Historic New Jersey Legal Treatises

The NJ State Library (NJSL) Law Library’s History New Jersey Legal Treatises page provides access to a collection of historical legal texts that offer insight into early legal thought and practice.

State Library authorized users can access additional treatises via the HeinOnline Legal Classics Library.

Banking Law

1899

The laws of New Jersey, relating to banks and banking, trust companies and safe deposit corporations, in force March 24, 1899, by James B. Dill.

1919

Laws of New Jersey relating to banks and banking, trust companies and safe deposit corporations 1919, revision of 1899 with amendments and additional acts, State of New Jersey, Department of Banking and Insurance.

Church Law

1898

Civil Church Law edited by George James Bayles, Ph.D.

Corporations

1886

Acts of the legislature relating to corporations of the state of New Jersey in which the Pennsylvania Railroad Company is interested by lease or otherwise: together with the acts of the legislature of the state of Pennsylvania relating to the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad Company, the Connecting Railway Company and the Frankford and Holmesburg Railroad Company

1890

The law of business corporations, by James M. Kerr.

1892

The act concerning corporations in the state of New Jersey, approved April 7, 1875, with all amendments to January 1, 1892, together with notes and forms, by William H. Corbin. (Also available via Internet Archive.)

1899

• The General Corporation Act of New Jersey: being “An Act Concerning Corporations” (revision of 1896), including the amendments and supplements to the end of the legislative session of 1899 with precedents and forms by James B. Dill.
• “New Jersey and the Great Corporations,” Harvard Law Review, Volume 13, pages 198-212, 264-278 (1899-1900).
• The statutory and case law applicable to private companies under the General corporation act of New Jersey and corporation precedents by James B. Dill. (Also via HathiTrust).

1900

The organization and management of a business corporation, with special reference to the laws of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia. Containing complete forms for by-laws, comparison of corporations and co-partnerships, and provisions for the protection of minority interests, by Thomas Conyngton.

1901

The statutory and case law applicable to private companies under the General Corporation Act of New Jersey and Corporation Precedents 3rd Edition by James B. Dill. (Also available via Internet Archives).

1902

The statutory and case law applicable to private companies with special reference to the General Corporation Act of New Jersey and corporation precedents applicable to corporations generally 4th Edition by James B. Dill and via HathiTrust

1903

The General Corporation Act of New Jersey by James Brooks Dill and via Internet Archive and HathiTrust

1908

Act concerning corporations (revision of 1896) in the State of New Jersey with the supplements passed in the years 1897 to 1908 inclusive and other general acts relating to corporations together with abstracts of the decisions of the courts and a full collection of forms fourteenth edition by William H. Corbin

1910

• The general corporation act of New Jersey, an act concerning corporations (revision of 1896) and the various acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto with other general acts relating to business companies; annotations and forms by James B. Dill
• The Statute and Case Law of the State of New Jersey Relating to Business Companies under an act concerning corporations (Revision of 1896) and the various acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto with annotations and forms by James B. Dill and via HathiTrust

1911

• The statutory and case law applicable to private companies, with special reference to the general corporation act of New Jersey and corporation forms and precedents applicable to corporations generally by James B. Dill.
• The Law of New Jersey Corporations, their organization and management with the text of the statutes relating to all stock companies, except banks, building and loan associations, canal, insurance, plank road, provident loan, safe deposit, surety, trust and turnpike companies with forms and precedents in two volumes. Volume I by John S. Parker and via HathiTrust (second copy)
• The Law of New Jersey Corporations, their organization and management with the text of the statutes relating to all stock companies, except banks, building and loan associations, canal, insurance, plank road, provident loan, safe deposit, surety, trust and turnpike companies with forms and precedents in two volumes. Volume II by John S. Parker and via HathiTrust (second copy)
• Parker’s New Jersey Corporations: New Jersey Statutes of 1911 Relating to Corporations including the act concerning public utilities with notes by John S. Parker by John S. Parker.

