The Hightstown Gazette issued its first edition in April 1861. This weekly paper consisted of only four pages, but from those four pages one can reconstruct the history of the people, their community, and their entire state. One full page was dedicated to "local" news consisting of deaths, marriages, who was visiting whom, who was sick, moving, building a new house or business, etc. News from other states was also carried, especially if it reflected on residents who had migrated elsewhere. News items from neighboring Middlesex, Monmouth and Burlington Counties; including deaths, marriages, and personal items from exchanged papers were often included. In many cases, the information printed here from the exchanged papers is now lost to history as the exchanged issues did not always survive. Present-day Hightstown is centrally located approximately fifteen miles east of Trenton, and equally distant from Philadelphia and New York by fifty miles. This chronological collection of abstracts spans a ten-year period, with the exception of papers from the Civil War years of November 1862 to September 1865, which have never been microfilmed and are presumed missing. Listings include marriages, and list the deaths of all persons, as reported by the paper, who died in New Jersey or those who had "roots" in New Jersey. Marriage listings include (as available) date and place of marriage, name of the reverend performing the ceremony, names of bride and groom, and name of the bride's father or other relative. Death listings include (as available) name of the deceased, date and place of death, cause of death, name of father or other relative, and place of burial. A full-name index adds to the value of this work.