The New Jersey State Library recently has been trying to publish
on their website various useful sources of interest to their patrons, many of
which in the future may be of interest to genealogists. Sources at the State
Library that receive a lot of use or those that are in poor condition may be
earmarked for further electronic publication by the State Library as they receive
grants and funding for individual projects. Two publications recently finished
include: Proceedings of the [New Jersey] Constitutional Convention, 1947, an
out-of–print, five-volume set dealing with the government’s recording
of the debates and proceedings of the Committee that framed the 1947 NJ state
constitution; and more importantly for genealogists, Record of Officers and
Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865, originally published in 1876
by William S. Stryker, State Adjutant General, which is a standard for New Jersey
genealogical research.
The Web publications provide full Boolean searching (and, or,
not, near...) and also allows for browsing through the book, either page by
page or by individually marked sections, including links to contents pages,
prefaces, and sections of the original books. For Stryker's work, this is especially
helpful since not only can you search for names of possible Civil War Veterans,
but you can also browse the table of contents for the place in the book where
certain regiments are outlined (rather than searching through a multitude of
hits). The Boolean searching is quite extensive, involving the use of wildcards,
searching a word that is within a certain proximity to another, words that are
adjacent, and other advanced search options. See the site's "Searching
Tips section for a full description at: www.njstatelib.org/plweb/operat.html.
Online help is also provided. Both databases were well constructed.
The publications are available from the State Library website
at the following locations:
Proceedings
of the [New Jersey] Constitutional Convention, 1947
Record
of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War
Dick Eastman Online