1912

Nature, organization and management of corporations under “An act concerning corporations (revision of 1896)” of the state of New Jersey together with the text of the statutes relating thereto to the end of the legislative session of 1912 with forms and precedents by J. B. R. Smith

1921

The general corporation act of New Jersey (revision of 1896) including all supplements and amendments thereto, to the end of the legislative session of 1921 by John J. Treacy and John Milton and via Google

Courts and Lawyers of New Jersey

1849

The Provincial Courts of New Jersey by Richard Stockton Field. (Also via HathiTrust and Internet Archive.) (A necrological notice of the Hon. Richard Stockton Field (1870)). (The Ordinance for Establishing Courts in New Jersey, by Austin Scott, New Jersey Law Journal, Volume 35, pages 164-70 (1912) discusses Field’s speculation on the author of the ordinance establishing courts in New Jersey).  (Addresses of Richard Stockton Field, 1861-1869).

1870

“History of the Constitution of New Jersey, Adopted in 1776, and of the Government Under It,” by Lucius Q. C. Elmer, Proceedings of The New Jersey Historical Society, 2nd Series, II, pages 133-153.

1872

The Constitution and Government of the Province and State of New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of the Governors from 1776 to 1845, and Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar, during More than Half a Century (Volume 7 Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society) by Lucius Q. C. Elmer. (and via HathiTrust)

1876

A digest of the decisions of law and equity of the state of New Jersey, from 1790 to 1876 : embracing all the cases reported in the regular reports of the state, and also in the reports for the District and Circuit courts of the United States for the district of New Jersey.

1891

The Supreme Court of New Jersey by John Whitehead. Volume 3, The Green Bag, pages 355-379.

1897

The Judicial and Civil History of New Jersey by John Whitehead.

1903

• The courts of New Jersey : their origin, composition and jurisdiction by William M. Clevenger. (via NJSL).
• The New Jersey Practice Act: And the Centiorari, Quo Warranto and Mandamus Acts (revisions of 1903): with Complete Notes of Decisions, History of the Sources of the Various Sections, and Schedules Showing where Old Sections are to be Found in the New Acts by Wilbur A. Mott.

1905

Courts and Procedure in England and in New Jersey by Charles H. Hartshorne

1907

Digest of the decisions of the courts of law and equity of the state of New Jersey, from 1898 to 1907: embracing all cases reported in 31 Vroom to 43 Vroom, 10 Dickinson to 3 Robbins, and 21 to 29 New Jersey Law journal, each inclusive by John S. Mackay and Clifford L. Newman

1912

• The courts and lawyers of New Jersey 1661-1912, Volume I, by Edward Quinton Keasbey.
• The courts and lawyers of New Jersey 1661-1912, Volume III, by Edward Quinton Keasbey.

1915

The Early Constitutions of New Jersey by Edward Q. Keasbey, 1 New Jersey Law Review 20.

1916

The New Jersey Practice Act of 1903: As Supplemented and Superseded by the Practice Act of 1912 and Practice Forms, with Supreme Court Rules Relating to Practice, and Complete Notes of Decisions Annotated Through and Including Pamphlet Laws 1916 and 97 Atlantic Reporter and 87 New Jersey Law Reports, James M. Sheen, LL.B.

Education

1871

An act to establish a system of public instruction for the state of New Jersey

1872

Supplements to the school law of the state of New Jersey passed by the Legislature of 1872

1875

New Jersey school law, with notes, blanks and forms, for the use and government of school officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Also via HathiTrust).

1881

New Jersey school law, with notes, blanks and forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Also available via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1887

New Jersey school laws with notes, blanks and forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

1891

New Jersey School Laws with Notes, Blanks and Forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Also via HathiTrust).

1894

New Jersey School Laws with Notes, Blanks and Forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Also via HathiTrust).

1900

New Jersey School Laws, Revision of 1900, with Notes, Blanks and Forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (and via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1902

New Jersey school laws, revision of 1902, with notes, blanks and forms for the use and government of school officers, prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (and via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1911

New Jersey School Laws and Rules and Regulations Prescribed by the State Board of Education with Notes, Blanks and Forms for the Use and Government of School Officers, by the Commissioner of Education. (Also available via Internet Archive.) (Also available via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1914

New Jersey school laws and rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education, with decisions by the commissioner of education and the State Board of Education and notes, blanks and forms for the use and government of school officers, prepared by the Commissioner of Education. (Also available via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1918

New Jersey school laws: with rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education with Decisions by the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education and blanks and forms for school officers.

