Searchable Databases and Records Request Forms

This database currently indexes 42,845 land records held by the New Jersey State Archives, containing over 154,584 name entries. It references many of New Jersey's earliest extant deeds and surveys found in over 120 record books. This includes newly indexed East Jersey Survey Books L (1675-1688) and O (1670-1716), and Liber II (1670-1727; referred to as "Carteret's Conveyances"). Both proprietary filings and transactions recorded by the Provincial Secretaries of the colony and the Secretary of State are indexed here. The Archives staff continues to revise and add records to this database.

As part of the grant-funded New Jersey Early Land Records Project, Archives staff are also adding PDFs of selected deeds and surveys. We hope to attach images for approximately 15,000 documents.

Dates range from 1650 through 1883, but the vast majority of records date between 1664 and 1801.

Please keep in mind that most deeds executed after 1785 were recorded at the county level, not with the State. County land records are not included in this database.

Note that there are a small numbers of non-land records included, such as bills of sale for slaves (e.g., George, Negro, Book H-West Jersey, folio 159) and lists of new arrivals to the colony (e.g., Governor Gawen Lawrie, Book A, folio 154).

Results are limited to 500 records per search.

For more information on the records of the proprietors of East and West Jersey, please consult our catalog and guide:

Non-Governmental Records - East and West Jersey Proprietors

Using the Records of the East and West Jersey Proprietors [pdf]

The database can be searched by any combination of first name, last name, role (grantor, grantee, named), ethnicity, gender, or by an additional surname (a second surname found within the same record). Searches can also be filtered by location (including counties, towns, rivers, landmarks, roads, out-of-state locations, etc.), New Jersey counties, year spans, or by a specific book or record source.

Entering the initial letter or string of letters into the name fields will return all records beginning with that string. To search a string within a name use the wildcard character * followed by the string. For example, the surname "Smith" may be searched to include the variant "Smyth" by entering "Sm*th" in last name field. This type of wildcard search is also available in the "location" and "additional surname" fields. To sort the search results click on the header of each column.