Test for revamp of Library

Due to concerns with the Coronavirus, the HCHS Library closure is extended to at least Saturday, April 11.

HCHS will re-evaluate the decision every two weeks. Our organization feels a responsibility toward the public safety and doing what we can to mitigate the growing number of potential cases of the Coronavirus.

Please note, we will not be accepting research requests at this time. Thank you for your patience.

The Hiram E. Deats Memorial Library, located at 114 Main Street in Flemington, New Jersey, is the largest collection of Hunterdon County historical and genealogical material. It is open to researchers at no charge. Some of the collections are housed in the Society’s off-site archive so please e-mail or call ahead to be certain they are available for your visit. Refer to the library collection list below and go to the archive tab to view the Society’s manuscript holdings.

Library Hours
Every Thursday 10-4 pm
Fourth Friday of each month 12-4
Fourth Saturday of each month 10-4 pm

Doric House: Open by appointment year-round & for Special Events & Exhibits

If you can’t make to our library, simple research requests are answered by the staff. For larger research questions paid research queries may be requested in two ways:

Download an application (link located below), fill it out and mail it with a check for $25 to: Research Query, Hunterdon County Historical Society, 114 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822.
Online: Please complete the form online; you will be prompted to pay the $25 fee.*

*Additional copying and postage fees may apply. Patrons will be notified.

Distance research such as queries emailed or mailed to the Society requesting information is available at $25 per query. This includes two hours of researching our library and archive resources. Please note we do not conduct off-site research such as trips to the Hall of Records, or the Offices of the County Clerk or Surrogate. Research fees are nonrefundable and apply whether or not any relevant information is found. Turn-around time is usually 4-6 weeks.

– Download a Genealogy Research Request Form Here –
– Download a Research Request Form Here –

OR Sign up online:

New Jersey Vital Records
Please note, we do not have official birth, death, or marriage certificates. For these, we suggest you contact any or all of the following:

PLEASE NOTE: we do not research house histories. These records are located at the County Clerk’s office in Flemington.

Reproduction Services

In order to protect original materials the Society prohibits the use of outside scanning and photography equipment other than a non-lighted/non-flash hand held camera. Special arrangements and permission must be made in advance of a visit for non-flash photography and non-lighted video.

Photocopying – General:

Copies from reference books for patrons in person, up to 8.5” x 14”: $0.25 per page.
Copies from microfilm, up to 8 1/2″ X 11″ $0.50 per page.
Copies of manuscript materials, up to 11” x 17”: $0.50 per page.

Photograph Reproduction
Scanned images:

$25.00 per image. Requester will receive one 600dpi .tif file, one 300 dpi jpeg file, and one thumbnail per image scanned. The images will not be altered from the original in any way.
Files may be delivered electronically, or via DVD.
Laserjet print, up to 8.5” x 14”: $5.00.

Statement on Copyright and Fair Use

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Publication and Use

Please note that all reference reproductions are for personal/study use only. The possession of a reproduction of HCHS collection materials and the payment of associated reproduction service fees, does not constitute or imply permission to publish or exhibit. It is necessary for researchers to obtain separate, written permission for the publication or exhibition of all material held in the HCHS collections. All licenses are for one use only and each additional instance of use must be separately requested in writing. Usage rights fees, above and beyond reproduction costs, may apply and vary depending on whether a reproduction is for an individual, non-profit, or commercial institution and how it will be used (personal research, publication, exhibition, etc.).

All reproductions must credit the Hunterdon County Historical Society as the source of the image or document.
Written permission is required to use photographic reproductions. Please download form to submit. Thank you! – Download Right to Publish Form –

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Research Library Collections

The Deats Notebooks: Representing the private genealogical work done by Hiram E. Deats during his lifetime
Family Bible Records: Photocopies of genealogical data from over 400 bibles
Family Folders: Files on over 1200 Hunterdon County families comprising the correspondence of the Society’s Genealogical Committee from circa 1890 to the present
Genealogies: Over 300 published and unpublished genealogies
Hunterdon County Histories: Approximately 300 published books, pamphlets, 1000+ photographs, scrapbooks and unpublished manuscripts read before the Society
Manuscripts Collection: Manuscripts are unpublished handwritten documents, transcripts and photoduplicates and include such items as correspondence, legal documents, diaries, journals, account books, genealogical notes, non-current records of counties, town, institutions, and organizations
Microfilm Collection: Federal Census records 1830-1910 for Hunterdon, Mercer and Somerset Counties; State Census records 1855-1885 for Hunterdon County;
Newspapers, various church records, municipal and county records including all Hunterdon County wills and administrations before 1807, some wills and administrations after 1807, deeds, tax maps and records, histories and genealogies
New Jersey Histories: Extensive collection of local community, township, county and state histories complemented by histories and archives of neighboring states as well as publications of national interest
Newspapers: 50 different newspapers, some in bound volumes, others on microfilm
Tombstone Inscriptions: Records of over 50 cemeteries
Vertical File: Collection of published and unpublished clippings, brochures, pamphlets and other documents of state and local cultural, genealogical and/or historical interest filed by place and/or subject

To view the manuscript collections, click on ARCHIVES/MANUSCRIPT-COLLECTIONS tab.

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