1922

Teachers’ pension and annuity fund law.

Election Law

1880

An act to regulate elections approved April 18, 1876 with the amendments made thereto at the sessions of 1877-8-9 and 80

1909

Instructions relative to the duties of officers and voters as required by “An act to regulate elections” (revision of 1898), approved April 4th, 1898 and the supplements there to and other acts concerning elections. (Also available via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1914

An act to regulate elections (revision of 1898) approved April 4th 1898; with the amendments thereof, and other acts concerning elections, and the constitutional provision concerning the rights of suffrage, including instructions relative to duties of officers and voters. (Also available via HathiTrust) (second copy)

1921

An act to regulate elections (revision 1920) passed May 5, 1920, with the amendments thereof and other acts concerning elections compiled and printed under the  direction of the Secretary of State

Family Law

1863

A digest of the laws of New Jersey relative to births, deaths, and marriages.

1912

The Law of Married Women in New Jersey by Reuben Knox.

1917

Selected New Jersey cases on the law of domestic relations by Calvin McClelland. (Also via Google).

Fish and Game

1833

Laws of the State of New Jersey, regulating fisheries in the river Delaware; to which is prefixed the agreement between the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, settling the jurisdiction of the river Delaware and its islands.

1906

Fish and Game Laws of New Jersey by New Jersey Board of Fish and Game Commissioners. (Also via Internet Archives.)

1907

Fish and Game Laws of New Jersey.

1908

Fish and Game Laws of New Jersey by New Jersey Board of Fish and Game Commissioners. (Also via Google and HathiTrust.)

1909

Statute law of New Jersey relative to clams and oysters by Bureau of Shell Fisheries of New Jersey. (Also via HathiTrust.)

1910

Fish and game laws of New Jersey by the Board of Fish and Game Commissioner. (Also via Internet Archives and HathiTrust.)

1911

Game and fish legislation in New Jersey by Charles E. Brewster (and via HathiTrust)

1912

Fish and Games Laws of New Jersey.

1913

Fish and Games Laws of New Jersey.

1915

Laws of New Jersey relating to forestry. (Also via HathiTrust.)

1917

Fish and Games Laws of New Jersey.

1918

Statute law of New Jersey relative to the shell fish industry (Also via HathiTrust.)

Indexes

1815

An abridgment of decisions, of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, on certiorari to courts for the trial of small causes from May term 1806, to February term 1813, inclusive by Charles Kinsey (Also via Google.)

1855

A digest of the laws of New Jersey. Second Edition by Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus Elmer (Also via HathiTrust.)

1861

A digest of the laws of New Jersey. Third Edition by Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus Elmer (Also via HathiTrust.)

1868

A digest of the laws of New Jersey. Fourth Edition by Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus Elmer (Also via HathiTrust.) (second copy) (third copy)

1877

Index of Colonial and State Laws Between the Year 1663 and 1877 Inclusive
by John Hood. (Also via Internet Archive.)

1878

An abridgement of the revised statutes of New Jersey: and of the amended constitution by A. V. D. Honeyman (Also via Google.)

1905

Index of Colonial and State Laws of New Jersey between the years 1663 and 1903 Inclusive by John Hood.

1910

Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the “General Statutes” and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed : and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period by Abraham Van Doren Honeyman.

Labor

1921

Labor laws administered by the State of New Jersey Department of Labor, Lewis T. Bryant, Commissioner of Labor, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Liquor

1910

• Laws of New Jersey relating to the regulation and traffic in intoxicating liquors including statutes and decisions by Peter Backes
• The law relating to intoxicating liquors : a treatise covering the construction and application of all constitutional and statutory provisions relating to the traffic in intoxicating liquors and prosecutions for violations of the liquor laws by Howard C. Joyce (second copy)

Militia

1861

Laws relating to the organization and regulation of the Militia of the State of New Jersey from 1846 to 1860

Miscellaneous

1832

The Society of Friends vindicated: being the arguments of the counsel of Joseph Hendrickson, in a cause decided in the Court of Chancery State of New Jersey, between Thomas L. Shotwell, complainant, and Joseph Hendrickson and Stacy Decow, defendants. By George Wood and Isaac H. Williamson.

