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A State-Wide Guide to Genealogical Information in California
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. These indexes were compiled mainly by members of the Northern California genealogy discussion list NORCAL-L on Rootsweb. New indexes will be added to the list.The indexes in the Center are arranged by subjects in the Table of Contents. First choose a subject of interest. Then click on one of the titles of an index to see a description of it and a listing of California locations where it can be found. The description should help you decide before you go to the library whether it will be useful or not. The listing of locations should help you locate the nearest copy of that index. HOW TO USE THE CENTER
If you would like to submit a description of a state-wide index to be included here, please send the following information to us. HOW TO SUBMIT A REVIEW
If you would like to submit a new location for an index, just send us items 1, 5, and 6 of the above. This will help us maintain a complete listing of all locations for each index.
- The title of the index.
- The name of the author or compiler of the index, if any.
- If it is published, the name of the publisher, city, and date.
- A brief description of what the index contains, what's helpful or not so helpful about it.
- The locations of the index, such as the name of the library and city.
- The shelf call number or location in the library.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Archival and Manuscript Repositories in California, Secretary of State, California State Archives, Society of California Archivists, 1984Microfiche and card file, California State Library, Sacramento, The Library, Bellevue, Wash, 1986
California State Library (link)
Directory of Archival and Manuscript Repositories in California. Society of California Archivists, Printed Beacon Printery, Redlands, 1975.
Guide to the County Archives of California. Owen C. Coy, California Historical Survey Commission,1919.
MELVYL --The University of California Library Catalog
Microfilm Publications Concerning Spanish Private Land Grant Claims National Archives, San Bruno, CA.
Portrait/Photo Collection California Room; CA State Library, Sacramento
The West: A Select List of National Archives Microfilm Publications. National Archives Catalog, no date.
An Index to Biographies in 19th Century California County Histories. J. Carlyle Parker, Gale Research Company,1979. BIOGRAPHIES
Index to Marquis Who's Who Publications. Marquis Who's Who, Inc., New Providence, New Jersey, 1976-1996.
Nevada Biographical and Genealogical Sketch Index. J. Carlyle Parker and Janet G. Parker, Marietta Publishing Company (2115 North Denair Avenue, 95382, 209-634-9473), Turlock, CA, 1986.
Pioneer Index. Pioneers of California Index. Robert L. Davignon, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 1986
California Cemetery Inscription Sources. Elizabeth Kot and Shirley Thomson, Indices Publishing, Vallejo, 1994 CEMETERIES
1860 California Census Index: Heads of Households and Other Surnames in Household Index, 2nd Edition. Bryan Lee Dilts, 1984. CENSUS RECORDS
California 1850 Census Index. Ronald Vern Jackson and Gary Ronald Teeples, Accelerated Indexing Systems, Bountiful, Utah, 1978.
California 1870 Federal Census Index: Except the City of San Francisco. Ronald Vern Jackson, et al., editor, Accelerated Indexing Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1988.
California 1870 San Francisco County Federal Census Index. Ronald Vern Jackson, et al., editor, A.G.E.S., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1988.
Index (Soundex) to the 1880 Population Schedules for California. 10th Federal Census.
Index (Soundex) to the 1900 Federal Population Census Schedules for California. 12th Federal Census.
Index (Miracode) to the 1910 Federal Population Census Schedules for California. 13th Federal Census.
Index (Miracode) to the 1920 Federal Population Census Schedules for California. 14th Federal Census.
Index to the 1850 Census of California. Alan P. Bowman, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1972.
State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 By States and Territories of the United States. Henry, J. Dubester, U.S. Library of Congress Census Library Project, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1969.
The United States Census Compendium. John D. Stemmons, The Everton Publishers, Inc., Logan, UT, 1973.
State Census Records. Ann S. Lainhart, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992.
A Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in California. The Northern California Historical Records Survey Project, WPA, San Francisco, May 1942. CHURCH RECORDS
California State Archives, various records. COURT RECORDS
An index to records of Appellate Court cases from 1900-1930. Family History Library films 978,910-11.
