California
From FreeGenWiki
Region: Western States
Border States: Oregon, Nevada, Arizona
Statewide Resources
History and Culture
- California County History
- California Pioneers Project
- Oakland Museum of California- Online Resources Page
- Calisphere-"A World of Primary Sources and More"
Maps
- Historical California Topo Maps
- Spanish and Mexican Land Grant Maps, 1855–1875- From the Secretary of State's office
Online Data and Resources
- CA USGenWeb Page
- California County Biographies- Master index to the indexes of the county biographies and histories which are currently listed in the California GenWeb
- California Genealogy & History Archives - Online researcher-driven data depository.
- California Digital Newspaper Collection
- California Digital Library- from Internet Archive
- California Town Postmarks 1849 - 1935-This file is intended to help in finding California Postmarks and Post Offices in conjunction with California Town Postmarks 1849 - 1935 by John Williams.
- Online Archives of California
- The Lawrence & Houseworth Photograph Database- A database of 1,495 historical photographs of California and Nevada reproduced from three catalog albums created during the 1860s by the renowned stereoview publishing firm of Lawrence & Houseworth.
- Huntington Early California Population Project- "The Early California Population Project (ECPP) provides public access to all the information contained in California's historic mission registers, records that are of unique and vital importance to the study of California, the American Southwest, and colonial America. Within the baptism, marriage, and burial records of each of the California missions sits an extraordinary wealth of unique information on the Indians, soldiers, and settlers of Alta California from 1769 - 1850."
- Pre-1905 California Death Index Project
- Golden Nugget Library
- California State Military Museum
- Reports of the Surveyors-General-from the California State Lands Commission.
Offline Data and Resources
- NORCAL Genealogy Resource Index-The Resource Center lists state-wide genealogical indexes that help genealogists and historians to locate source material for their research. The object of this Center is to provide researchers with a complete list of index references and a description of their use and content, so that the researcher can copy them off the web pages and prepare themselves for visits to research libraries around California.
- Pathfinder- The UCBerkeley Catalog.
- Genealogy Resources at the California State Library
- California State Archives-Documents the broad scope of California government and its impact on the people of the state. Over 85,000 cubic feet of records of all types are represented including millions of documents and bound volumes, 20,000 maps and architectural drawings, 250,000 photographs, 7,500 video and audio tapes, as well as hundreds of artifacts.
Societies and Mailing Lists
- California Genealogical Society- Statewide genealogical society with some online resources available to paid members, and a free names-lookup index search. Offers a research service.
- California Historical Society-Includes online exhibitions.
- California Genealogy Mailing Lists- Through Rootsweb.
- Society of California Pioneers
- Native Daughters of the Golden West
California Regional Resources
- Historic and Geologic Resources of South Central California-Including, Tehachapi, the Mojave Desert and Southern San Joaquin Valley.
Alameda County
- Oakland Tribune Index- Index and transcriptions for the late 1800's.
- Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society- Genealogy data records for Easter Alameda county.
- Picturesque Oakland- Photographic volume from the University of California.
- Oakland Public Library Newspaper Index- 1983 to present.
- Alameda County Superior Court Case Filing Search- Includes probate case documents filed after 31 Jan 2006.
- Alameda County Recorder Records Search- 1969 to present
Contra Costa County
- Contra Costa County Databases- Cooperative effort from three Contra Costa County Genealogical Societies. Includes newspaper vital records index and voters lists.
- Cemeteries of Contra Costa County- Tombstone transcriptions.
- Martinez Historical Society- Martinez, county seat of Contra Costa County. Site includes information on notable burials in Martinez cemetery.
- Contra Costa Historical Society- Includes probate, death, obituary and general indices.
El Dorado County
Marin County
- Marin County Boards - A place for transcriptions of Marin County obits.
Mendocino County
Napa County
Placer County
San Diego County
San Francisco County
- The Maritime Hertiage Project- "Established by D.A. Levy in 1998 to preserve San Francisco's shipping history from the mid-1800s to the turn of the Century. The Project focus is on steamships plying the West Coast of the United States, their captains and passengers."
- San Francisco Mortuary Records- From familysearch.org.
- SF Parcel Search- from the Assessor's Office
- San Francisco Records Office- Online records from 1990-present.
San Luis Obispo County
Santa Barbara County
- Clerk-Recorder's Office Online Records Search- Non-vital records, post-1970.
Santa Clara County
- Santa Clara Genealogy- from sfgenealogy.com
- King Library Collection- from SJSU
- Santa Clara County Recorder- Online records from 1981-present.
- County Probate Cases Collection-"The County Probate Cases Collection consists of approximately 2,100 cases heard by the Probate Court between May 1893 and September 1908."
- County Coroner Inquests-"The Coroner Inquests Collection consists of 9,300 reports of corner inquests from 1891 to 1932."
- County Wills Collection- "The wills date from the early twentieth century into the 1970s, with the bulk of the wills from the years after 1940."
Shasta County
- Shasta County Resources- Vitals, voters lists, census indices, tax rolls and resources links.
Sonoma County
- Sonoma County Recorder's Office- Searchable records index from 1964 to present.
- TH Thompson's Historical Atlas Map of Sonoma County, 1877- From David Rumsey's Online Collection
Stanislaus County
- Civil War Veterans of Stanislaus County- Veterans buried in Stanislaus County.
- Early Stanislaus County Marriages- 1854-1905. (PDF)
- Abstracts of Early Wills- 1872-1908 (PDF)
Tulare County
- Tulare County marriage indices- From the GenWeb Archives
- Tulare County Recorders Office- Searchable records, 1987-present.
- TH Thompson's Historical Atlas Map of Tulare County, 1892- on David Rumsey's Collection Online
Yolo County
- The Woodland Daily Democrat Index- Index for the late 1800's.
Yuba County
- Yuba Roots- Extensive Yuba (and Sutter County) records and indices.]
