Cherry Hill Genealogy
Cherry Hill Township is in Camden County in southern New Jersey, just east of the city of Camden. The township clerk handles local record requests for Cherry Hill residents. Genealogy records including birth, marriage, and death certificates are available through the clerk's office. Cherry Hill genealogy researchers also use the Camden County Clerk and the Camden County Historical Society for older records, land deeds, and family history materials. Searching for records in Cherry Hill involves both local and county offices, along with state-level resources in Trenton for older documents.
Cherry Hill Quick Facts
Cherry Hill Township Genealogy Office
The Cherry Hill Township Clerk handles municipal records and vital statistics for the township. The clerk's office provides birth, marriage, and death certificates for events that took place in Cherry Hill. You will need a valid photo ID and proof of your relationship to the person named on the record.
The Cherry Hill Township government website has details about the clerk's office and other local departments.
Check the township site for current office hours and the latest contact information before you visit.
Cherry Hill was originally part of Delaware Township, which was established in 1844. The name changed to Cherry Hill in 1961. If you are looking for genealogy records from before 1961, the records may be filed under Delaware Township. This is an important detail for Cherry Hill genealogy research. Always check both names when searching for older documents. The township also has the Barclay Farmstead, a historic site with educational programs and exhibits that relate to the area's past.
Camden County Genealogy Records
The Camden County government website provides access to county services that affect Cherry Hill genealogy research.
The county clerk's office handles property records, land deeds, and other documents filed at the county level.
The Camden County Clerk's phone number is (856) 225-5300. The clerk is Pamela R. Lampitt. Services include property records, electronic recording, trade name registration, and notary public. For Cherry Hill genealogy researchers, the county clerk is a key source for land deeds and mortgage records that can show where ancestors lived and when they bought or sold property.
The Camden County Surrogate's Court handles probate records for all of Camden County, including Cherry Hill. The surrogate manages the probate of wills, estate administration, guardianship, and adoption records. These probate files can reveal family connections, property distributions, and the names of heirs. Estate records are especially useful for tracing Cherry Hill genealogy back through multiple generations.
Note: The Camden County Clerk's office also handles passport services and veteran ID cards in addition to property records.
Cherry Hill Historical Research
The Camden County Historical Society operates the Richard H. Hineline Research Library. The collection holds nearly 100,000 resource materials. This includes 20,000 books, 1,100 manuscripts, 20,000 photographs, 2,350 maps, diaries, scrapbooks, postcards, and letters, and 3,500 deeds, church records, newspapers, yearbooks, and genealogies.
The society has cemetery records for many local cemeteries including Evergreen Cemetery covering 1851 to 2000, New Camden Cemetery from 1887 to 1969, and Cedar Grove Cemetery from 1852 to 1963. Their newspaper collection has the most complete set of historical Camden County newspapers on microfilm, including the Camden County Courier, Camden Daily Courier, and Camden Courier Post. City directories for Camden from 1839 to 1947 are also in the collection. These directories can help trace Cherry Hill genealogy by showing where people lived and what they did for work.
Research hours are Wednesdays and Fridays by appointment, from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Non-members pay $5 admission. Copies cost $0.50 per page. Research services are $25 per hour for both members and non-members. The wait time for research requests is 3 to 6 weeks. The society can be reached at admin@cchsnj.org. Their mailing address is PO Box 378, Collingswood, NJ 08108.
The society also has US Federal Census records from 1830 to 1950, New Jersey State Census records for Camden County from 1885, 1895, and 1905, and Camden City Tax Ledgers from 1850 to 1938. The society does not hold vital records like birth, marriage, or death certificates. For those, go to the Cherry Hill Township Clerk or the New Jersey State Archives.
State Records for Cherry Hill Genealogy
The New Jersey State Archives at 225 West State Street in Trenton holds records from 1664 to the present. For Cherry Hill genealogy, the archives has birth records from 1848 to 1923, marriage records from 1848 to 1948, and death records from 1848 to 1963 on microfilm. Colonial marriage bonds from 1666 to 1799 are in a searchable online database. Wills and inventories span 1670 to 1952.
The Department of Health in Trenton issues certified copies of more recent vital records. For genealogical requests, births must be more than 80 years old, marriages more than 50 years old, and deaths more than 40 years old. The fee is $25 for the first copy and $2 for additional copies. Walk-in service is at 140 East Front Street in Trenton. Mail orders take 10 to 12 weeks to process.
- Cherry Hill Township Clerk for local vital records
- Camden County Clerk for land and property records
- Camden County Surrogate for wills and estates
- Camden County Historical Society for local history
- State Archives for records before 1923
- Department of Health for genealogical vital records
Online Genealogy Tools for Cherry Hill
Free online resources can help start your Cherry Hill genealogy research from home. The Reclaim The Records project has placed New Jersey vital record indices on the Internet Archive. These include birth, marriage, and death indices from the early 1900s. You can search and download them at no cost.
The Camden County Library System offers Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest Online at its branches. These databases include census records, passenger lists, and other genealogy materials. The library notes that it does not specialize in genealogy research. For more focused help, the library directs researchers to the Camden County Historical Society.
The Genealogical Society of New Jersey publishes a quarterly journal and maintains cemetery transcriptions online. Their collections are at the Alexander Library at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The New Jersey Historical Society in Newark holds 1,200 family files and a biographical card index with 75,000 entries. Both can support Cherry Hill genealogy research with materials not found at the local or county level.
Note: Remember to search under both "Cherry Hill" and "Delaware Township" when looking for records from before 1961.
Camden County Genealogy
Cherry Hill is part of Camden County. County-level genealogy records include land deeds, probate files, and historical documents filed at the county clerk and surrogate offices. The Camden County Historical Society is one of the strongest genealogy research centers in southern New Jersey. For a full guide to Camden County genealogy resources, visit the county page.