An index to records of Supreme Court cases from 1850-1930. Family History Library films 978,908-9.
Guide to California County Probate & Vital Records. Laura Peritore, Ace Creations, San Bruno, CA, 1994.
Guide to the County Archives of California. Owen C. Coy, California Historical Survey Commission,1919.
Index to Transcripts of Court Cases in State Archives. Attorney General, Sacramento, Family History Library film 978,914.
Microfilm Publications Concerning Spanish Private Land Grant Claims. National Archives, San Bruno, CA.
The Sourcebook of County Court Records: A concise, straightforward, and informative reference manual to the main and secondary repositories of American County Court House Records. BRB Publications, Inc., 1992.
Historical Collections on Microfilm and CD ROM. Library Microfilms, a division of Bay Microfilm, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA DIRECTORIES
Personal Name Index to the 1856 City Directories of California, v. 10. Nathan C. Parker, Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co., 1980.
California Pioneer Register and Index, 1542 to 1848. Hubert Howe Bancroft. Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, Maryland, 1964. EMIGRATION
California Wagon Train Lists. Louis J. Rasmussen San Francisco Historic Records Co., 1994.
Index to the Argonauts of California [by] Charles Warren Haskins. Libera Martina Spinazze, Polyanthus, New Orleans, 1975.
Index to the DAR Records of the families of the California Pioneers. Vol. 1 to 27. Daughters of the American Revolution, 1929-1957.
Name Index of the California Pioneers, Members of Overland Companies and Ship Passengers Lists Given in "The Argonauts of California" by C.W. Haskins. DAR
Pioneer Index of the First Eighteen Volumes of the Grizzly Bear Magazine. Lois B. Benton, Berkeley, 1917.
Platte River Road Narratives: A Descriptive Bibliography of Travel Over the Great Central Overland Route to Oregon. Merrill J. Mattes, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1988.
San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Series, Louis J. Rasmussen
The World Rushed In, The California Gold Rush Experience. J.S. Holliday, A Touchstone Book, New York, 1981.
Trail to California The Overland Journal of Vincent Geiger and Wakeman Bryarly. David Morris Potter, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1962.
Index to the Argonauts of California [by] Charles Warren Haskins. Libera Martina Spinazze, Polyanthus, New Orleans, 1975. GOLD RUSH
Name Index of the California Pioneers, Members of Overland Companies and Ship Passengers Lists Given in "The Argonauts of California" by C.W. Haskins. DAR
The index of people, ships, immigration and mining companies mentioned in C.W. Haskins' "The argonauts of California." Libera Martina Spinazze and others. Society of California Pioneers, unpublished manuscript, 1941.
The index of people, ships, immigration and mining companies mentioned in C. W. Haskins' "The argonauts of California." Libera Martina Spinazze and others. Society of California Pioneers, California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 1960.
The World Rushed In, The California Gold Rush Experience. J.S. Holliday, A Touchstone Book, New York, 1981.
California State Archives, various records. GREAT REGISTERS
A bibliography of the history of California and the Pacific West, 1510-1906. New ed. Cowan, Robert Ernest, Book Club of California, San Francisco, 1914, Long's College Book Co., Columbus, Ohio, 1952. HISTORIES
A Guide to the History of California. Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., and Gloria Ricci Lothrop, editors, Greenwood Press, New York, 1989.
An Annotated Bibliography of California County Histories, The First One Hundred-Eleven Years, 1855-1966. John Bartlett Goodman II, v. 1 and 2, Los Angeles, 1966.
California Local History: A Bibliography and Union List of Library Holdings. 2nd edition, Margaret Miller Rocq, Stanford University Press,1970.
California Local History: A Centennial Bibliography. Ethel Blumann and Mabel W. Thomas, editors, Stanford University Press, 1950.
