Union County · New Jersey Slavery Records · New Jersey Slavery Records

Identifier: NJS-PLC-00056
Place Type: County or Parish
Description: Union County is located in the northern part of New Jersey, across Arthur Kill from Staten Island, New York. It was formed in 1857 from the southern half of Essex County, encompassing the area around Elizabeth (which is the county seat of Union). Union was the last county created in New Jersey, and due to its late creation, documents related to slavery in this area will be found primarily among Essex County records. Additionally, a portion of present-day Rahway used to be part of Woodbridge in Middlesex County until 1860, and researchers of slavery in Rahway are encouraged to review Middlesex County and Woodbridge records.

Although Union did not exist as a separate county until 1857, this area has a long history of European settlement since the 17th century, and Elizabeth (originally called Elizabethtown) was one of the earliest English settlements in New Jersey. This area was densely populated by the time of the American Revolution and had a significant population of enslaved Black people. See the related Essex County record for demographics of the area related to slavery.
County (Modern): Union County
State or Province: New Jersey
Country: United States of America
Latitude: 40.662093
Longitude: -74.216735
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_County,_New_Jersey
Record Contributor: Jesse Bayker
Linked Places: Union County was formed in 1857 from a portion of Essex County.

Places located in Union County:

Bridgetown, Rahway

Elizabeth (formerly Elizabethtown)

Rahway

Scotch Plains

Springfield (Union County)

Union (formerly Connecticut Farms)

Westfield
Linked Events: To see all events that occurred in this county, visit the Events browsing page and filter the records by county.