Genealogy
Are you building a family tree to trace your Mahwah roots? The Mahwah Museum has a lot of material that documents the people who lived and worked in town, starting with the 18th century and going up to the 20th century and beyond. We have not yet organized all our holdings, but here provide an overview of the kinds of materials we have and the strengths of the collection. Please reach out if you have questions and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you are looking for tips on how to start working on a family tree, there are a lot of resources out there. Some of our favorites are listed below.
Mahwah has had several names over the years and the outlines of our town have changed.
- 1944 to the present, our town is the Township of Mahwah. This was a name change, not a change in the borders of the town.
- 1849 to 1944, our town was known as Hohokus Township (not to be confused with the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus). In 1894 the boroughs of Allendale, Upper Saddle River broke away; in 1908 Ramsey separated from Hohokus Township.
- 1771 to 1849, it was called Franklin Township. In 1849 the northern part became Hohokus Township.
- 1716 to 1771, it was part of Saddle River Township.In 1771 the northern part became Franklin Township.
- 1710 to 1716, it was known as New Barbadoes Township.
Depending on when your family lived in Mahwah, you might contact some other local archives and historical societies.
- Ridgewood Public Library’s Bolger History Center
- Upper Saddle River Historical Society
- Ramsey Historical Association
- Bergen County Historical Research and Publications
For a downloadable PDF of the presentation, click here.
For a downloadable PDF of the presentation, click here.
For a downloadable PDF of the presentation, click here.