1833

A Review of the Trenton Decision in the Quaker Cause
By New Jersey Court of Appeals, New Jersey Court of Chancery. (Also available via Internet Archive.)

1845

A legal argument before the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey at the May Term, 1845, at Trenton, for the deliverance of four thousands persons from bondage by Alvan Stewart.

1876

Legislative acts of 1876 affecting the city of Newark with action of Common council in relation thereto.

1904

John Peter Zenger, His Press, His Trial and a Bibliography of Zenger Imprints: His Press, His Trial and a Bibliography of Zenger Imprints by Livingston Rutherfurd, John Peter Zenger.

1910

Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the “General Statutes” and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed : and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period by Abraham Van Doren Honeyman.

Municipal Law

1892

Report of the Commissioners appointed in compliance with the provisions of An Act entitled An Act to Provide for a Commission to Revise and Consolidate the General Statutes of this State relating to Villages, Towns and Townships, approved March 9th, 1891, Volume II (Also via Google and Internet Archives.)

1893

Report of the Commissioners appointed in compliance with the provisions of An Act entitled An Act to Provide for a Commission to Revise and Consolidate the General Statutes of this State relating to Villages, Towns and Townships, approved March 9th, 1891, Volume II (Also via Google and Internet Archives.)

1911

An act relating to, regulating, and providing for the government of cities, towns, boroughs, and other municipalities within this state. (Also via Google and Internet Archives.)

1912

New Jersey township law: containing the revision of 1899, the several acts supplementary and amendatory thereto, and other acts relating to or affecting townships, with notes of reported decisions, and a collection of forms

1916

The New Jersey borough law containing the revision of 1897, supplements and amendments thereto, notes of the decisions and a collection of forms by Alfred F. Skinner

1918

• Analysis of the laws affecting municipal and county finances and taxation by Arthur N. Pierson. (Also via Internet Archive.)
• Analysis of the laws affecting municipal and county finances and taxation by the Commission for the Survey of Municipal Financing of New Jersey.

1919

New Jersey commission government law (Walsh act) including 1921 amendments. (Fourth Edition). (Also via HathiTrust.)

New Jersey Practice

1839

Practical forms of proceedings under the laws of New Jersey. By Lucius Q. C. Elmer (Also via HathiTrust.)

1841

Precedents and notes of practice in the Court of chancery of New Jersey: to which prefixed rules of the court of chancery, the prerogative court, and the court of appeals. By Stacy G. Potts

1853

Rules of the court of chancery of the state of New Jersey, as revised and established by Chancellor Williamson, in March, 1853; with precedents of practice in relation to the sale of lands of infants, lunatics with the rules of the Prerogative court and Court of errors and appeals

1863

Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey by Charles P. Smith

1866

Rules of the Court of chancery of the state of New Jersey as revised by the chancellor with precedents of practice in relation to the sale of lands of infants, lunatics, with the rules of the prerogative court

1894

Forms of pleadings and precedents in the Court of Chancery of the state of New Jersey and the revised rules of the Court of Chancery, rules of the Prerogative and Orphans’ Courts, and the revised rules of the Court of Errors and Appeals ; also, practical notes and references to decisions on matters of pleadings and practice by S. Meredith Dickinson (Also via HathiTrust.)

1885

Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey by Benjamin F. Lee

1901

Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey by William Riker

1902

New Jersey Orphans’ Court practice: containing An Act Respecting the Orphans, containing “an act respecting the Orphans Court” (Revision of 1898) together with the several supplements and amendments thereto and including all statutes which relate to practice under the above act with notes of decisions affecting and construing the same together with a complete set of forms by Charles Frederick Kocher (Also via HathiTrust.)

1903

The New Jersey Practice Act: And the Centiorari, Quo Warranto and Mandamus Acts (revisions of 1903): with Complete Notes of Decisions, History of the Sources of the Various Sections, and Schedules Showing where Old Sections are to be Found in the New Acts by Wilbur A. Mott.

