In 1857, Union County became the last New Jersey county to be created. Ironically, its boundaries were essentially the same as the original 1664 Elizabethtown Purchase, the first English settlement in the state. The newly formed county consisted of the City of Elizabeth and the Townships of Springfield, Westfield, Rahway, Union, New Providence, and Plainfield, which were once part of Essex County.
Today, Union County is made up of 21 municipalities. Click any of the links below to learn about resources specific to that community:
Started in 1996, the USGenWeb project has been providing free genealogy for 25+ years. And it’s all through the work of volunteers. Want to help?
Read “New Jersey Vital Records: What? How? Where?” (updated 2018) to find out what records are available from NJ Dept. of Health and the NJ State Archives, both in-person and through the mail.
Subscribe to our NJUnion email group now on Groups.io
Check out the What’s New page.
Check out the FAQs page for frequently asked questions about Union county, New Jersey, and this NJGenWeb project.
Search for Your Ancestors
Check out the Records and Queries pages for more.
To find information about ancestors across neighboring county lines click on a county in the the map below.

Contribute
If you have Union County genealogical or historical materials and would be willing to transcribe them, the NJGenWeb Archives has an easy-to-use form. We’re always looking for Bible records, biographies, deeds, obituaries, pensions, wills, censuses, and much more. Remember, the USGenWeb Project is made up of volunteers.
Contact
I am Leilani Cummings the volunteer County Coordinator for this Union County site.
The NJGenWeb Acting State Coordinator is MaryAlice Schwanke.
FYI: For Your Information
Map courtesy of Rutgers Special Collections and Archives.
