Frequently Asked Questions about Genealogical Research
1. How can I find an obituary/wedding announcement/news story?
Plainfield Public Library has a large collection of local newspapers that begins in 1837 and runs to the present, with some gaps. Unfortunately, there is no index to any of the papers until 1999, when an online index (available through the library's NewsBank subscription) begins for the Courier News. A full list of our department's available newspaper coverage is located on the Local History webpage.
At the current time, most newspapers are stored on the main floor of the library. No appointment is needed to view them. The reference staff will assist patrons in providing microfilm and explaining how the reader/printers work. Copies are 15¢ each.
If you are unable to find newspaper coverage for your time period or can’t find what you want in the newspapers you should consult the Local History Department in case they can be of help. Note that early obituaries often ran on the same day of the death and searches should begin on that day.
2. Does Plainfield Public Library have cemetery records?
The library does not have any unique cemetery records. Listings have been posted online by other organizations and individuals for Evergreen Cemetery, the Friends Burial Place, and to a partial extent, to the Brook Avenue Cemetery in North Plainfield and St. Mary’s Cemetery. Many Plainfield residents have been buried just outside the city, in Scotch Plains’ Hillside Cemetery. This includes people who were originally buried in the Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery, which no longer exists. Plainfield Public Library also has a few references to very small, family burial places.
3. How are Plainfield, North Plainfield, and South Plainfield related?
The three are separate municipalities in three different counties. Plainfield Public Library is focused on Plainfield, in Union County. However, the Plainfield city directories include North Plainfield listings, which are usually incorporated into the main directory with an NP designation. It is important to note, though, that over the many years of publication (1871-1982, with gaps) in which directories were published in which people (rather than businesses) could be looked up, that a variety of other communities were included in coverage and that the presentation of information also varied. There are some years in which South Plainfield has been given a section and North Plainfield has been given a separate section, not in the main listings. Death announcements for persons formerly listed are rarely found. The criss-cross function in which addresses can be looked up without a resident’s name begins in 1929.
Like the city directories, the newspapers also concentrated on Plainfield. Other communities, particularly in Somerset and Hunterdon Counties, also received coverage, though. North Plainfield, again, tends to be more heavily surveyed than South Plainfield.
4. What does Plainfield Public Library offer that isn’t on the Internet? Why bother coming to the Local History Department if everything is online?
Everything is not online. Plainfield Public Library has many resources that are available nowhere else. For example:
- Only the 1909 city directory is available online. Some volumes are held by other libraries, but the majority of volumes are only available at Plainfield Public Library.
- Online Courier News issues are available through subscription only, beginning in 1999. All earlier issues are held exclusively by Plainfield Public Library. Most of the other early local newspapers are only found at Plainfield Public Library.
- Plainfield High School yearbooks are held from 1906, with some gaps.
- Records of various organizations have been donated to Plainfield Public Library and in some cases can be of great value to genealogists.
5. What is available online from Plainfield Public Library that might be of interest to genealogists?
Plainfield Public Library has been dedicated toward making materials available to as many researchers as possible through digitization projects for several years. Currently, collections of local postcards, blueprints, and photographs, as well as special exhibits, are all available on the library’s website. Additional collections of data will also be posted in the future.
6. What do I need to know if I come to do research in person?
You will get the best use of your time at Plainfield Public Library if you schedule your visit with the Local History Department in advance. The librarians will prepare materials to assist you in consideration of your specific interests. Plainfield materials are stored in a closed, climate-controlled area. It is not possible to physically browse that area. Without an appointment you may arrive at a point at which no one is available to help.
If you can identify exact questions you are more likely to find information that you seek. This may also include telling the librarians what you already have. The Local History Department staff is eager to assist all family history researchers, from beginner to those who have reached the point of examining smaller details in the lives of their ancestors.
During the visit you will be asked to store any bags in a cabinet and to use no writing implements other than pencil. Gloves will be provided if you are given any older materials to use. Digital cameras are not permitted.
