Access Bloomfield Genealogy Records
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, with a population of about 52,000. The township clerk at 1 Municipal Plaza serves as the local registrar for vital records. Bloomfield genealogy records include birth, marriage, and death files held at the clerk's office, along with land and probate records at the Essex County offices in Newark. Searching these records can help you trace family lines that go back to the colonial era in this part of New Jersey.
Bloomfield Quick Facts
Bloomfield Township Clerk Records
The Bloomfield Township Clerk and Registrar's office is at 1 Municipal Plaza, Room 111, Bloomfield, NJ 07003. Lisa McMahon serves as Municipal Clerk and Registrar. Phone is (973) 680-4025. The clerk handles birth, marriage, and death records for events that took place in Bloomfield. Certified copies are available for in-person and mail requests.
The Bloomfield Township website has contact details for the clerk and other departments.
Check the site for hours, holiday closures, and any forms needed to request Bloomfield genealogy records.
To request a record, bring valid photo ID and provide the full name of the person on the record. An approximate date of the event helps speed up the search. For mail requests, include a check or money order for the fee along with a written request that includes your name, address, and the details of the record you need. Bloomfield genealogy records at the clerk's office cover events within township limits. For events that took place outside Bloomfield, you will need to contact the clerk in the right town or the state office in Trenton.
Note: Lisa McMahon serves as both the Municipal Clerk and Registrar of Vital Statistics for Bloomfield Township.
Bloomfield Public Library Genealogy
The Bloomfield Public Library holds local history materials that can support genealogy research.
Contact the library for information on their local history collections, old photographs, and any genealogy databases available to patrons.
Libraries often have resources that government offices do not keep. Old city directories list residents by name and address, year by year. These directories help track where a Bloomfield family lived between census years. Newspaper archives can reveal birth notices, marriage announcements, obituaries, and other details about daily life. The Bloomfield library may also provide access to online databases like Ancestry Library Edition or HeritageQuest, which let you search census records and vital indexes at no cost on library computers.
The New Jersey State Library in Trenton has a genealogy collection of about 18,000 items, including 6,000 family histories and 1,000 New Jersey city directories. The collection is non-circulating, so you must visit in person. They also offer on-site access to Ancestry.com Library Edition and HeritageQuest databases.
Essex County Records for Bloomfield
The Essex County Clerk's Office is at the Dr. Martin Luther King Justice Building, 495 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102. Christopher J. Durkin serves as County Clerk. Main phone is (973) 621-4920. The clerk handles notary services, passport services, trade name certificates, and election services. For Bloomfield genealogy, the county clerk's land and property records show ownership history across all 22 municipalities in Essex County.
The Essex County Register of Deeds and Mortgages preserves property records for all of Essex County. A copy of every deed and mortgage since 1637 is on file. There are over 17,741 record books. Their Public Records Electronic Search System at press.essexregister.com provides access to property records from May 2001 to present. Older records are in the public vault. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. These property records are valuable for Bloomfield genealogy since they show where families lived and what they owned.
Wills and probate records for Bloomfield are at the Essex County level. The county surrogate handles estate files that list heirs, describe property, and name family members. Probate records can reveal family connections that birth and death records alone may not show. These are especially useful for older Bloomfield genealogy where vital records may be incomplete or missing.
State Genealogy Resources for Bloomfield
The New Jersey State Archives in Trenton holds genealogy records that cover all of Essex County, including Bloomfield. The archives has birth records on microfilm from 1848, marriage records from 1848 to 1948, and death records from 1848 to 1963. They also have colonial marriage bonds from 1666 to 1799, divorce records from 1743 to 1947, probate records from 1670, and naturalization records. All are open to the public for free at the search room.
The New Jersey Department of Health in Trenton maintains statewide vital records. Birth records start at 1925, marriage records at 1951, and death records at 1951. Genealogy requests are accepted for births over 80 years old, marriages over 50 years old, and deaths over 40 years old. The fee is $25 for the first copy. Processing for genealogy requests by mail takes about 10 to 12 weeks.
Online tools also help with Bloomfield genealogy. FamilySearch has free New Jersey vital record indexes, census records, and probate files. Reclaim The Records has made New Jersey marriage indexes from 1901 to 2016 and death indexes from 1901 to 2017 available for free at the Internet Archive. These indexes help you find the right record before ordering a copy from Bloomfield or the state.
Note: The Essex County Register of Deeds has property records going back to 1637, making it one of the oldest record collections in New Jersey.
Bloomfield Family History
Bloomfield Township was formed in 1812 from parts of Newark. The area was settled in the 1600s by Puritans from Connecticut. The township is named after Joseph Bloomfield, who served as governor of New Jersey from 1801 to 1812. That long history means Bloomfield genealogy records can connect researchers to some of the earliest European families in the region.
During the 1800s, Bloomfield grew as industries moved into the area. Shoe factories, hat makers, and other manufacturers drew workers from across New Jersey and beyond. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Germany, and Eastern Europe settled in Bloomfield. Church records from these communities are a rich source for genealogy. The New Jersey Historical Society in nearby Newark holds church records from many denominations across the state. Their manuscript collection has 1,700 groups and 3,200 linear feet of material, including baptismal, marriage, and burial records.
Several towns were later carved out of Bloomfield. Belleville, Nutley, and Glen Ridge were all once part of Bloomfield Township. If you cannot find a record under Bloomfield, check these neighboring towns. Census records from FamilySearch and Ancestry can confirm which municipality a family lived in during a given decade. The Genealogical Society of New Jersey also provides research guidance and locality information for Essex County.
Searching Bloomfield Genealogy
Use these sources when searching for Bloomfield genealogy records:
- Bloomfield Township Clerk at 1 Municipal Plaza for local vital records
- Essex County Clerk at 495 MLK Jr. Blvd., Newark for county records
- Essex County Register of Deeds for property records from 1637
- New Jersey State Archives in Trenton for microfilm records from 1848
- Bloomfield Public Library for city directories and local history
- FamilySearch and Ancestry for free and paid online searches
Keep in mind that boundaries changed over time. What is now Bloomfield was once part of Newark, and parts of old Bloomfield became separate towns. Always check multiple sources and try alternate name spellings in older records. Clerks often wrote names as they heard them, and immigrant families may have had their names recorded differently across various documents and years.
Essex County Genealogy Records
Bloomfield is in Essex County, and the county clerk, register of deeds, and surrogate in Newark hold land records, property files, and probate documents for all 22 municipalities. For more on Essex County genealogy resources and how to access them, visit the county page.