The Martin family predominated the village of Martinsville which is in Bridgewater Twp, Somerset County. A book sold by the Somerset County Historical Society, North of the Raritan Lotts, gives some of the lineage of Martins but Elijah is not in the index. The woman you spoke to at the Courthouse was almost correct in that the county doesn't keep birth records. They started in 1848 with each municipality and they are on microfilm at the NJ State Archives. But that doesn't help you. Wills, and land records are your best source of late 18th century records. There are a few church records that go back before 1800, mostly the Reformed Church records, and these were printed in the Somerset County Historical Quarterlies from 1912 to 1919. Many of the non-Dutch Bridgewater settlers were Presbyterian and members of the Bound Brook Pres Ch. Some of their records were published in GMNJ and SCHQ and more records on microfilm available at Special Collections, Alexander Library, Rutgers University and possibly through LDS microfilm loan like the Lamington Pres Ch records. Since you were at the Somerset Co Courthouse in Somerville, you could have gone to the Hall of Records and just nosed around through the old deeds, but if your Martins went west or up to NY State before 1810 or so, chances are slim of finding anything. Another thought: the Martins came from Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County. You might search there with a baptismal record in the Woodbridge Pres Ch. Otherwise, Dorothy Stratford is the primary Somerset County expert and can be contacted through the Gen Soc of NJ. She is also at Special Collections at Rutgers Univ. every Tues and Thurs mornings. Pam Bush ----- Original Message ----- From: <BudMartin3@aol.com> To: <NJSOMERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: September 02, 2000 10:51 PM Subject: Elijah Martin > I have traced my family back to a man named Elijah Martin, born in either > 1777 or 1778. The "place of birth" is only listed as "Somerset county". > Buddy Martin > >