NATURALIZATION
RECORDS:
The County
Clerk's office has petitions of naturalization on file for
individuals who
became United States citizens at the Middlesex County
Courthouse from
1806 through 1991. The microfilms are available to the
public for
viewing, or, if the year of petition or naturalization is
known, we will
research it for you. There is a $2.00 fee per page copied
and a $5.00 fee
for a letter of verification if needed. FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION,
PLEASE CALL (732) 745-5723 OR (732) 296-6993.
The Office of
the County Clerk, anciently known as "Keeper of the Records",
is probably one
of the first and oldest offices in the State.
Offices and
methods in England were transplanted to this country at the time
of its founding.
In 1677 it was agreed and ordained that there be kept a "Register
at London,
within the Nation of England", and also another "Register within the
Province of West
New Jersey", who kept exact entries and records of all public
affairs, land
grants and leases. From this beginning sprang the office of the
County Clerk.
After the organization of the State, official sanction was given
to the office,
and the name "County Clerk" was conferred upon the official in
charge. The first
reference to the office under this title appears in the law
passed on June
7, 1779. The law, giving legal status to the office, was passed
in 1806. The
office was provided for in the Constitution of 1844 and again in
the most recent
Constitution of 1947. The County Clerk is therefore referred to
as a
"Constitutional Officer". There is now a County Clerk elected in each
of the
twenty-one
counties. Each County Clerk is elected for a term of five years. The
clerk must act
in accordance with the statues set up for this office by the State
Legislature.
The duties of
the County Clerk are numerous. Special responsibilities are, but not
limited to:
Swearing in and
Certifying Notaries; Filing of Trade Name Certificates; Recording
documents
concerned with the purchase and sale of Real Estate; Filing of Military
Discharges,
Issuance of County Identification Cards; Filing of Sub-division Maps,
Tideland and
Wetlands Riparian Aerial Photos; Issuance of Veterans Peddlers Licenses;
and Performance
of Wedding Ceremonies.
The County Clerk
plays a key role in the conduct of elections. All petitions for
candidates for
elective county offices are filed with her office and drawing for
ballot positions
are conducted by the County Clerk. The Clerk is in charge of
printing of
ballots, canvasses the votes at primary and general elections and
certifies them
to the Municipal Clerks and the New Jersey Secretary of State.
The Clerk also
receives applications for and mails all absentee ballots. The Clerk
prints registry
lists and distributes same in accordance with the election laws.
The Clerk
processes applications for passports.
The Clerk
appoints and supervises Special Deputies and all other employees in the
County Clerk's
Office.
The three
Divisions of the County Clerk's office are:
* Registry
* Public
Records
* Fees
* Maps
* Elections
* Absentee
Ballots
* Voter
Lists
* Petitions
of Nomination for Public Office
* Election
Law Enforcement Reports
* Passport
Office
* Notary
Public Oaths
* County
Identification Cards
* Senior
Identification Cards
* Naturalization
Records