I sent you a PM.

It will be great if you succeed in convincing the gentleman with the roots to the 1600s to enter. What a wonderful tribute to hometown roots it would be to see such incredible longevity in a day and age where mobility is the rule and families are scattered far and wide. To be descended from the original Dutch settlers is awesome!!.....and a history lesson for the children of this city.

Ah!!!! I can not let the cat out of the bag. You'll have to come to the celebration on Saturday to see who the oldest families ultimately turn out to be. You may be surprised.

I'm sure the name begins with VAN...like a Van Voorst?

Better yet, anyone named Hendrik Hudson?

Someone named Munsee might REALLY win the game.

But since my family, i.e. ME, arrived in 1970, I doubt the Library archives will be of much help.

Cute idea though.

Gee, you'd think, though, that a city that was 350 years old would have learned a bit more about proper governance and competence...certainly learned that malfeasance in office should not be rewarded.

There's a gentleman in Bergen Lafayette who's a direct descendant of one of original landowners in Bergen Square, from the 1600's. I'm trying to convince him to register. His wife says he doesn't like the limelight. I may have my work cut out for me.

What is the oldest family you have that resides in ?modern day? Jersey City?

Any Lenni Lenape in JC?

It is Hudson County-wide since the Town of Bergen stretched across what is now all of Hudson County (& Bergen County as well). We have a total of approximately 50 families signed up with over a third of them from Jersey City - the heart of Bergen. The oldest family is from Weehawken (1840) but we are looking for the oldest in each and every of Hudson County's 12 communities. A display naming all the oldest families will be exhibited at the Fair with the oldest in each town receiving a prize.

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I didn't sign up yet but my family goes back as far as 1922 when they got "off the boat" and settled here in Jersey City. I'm still here and the last of the family as well.

Anyone sign up yet and how far back do they go?

"Come Home to History: Celebrating 350 Years of Hudson County Heritage," is being held to observe the 350th anniversary of the founding of the first European settlement, Bergen, in what later became Jersey City and more widely Hudson and Bergen Counties. It is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, from 11 am to 6 pm, at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Institute Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street, Jersey City, New Jersey.

A search is being conducted for the oldest continuous resident family in Jersey City to be honored at the Fair. The family with the oldest roots will receive a gift. If you need guidance in figuring out when your family came, the staff of the NJ Room (472 Jersey Ave.) will assist you.

Please consider entering the contest with the name of your first ancestor to ive here, the year he/she arrived & the current family member still here. Any questions, contact the NJ Room at the Jersey City Free Public Library @ 201-547-4503. For additional information on the exhibits, speakers, and workshops at the Fair, see the Hudson County Genealogical Society's website.