Mostly California
Nancy Peterson - October 24, 2011
General Sites and Resources
Collections:
http://www.FamilySearch.org (scroll down to “Browse by Location” and don’t miss recent digitizations
under “All record Collections”; click on “Learn” and use the wiki.)
http://search.ancestry.com/Places/US/California/Default.aspx
http://www.cagenweb.com (click on the county of interest)
http://usgwarchives.org/ca/cafiles.htm
http://userdb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/regional.html#California
Hubs:
http://www.germanroots.com/ (not just Germany! very comprehensive)
http://www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthb.htm
http://www.linkpendium.com/
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm
http://www.genealogybranches.com/California.html
http://www.csga.com
Vital Records
California started keeping vital records on a statewide basis in July 1905, but the statewide marriage index until 1949 was not adequately preserved. The birth index was closed to public access a number of years ago, but a court challenge allowed those who had purchased electronic copies to retain them. Thus, public access, unless to pay to request a search, is very limited.
The most productive way to locate vital record indexes is to subscribe to Vital Search (http://www.vitalsearch-ca.com/) since they have indexes over years that Ancestry and other sites do not have, particularly the state birth index and the 1930-39, 1905-1929, and 1998-2000 death indexes. Ancestry.com (subscription or through public libraries) offers the marriage index 1960-85 and the divorce index 1966-84, while VitalSearch-ca.com offers in addition marriage indexes dating back to 1949 and digitizations of the San Francisco marriage indexes 1904 up to the 1906 earthquake. CGS research services accesses all of the above as well as surviving San Francisco death ledgers and some certificates up to the 1906 earthquake, as well as San Francisco marriage certificates 1913-1915, all of which have also recently been made available at www.FamilySearch.org. Marriage and divorce indexes (and often records) outside of the above years must for the most part be accessed at the county level. The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is particularly helpful for 1960 to the present. There are many readily accessable copies of the SSDI, including that at http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi. Newspaper searches can also be made (see following section).
Many USGenweb Project county websites have posted marriage and death indexes and occasionally even birth indexes over limited years. Find the site for the county of interest by going to
http://cagenweb.com and choosing the county of interest. Older databases are now archived at
http://usgwarchives.org/ca/cafiles.htm.
A number of county and local genealogical and historical organization sites with vital record type databases and extractions can be found at
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~websites/usa/california.html.
A project to collect pre-1905 death records from counties was attempted a number of years ago. Parts are reliable, while other parts were incomplete or poorly proofread. It is available at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cabf1905/.
The Golden Nugget Library is also a source of many county index extracts. You can find it at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/.
Marriages that appeared in the Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine can be found at
http://www.genwed.com/state/cagen.htm.
Cemetery and funeral home Records: Because the availability of pre-1905 death records is so limited, cemetery and funeral home records are often the only source of death information. A number of cemeteries have made their records available online, but it is not always clear if they consist of office records or just tombstone readings. One should start with the three major website collections:
http://www.findagrave.com
http://www.interment.net
http://www.usgwtombstones.org/california/californ.html
Other cemeteries can be located by putting into the search box of a good search engine the name of the county in question and the word “cemeteries.” Follow the same procedure for funeral home records. Many of these are being digitized by the Family History Library, including those of San Francisco, at
http://www.familysearch.org.
Newspapers
While there are a number of websites where you can search for obituaries and newspaper articles for more recent decades, there are relatively few that carry digitized newspapers from earlier years, and many of these are available by subscription only. Occasionally libraries subscribe to major subscription sites such as ProQuest, Newsbank, Genealogy Bank, Fold3 (Footnote) and Newspaper Archive, and to Ancestry, which also has a digitized collection. Check your local library district offerings.
Free (or very low-cost) sites include:
http://cdnc.ucr.edu (California digital Newspaper Collection)
http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica (Library of Congress Chronicling America)
http://news.google.com/archivesearch/advanced_search
Lists of filmed, historical newspapers can be found at:
http://cnp2.ucr.edu/cnpsearchdb.html
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/oltitles.html
http://www.newspapercat.org
http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/guides/hist/onlinenewspapers.html
Digitized newspapers from more recent years and sites with links to them include:
http://nl.newsbank.com/
http://www.ibiblio.org/riverat/internet/archives.html
http://www.ancestorhunt.com/California_newspaper_obituaries.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/obituaries/search/
http://catalog.oaklandlibrary.org:85/
http://legacy.com/NS/
http://obits.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/obit.cgi
If a site listing filmed newspapers holds a newspaper of interest and a short search would be all that is necessary, contact the largest library near the place of publication. Otherwise, you may be able to purchase a film of the newspaper through the California Digital Newspaper Project at http://cnma.ucr.edu/
County Historical and Database Collections
To locate county databases of all types, go to the main page of the California State Genealogical Alliance
(http://www.csga.com) and click on the county of interest. Some lists are more comprehensive than others. Digital collections made available by local libraries, historical societies, genealogical societies and so forth can also be found by entering into the search box of a search engine the name of the county of interest and either “genealogical” or “genealogy.” There are some websites that gather in one place the names of such resources that have been found useful. They are listed under “General Sites” above.
Census The first decennial census for California was 1850. Many people were missed, and somehow three counties were either omitted or lost: San Francisco, Contra Costa and Santa Clara. For these reasons it was repeated in 1852. These and all decennial digitizations are available at Ancestry.com. First names for the 1852 census often consist of only an initial, but an added bonus is that pre-California residence is listed. The 1890 Great Register of Voters, coupled with city directories when available, can serve as a partial substitute for the missing 1890 federal census.
