History of the Clerk's Office
When the County of Morris was incorporated in March of 1739, each County Clerk was appointed by the Governor with no set term limit. That eventually changed in 1776, with the adoption of the New Jersey Constitution. County Clerks were then appointed by the Legislative Council and General Assembly to serve for 5 year terms and were eligible to be reappointed.
At that time, the position was considered to be a part of the judiciary, with their primary duties being that of the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions. The Conveyancing Act of 1799 first established the necessity for all transfers of legal title of property from one person to another and all encumbrances, such as mortgages and liens, to be recorded in a register or be deemed void.
When the New Jersey Constitution of 1844 was ratified, County Clerks were to be elected by the citizens of the county during annual elections and were no longer considered to be officers of the court, but rather completely separate constitutional officers. The Constitution of 1844 did nothing to change the duties they performed, only that their powers were considered to be bestowed upon them by the people.
To this day, the Office of the Morris County Clerk continues to perform the important function of recording every conveyance of property within the county but has grown to provide a variety of other services for its citizens.
Samuel Gouverneur was appointed as the first County Clerk by Governor Lewis Morris and held the office until 1765. Since then, there have been 29 different County Clerks that have served Morris County.
Elias Bertram Mott was, by far, the longest serving Clerk. Beginning in 1897, he worked as an aide to his father, Elias Briant Mott, who also served as Morris County Clerk from 1888 to 1898. He was then appointed as Deputy County Clerk under Daniel S. Voorhees from 1898 to 1908. He succeeded to the position of County Clerk and held the office for 52 years, winning 11 elections, from 1908 until his death in 1961. In total, he served the public while in the Morris County Clerk’s Office for an extraordinary 64 years of his life.
Complete List of Morris County Clerks
| Clerk |
Years Served |
| Samuel Gouverneur |
1739 - 1765 |
| Samuel Tuthill |
1766 - 1776 |
| Silas Condict |
1776 - 1781 |
| Joseph Lewis |
1782 - 1787 |
| Caleb Russell |
1787 - 1805 |
| Charles Russell (Son of Caleb Russell) |
1805 (June - November) |
| John McCarter (Died while in office in December) |
1806 - 1807 |
| Charles Russell |
1808 - 1808 (served again from January - October) |
| Edward Condict |
1808 - 1813 |
| Robert H. McCarter |
1813 - 1823 |
| Zephaniah Drake |
1823 - 1828 |
| David Day |
1828 - 1833 |
| Joseph Dalrimple |
1833 - 1838 |
| David B. Hurd |
1838 - 1843 |
| George H. Ludlow |
1843 - 1848 |
| *In 1844, the law changed where County Clerks were now elected to a 5 year term. |
| Albert H. Stanburrough |
1848 - 1858 |
| Samuel Swayze |
1858 - 1863 |
| William McCarty |
1863 - 1868 |
| Richard Speer |
1868 - 1873 |
| William McCarty |
1873 - 1878 |
| Melvin S. Condit |
1878 - 1888 |
| Elias Briant Mott |
1888 - 1898 |
| Daniel S. Voorhees |
1898 - 1908 |
| Elias Bertram Mott (son of Elias Briant Mott) |
Deputy Clerk 1898 - 1908; County Clerk 1908 - 1961 |
| Frank A. Headley |
Deputy Clerk 1956 - 1962; County Clerk 1962 - 1981 |
| Larry Mills |
1981 - 1983 |
| Joseph J. Bell |
1983 - 1988 |
| John Loughman |
1988 (Acting) |
| Alfonse Scerbo |
1988 - 1998 |
| Joan Bramhall |
1999 - 2013 |
| Ann F. Grossi |
2014 - Present |