Patents and Deeds and Other Early Records of New Jersey 1664-1703; By William Nelson; 770 pp.; Paperback; Published: 1899; Reprinted: 2007 ; ISBN 9780806307114; Item # CF4015D

This monumental work, by the celebrated compiler of New Jersey Marriage Records, contains abstracts of all the known surveys, patents, and deeds of Proprietary New Jersey (1664-1703). Thousands of documents pertaining to title and transfer of land are here sorted and calendared, each revealing the names of grantors and grantees, buyers and sellers, relatives and neighbors--most with references to specific places of residence--and further giving a precise description of the survey, including date, location, and acreage. The records are arranged under the headings of East and West Jersey and are rendered accessible by the indexes which, containing well over 10,000 main entries, bear upwards of 50,000 references. In this work there are abstracts of original grants, concessions, and orders of the first Proprietors and Governors. These records describe the circumstances under which the first settlements were made in the Colony, the evolution of the government, the origin of the land titles in the Colony and in the various subdivisions thereof, and the origins and characteristics of the first settlers.

"All land titles in New Jersey ultimately stem from the grants made by the Proprietors. Therefore, these entries have unusual significance." --New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Fall 1976).