Directories and Voter Registration Lists
California voter registration information was collected in books referred to as the Great Registers. These have been digitized by Ancestry.com and are available in the Ancestry Library version at large local libraries. Many city directories have been digitized by Internet Archives at
www.archive.org/search.php?query=California%20directory
Naturalization
Naturalization took place in federal district courts and in local (usually Superior) courts. The Great Registers of Voters through 1895 list where and when final papers were obtained. See also:
http://www.germanroots.com/california.html (Joe Beine’s list of online naturalization databases)
and other websites listed under “General Sites.”
Probate
Historically, the responsibility for probate shifted over time from one court type to another. Only recently have some indexes and summaries begun to appear online. Use a search engine or the hub sites listed under the category “General Sites.” Also try:
http://www.familysearch.org (San Francisco Register of Actions digitizations)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/sfp_indx.htm (1872-9 interesting cases)
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/caldatanook/tagdata/9-calwills/index.htm
Internet Archive has digitized publications of Superior Court decisions deemed to be of interest. Enter “Reports of Decisions in Probate” into the search box at http://www.archive.org. Other cases of interest can be located using the Google search box.
Land
After California was acquired at the end of the Mexican War, the normal procedure to be followed in acquiring new territory would have been first to survey the land. After surveying, the next step would have been to sell it, award it or set it aside for specific purposes. It was also necessary to adjudicate pre-existing claims from pre-statehood years. However, the years immediately following the Gold Rush were chaotic. Many settlers had made preemption claims that needed to be settled in court. The federal government, moreover, did not accomplish what was necessary in a timely fashion. Most land records that have survived have been filmed by the Family History Library (search the catalog at http://www.familysearch.org) but few have been digitized. One can perform a land patent search at
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/.
Maps
http://www.california.n2genealogy.com/ca-maps.html (also contains links to other mapping sites)
http://randymajors.com/p/maps2.html (helpful for showing county boundary changes over time)
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/sfmaps.htm (San Francisco only)
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/ (many types; try clicking on “Mapping” tab and then “find”)
Pioneers
To qualify as a California Pioneer, one had to arrive in the state before January 1, 1850. The records and often the obituaries of those who applied and were accepted are at the Society of California Pioneers in San Francisco (website: http://www.californiapioneers.org/). Members are listed at
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/caldatanook/scp74/scptoc.htm.
Those who arrived before statehood, July 1, 1850, often joined the Society of Territorial Pioneers, a social organization with records at the state library. CGS makes these records available as a research service. The Native Daughters of the Golden West and Native Sons of the Golden West only required arrival before 1870. The NDGW member index is available at http://www.ndgw.org/PRosterIndex/rostermain.html.
The years before 1850 were not characterized by much record keeping. Finding information on pioneers is often best accomplished by searching on a person’s name. Biographies of some pioneers are available at the following websites:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/biographies/bios-index.htm
http://www.cagenweb.com/cpl/cpl_bio.htm
http://www.cagenweb.com/cpl/cpl_bio.htm#15
Pre-statehood Spanish Records:
California settlement began long before the Gold Rush. Those U.S. citizens who came west in the earliest of years often married Spanish women already living here. Their records, therefore, are intermixed. Vital records from the missions have been gathered together and made available through the Huntington Library. Start your search at:
http://www.huntington.org/Information/ECPPuserguide.htm#sources3
Other information both biographical and vital, is available through the organization, Los Californianos at
http://www.loscalifornianos.org/ and at
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanish/index.htm.
Military
Most genealogically useful military records are federal records held by the National Archives (NARA). Those that have been digitized are available through the subscription sites, Ancestry.com and Fold3.com (formerly Footnote). A quick check as to what is available in digitized NARA material can be found at http://www.archives.gov/digitization/digitized-by-partners.html.
However, Civil War conscription was handled by the individual states, and those ledgers are generally at state archives. The California ledgers are not available digitally, but are on Family History Library (FHL) film #981,530, which can be borrowed through local Family History Centers. Also only available on FHL film are records of California Veterans taking advantage of military services such as hospitalization (1884-1917): FHL films #981,559 - #981,561.
Burial: Veteran burial information (federal) is digitized at http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1. Burial records and occasionally photographs are also available at http://www.interment.net and http://www.findagrave.com.
Pensioners: Ancestry has the list of 1883 pensioners (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=31387), while the 1840 list is at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/census/1840/. The pensioner census in 1890 for California was lost in a fire.
Other useful sites include:
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ (National Parks Service Civil War database—does not include Navy)
Digitized Books
http://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp
http://www.gooboogeni.com/ (specifically genealogical books available on Google Books)
http://www.archive.org/search.php (Internet Archive)
http://lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=33
Some large libraries offer card holders access to HeritageQuest Online, thus making available digitizations of countless genealogical texts that are out of copyright. San Francisco Public Library offers this service to cardholders.
Libraries and Archives
Archives usually have indexed and described their holdings. Many, many library and university archival collections, as well as special collections in unexpected places, have been described in the Online Archive of California. Access this at: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/.
Most public and state affiliated libraries have now placed their catalogs online, and many private libraries and genealogical society libraries are finding the funding to do the same. These can be located by the creative use of search engines. The URL of the catalog of the California State Library (of which Sutro Library in San Francisco is a branch) is http://catalog.library.ca.gov/F?RN=924762456.
Three sites in particular are continually posting new digitizations: Ancestry, FamilySearch and Archive.org. Train yourself to check them regularly.