Howell Genealogy Records
Howell Township is a large community in Monmouth County, New Jersey, with about 53,000 residents. The township's vital statistics office keeps birth, marriage, and death records for events in Howell. Genealogy researchers looking for Howell family records can also search through Monmouth County offices in Freehold and the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton. These sources together can help you trace family roots in Howell across several generations of New Jersey history.
Howell Quick Facts
Howell Township Vital Records
The Howell Township vital statistics office is at 4567 Route 9 North, P.O. Box 580, Howell, NJ 07731. Registrar Elsie McGrath manages the office. Phone is (732) 938-4500 extension 2150. The office handles birth, marriage, and death records for events that took place in Howell. You can request certified copies in person or by mail. Bring valid photo ID for in-person visits.
When requesting Howell genealogy records by mail, include the full name on the record, the date of the event, and a check or money order for the fee. The type of record matters too. You need to say if you want a birth, marriage, or death record. If you do not know the exact date, give a range of years and the staff will search within that window. Older records may take longer to find since they are stored in a different format than newer files.
Howell was formed in 1801. Records from the early years of the township may not be at the local office. For older vital records, check the Monmouth County Clerk's Office in Freehold or the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton. The state archives has birth records on microfilm from 1848, which covers the period before most local offices began keeping their own records.
Note: Howell Township covers 61 square miles, making it one of the largest townships by area in Monmouth County.
Howell Township Library for Genealogy
The Howell Township Library can assist with genealogy research through their local history collections.
Contact the library to ask about local history materials, old maps, and any genealogy resources they have for Howell researchers.
Public libraries often hold resources that government offices do not. Old newspapers, school yearbooks, local histories, and photograph collections can fill in details about Howell families. The library may also offer access to online genealogy databases like Ancestry Library Edition or HeritageQuest, which let you search census records, vital indexes, and military files for free on library computers. Ask the reference desk about what digital genealogy tools are available at the Howell library.
Monmouth County Genealogy Records
The Monmouth County Clerk's Office is at 33 Mechanic Street, Freehold, NJ 07728. Phone is (732) 431-7324. Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon runs the office. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The county clerk holds marriage records from 1795 to 1892 and land records from 1667. These old records are a critical source for Howell genealogy, especially for tracing property ownership and family connections in the colonial and early American eras.
The Monmouth County Surrogate's Office is at the Hall of Records, One East Main Street, Freehold, NJ 07728. Phone is (732) 431-7330. Surrogate Maureen T. Raisch oversees the office. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Arrive no later than 3:30 PM. The surrogate handles wills, estates, and probate records for all of Monmouth County, including Howell. Probate records list heirs and describe property, which makes them useful for Howell genealogy when vital records alone do not provide enough detail.
The Monmouth County Archives holds historical documents, maps, and records that go beyond what the clerk's regular office stores.
The state archives in Trenton supplements the county archives with microfilm records that cover all of Monmouth County, including Howell, from 1848 onward.
Online Genealogy Tools for Howell
FamilySearch offers free access to New Jersey vital record indexes that include Howell and Monmouth County. Their collections cover births and christenings from 1660 to 1980, marriages from 1670 to 1985, and deaths and burials from 1798 to 1971. State census records for 1855, 1865, 1895, and 1915 are also available with images. Probate records from 1678 to 1980 can be browsed through their catalog. All of these are free after creating an account.
Ancestry.com has New Jersey collections that include vital records, census data, military records, wills, and naturalization files. A subscription is required, but many libraries offer free access to the library edition. The Reclaim The Records project has made New Jersey vital record indexes from 1901 onward available for free at the Internet Archive. The marriage index covers 1901 to 2016 and the death index spans 1901 to 2017.
The Library of Congress New Jersey research guide provides a timeline of when vital records began in the state and where they are kept.
This guide helps you plan which offices to contact for Howell genealogy records based on the time period you are researching.
Note: FamilySearch has digitized many county courthouse microfilms, so some Monmouth County records for Howell may be viewable online.
Howell Family History
Howell Township was formed in 1801 from parts of Shrewsbury Township. It was named after Richard Howell, who served as governor of New Jersey from 1793 to 1801. For much of its history, Howell was a rural farming community. Families grew crops and raised livestock on the flat lands of western Monmouth County. That agricultural past means early Howell genealogy records are often tied to land ownership and church membership.
The area that is now Howell was settled long before the township was officially formed. Dutch and English families moved into Monmouth County in the 1600s. The Monmouth County Clerk has land records going all the way back to 1667. Church records from the colonial era can also help trace Howell families. The New Jersey Historical Society in Newark holds church records from many denominations across the state. Their collection includes baptismal, marriage, and burial records that may cover congregations in or near Howell.
After World War II, Howell grew from a small farming town into a large suburban community. Families moved from northern New Jersey and New York into Howell during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Genealogy records from this more recent era are generally easier to find at the local vital statistics office. The township clerk has records for all births, marriages, and deaths that took place in Howell during these decades.
Howell Genealogy Research Tips
Gathering facts before you start will save time. Have names, dates, and places ready. Howell genealogy records are spread across the township, the county, and the state. Here are the main sources to check:
- Howell Township vital statistics at 4567 Route 9 North for local records
- Monmouth County Clerk at 33 Mechanic Street, Freehold for land records from 1667
- Monmouth County Surrogate at One East Main Street, Freehold for probate records
- New Jersey State Archives in Trenton for microfilm vital records from 1848
- FamilySearch for free online indexes of New Jersey records
Howell covered a large area, and parts of it were later carved off to form other townships. Farmingdale and several other communities were once part of Howell. If you cannot find a record under Howell, check neighboring municipalities. Older records may be filed under the earlier name or boundary. Census records on FamilySearch and Ancestry can help you confirm which township a family lived in during a given decade.
Monmouth County Genealogy
Howell is in Monmouth County, and the county clerk and surrogate in Freehold hold land records, probate files, and historical documents going back to the 1600s. For full details on Monmouth County genealogy resources and how to access records, visit the county page.