destroyed by fire except for Civil War veterans and widows.
1900 – Morris County Library owns - has a Soundex (microfilm) index.
1910 – Morris County Library owns; has a book index.
1920 – Morris County Library owns; has a Soundex (microfilm) index.
1930 – Morris County Library owns.
No indexes exist for the New Jersey State Census, so it is not possible to look up a surname and find a location; also, the listings that do appear contain no addresses. At the top of the census book page you will see the town name and the election district, but other than that you have no location information. Only in the 1915 census are some streets noted in the far left hand column.
1855 - Much of it is illegible. It only records names, race (white or black), sex, foreign or native born, and number of children between 5 and 16 by race.
1865 – Morris County is not included on the microfilm.
1875 – Most of this census has disappeared; only part of Monmouth County still exists and it is in poor condition.
1885 – Recorded are names, a breakdown by race (white or black), sex, native or foreign born, and by age.
1895 – In addition to the categories used in the 1885 census, the 1895 breaks the foreign born down by sex and by Irish, German, or all other nationalities.
1905 – The following additional information was collected: month and year of birth, age, marital status, place of birth, place of birth for each parent, number of years in the U.S., whether a citizen, occupation, literacy, ownership of home.
1915 – The final New Jersey census has the street where the individual lived in at least some cases. A category was added for school children asking if the child was in school, the name of the school, and whether it was public, parochial, or private.