An important genealogical resource concerning later marriages in California is one made available by the California State Department of Health titled "'California Marriage Index, Bride and Groom, 1960-1985". This index comes on microfiche in two sets, as the title suggests, one for the bride and one for the groom. They are divided into ten-year segments beginning with 1960, such as 1960-1969, 1970-1979, 1980-1985. An earlier series, 1949-1959, in book form at the State Library are not included with the current series.

The index contains the following fields of information:

• Name of Groom
• Name of Bride
• GR (Age of Groom)
• BR (Age of Bride)
• CO (County Married)
• MO (Month of Marriage)
• DA (Day of Marriage)
• YR (Year of Marriage)
• Registrar CO and Number (County Register Number)
• State File #

The researcher can conveniently search for either names. On the Bride Index, the brides are listed in alphabetical order in the second column. On the Groom Index, the grooms are listed in alphabetical order in the first column. If you are familiar with the California Death Index, the format of the Marriage Index is similar. The county of marriage is listed as a two digit code (see list below). The County Register and State File numbers can be used to order the marriage certificate from the County or State respectively.

The microfiche is numbered from 0001 on for each bride and groom set, and the range of the names contained on each microfiche is listed at the top of each one. Examples of the first six microfiche in the 1980-1985 Groom Index looks as follows:

 

0001	"A-Allen"
0002	"Allen-Aquin"
0003	"Aquin-Baerw"
0004	"Baerw-Bartl"
0005	"Bartl-Benso"
0006	"Benso-Bloom"
etc.

Here are the two-digit County Codes used in the California Marriage Index:
 

01	Alameda
02	Alpine
03	Amador
04	Butte
05	Calaveras
06	Colusa
07	Contra Costa
08	Del Norte
09	El Dorado
10	Fresno
11	Glenn
12	Humboldt
13	Imperial
14	Inyo
15	Kern
16	King
17	Lake
18	Lassen
19	Los Angeles
20	Madera
21	Marin
22	Mariposa
23	Mendocino
24	Merced
25	Modoc
26	Mono
27	Monterey
28	Napa
29	Nevada
30	Orange
31	Placer
32	Plumas
33	Riverside
34	Sacramento
35	San Benito
36	San Bernardino
37	San Diego
38	San Francisco
39	San Joaquin
40	San Luis Obispo
41	San Mateo
42	Santa Barbara
43	Santa Clara
44	Santa Cruz
45	Shasta
46	Sierra
47	Siskiyou
48	Solano
49	Sonoma
50	Stanislaus
51	Sutter
52	Tehama
53	Trinity
54	Tulare
55	Tuolumne
56	Ventura
57	Yolo
58	Yuba
60	Alameda City
80	San Diego City
90	San Francisco City

For information on ordering Vital Records including Marriage Certificates, visit Center for Health Statistics

Some California libraries that have the above item:

• Oakland, CA., Family History Center
• Oakland, CA., Oakland Main Library, microfiche, Periodical and Newspaper Rm
• Pleasanton, CA., Alameda County Pleasanton Branch Library
• Sacramento, CA., California State Library
• San Lorenzo, CA., Alameda County San Lorenzo Branch Library
• San Francisco, CA., Sutro Library
• Santa Clara, CA., Santa Clara Library, microfiche drawer, Gen Rm
• San Jose, CA., Martin Luther King Library, in the California Room
• San Jose, CA., East Side LDS Library in Evergreen on San Felipe Rd.
• Santa Clara, CA., Family History Center, 875 Quince Avenue (408-241-1449)
• Houston, TX., The Clayton Branch for Genealogical Research of the Houston Public Library

Note: Some libraries may not have the complete set from 1960 to 1985.

---