1904

Honeyman’s Justice of the Peace, practice and forms in New Jersey by A. Van Doren Honeyman

1907

Forms of pleadings and precedents in the law courts of the state of New Jersey with notes, explanations and references to statutes and authorities by Fred Prout

1910

The Mechanics lien law of New Jersey, containing the Revision of 1898 and all supplements and amendments thereto, with notes of decisions, and a collection of forms, also the Municipal improvements lien act of 1892, with notes, second edition, by Edward J. Luce

1912

• The New Jersey Practice Act (1912) and Rules Annotated with new forms adapted to this procedure by Charles H. Hartshorne.
• New Jersey Procedure – The Old and the New, by Edward Q. Keasbey, New Jersey Law Journal, Volume 35, pages 170-4.

1913

Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, William C. Gebhardt.

1915

Rules of the District Court of the United States for the District of New Jersey. General – Admiralty – Bankruptcy. Adopted September 1, 1915.

1916

The New Jersey Practice Act of 1903: As Supplemented and Superseded by the Practice Act of 1912 and Practice Forms, with Supreme Court Rules Relating to Practice, and Complete Notes of Decisions Annotated Through and Including Pamphlet Laws 1916 and 97 Atlantic Reporter and 87 New Jersey Law Reports, James M. Sheen, LL.B. (Also via Internet Archive.)

Probate

1895

The law of collateral and direct inheritance, legacy and succession taxes, embracing all American and many English decisions, with forms for New York state, and an appendix giving the statutes of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, Ohio, Connecticut, Maryland, California, Illinois by Benj. F. Dos Passos, (Second edition) (Also via HathiTrust.)

1906

A review and index of succession law in the state of New Jersey, including statutes and decisions from 1776 to 1905, relating to testamentary and probate law, probate courts, descent, escheat and survivorship of land, curtesy, dower, presumption of death, actions for wrongful death, collateral inheritance tax.

1912

Inheritance taxation; a treatise on legacy succession and inheritance taxes under the laws of Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming and former acts of Congress with forms and full texts of statutes by Peter V. Ross (second copy)

1916

New Jersey Probate Law and Practice with a complete set of forms under the recent Orphans’ Court and Prerogative Court Rules by Charles F. Kocher.

Real Estate

1918

The Law of Real Property Mortgages in New Jersey by Reuben Knox.

1922

The law of landlord and tenant in New Jersey: with forms (Second Edition) by William Locke Rockwell.

Taxation

1901

Digest and compilation of the statutes and decisions regulatin the assessment and collection of taxes in New Jersey with blanks and forms for the use of assessors and collectors

1905

Tax law of New Jersey: revision of 1903, with annotations, amendments and supplements to 1905. Digest of laws pertaining to the subject of taxation. Precedents and forms and via HathiTrust (second copy) and Internet Archive (second copy)

1906

Law of taxation : with special reference to its application in the state of New Jersey, including decisions of the United States Supreme Court, and State Courts, and statutes of New Jersey by Charles C. Black

1913

New Jersey inheritance and transfer tax laws: containing all New Jersey statutes and reported decisions, with other cases bearing on such provisions in other States as have been enacted in New Jersey by Joseph F. Randolph

1918

• Analysis of the laws affecting municipal and county finances and taxation by the Commission for the Survey of Municipal Financing of New Jersey.
• Tax laws of the State of New Jersey by Theodore Backes and Godfrey W. Schroth, Jr. and via Internet Archive and HathiTrust (second copy)

1920

Report of the Commission to Investigate Tax Laws, State of New Jersey 1919 (second copy) (also via Internet Archive.)

Workmen’s Compensation

1918

The Workmen’s Compensation Law (Employers’ Liability Act) of New Jersey: Together with Kindred Legislation and Forms by Reuben Robinson Chance.

1940

Workmen’s compensation law. Revised statutes 1937, Title 34, Chapter 15, Articles 1 to 6, inclusive (R. S. 34:15-1 to R. S. 34:15-102) including Laws of 1938 and 1939

Do You Still Have Questions?

Have a question? Need help with research or finding reliable information? The Research Library Ask a Librarian page is here to assist you.

Whether you’re exploring state resources, diving into historical archives, or simply looking for guidance on your next research project, our team of expert librarians is ready to help.