California Local History: A catalogue of items from a bookseller's stock, not recorded in California local history : a bibliography and union list of library holdings, second edition, revised and enlarged, 1970, The Bookstore, Albany, CA, 1971.
California Local History; Supplement to the Second Edition. Margaret Miller Rocq, Stanford University Press, 1976.
California Pioneer Register and Index, 1542 to 1848. Hubert Howe Bancroft. Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, Maryland, 1964.
Check List of Historical Records Survey Publications, Bibliography of Research Projects Reports. Sargent B. Child and Dorothy P. Holmes, Genealogical Publishing Company,1969.
Consolidated bibliography of county histories in fifty States in 1961, consolidated 1935-1961. Clarence Stewart Peterson, Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, MA, 1973.
Guide to the California collection. Thomas M. Fante, California State Library, Sacramento, CA, 1982.
Historical Collections on Microfilm and CD ROM. Library Microfilms, a division of Bay Microfilm, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Index to California Historical Society Quarterly Volumes One to Forty, 1922-1961. California Historical Society, San Francisco, 1965.
Index to California Historical Society Quarterly Volumes 41 to 54, 1962-1975. California Historical Society, San Francisco, 1977.
Memorial and Biographical History of the counties of FRESNO, TULARE, AND KERN, California. -- "Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future: with Profuse Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery, Full-page Portraits of Some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of Many of its Pioneers, and also of Prominent Citizens of today." (quoted from the title page of the book) ( the full-page portraits are only about 3x5, but very nice). No author; published in Chicago by the Lewis Publishing Company in about 1891.
Chilenos In California: A Study of the 1850, 1852, and 1860 Census. Carlos U. Lopez, R and E Research Associates, San Francisco, 1973. IMMIGRATION
California State Archives, various records.
Chinese Immigration and Chinese in the United States. National Archives.
Index to the Argonauts of California [by] Charles Warren Haskins. Libera Martina Spinazze, Polyanthus, New Orleans, 1975.
Index to the DAR Records of the families of the California Pioneers, Vol. 1 to 27. Daughters of the American Revolution, 1929-1957.
Name Index of the California Pioneers, Members of Overland Companies and Ship Passengers Lists Given in "The Argonauts of California" by C.W. Haskins, DAR
Naturalization Records at the National Archives in San Bruno, CA
San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Series, Louis J. Rasmussen
Selected Indexes to Naturalization Records of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts, Northern District of California, 1852-1928.
The index of people, ships, immigration and mining companies mentioned in C.W. Haskins' "The argonauts of California." Libera Martina Spinazze and others. Society of California Pioneers, unpublished manuscript, 1941.
The World Rushed In, The California Gold Rush Experience. J.S. Holliday, A Touchstone Book, New York, 1981.
California land grant cases; index of the reports of the U. S. Surveyor General for California and others in the congressional executive documents, as listed in J66 in the University of California Library. Jacob N. Bowman, unpublished, 1965. LAND AND PROPERTY
California Land Patents. Bureau of Land Management, Sacramento.
California private land grant cases: index to maps. J. N. Bowman, unpublished, 1941.
California private land grant cases. Index of the reports of the U.S. Surveyor General for California and others in the Congressional Executive Documents, as listed in J66 in the University of California Library, Berkeley, J.N. Bowman, 1965.
General Land Office Records. Bureau of Land Management.
Guide to the County Archives of California. Owen C. Coy, California Historical Survey Commission,1919.
Identification of the Historical Records of County Government in California. Laren W. Metzer, Sacramento, 1981.
Index by County to Private Land Grant Cases, U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of California.
Index to California ranches by county. J.N. Bowman, 1 v., The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, no date.
Index to Private Land Grant Cases, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1853-1903.
Index to Private Land Grant Cases, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California.
Index to the Spanish-Mexican Private Land Grant Records and Cases of California. J.N. Bowman, 1958, Reprint Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1970.
Indices to California land cases: manuscript. J.N. Bowman, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1941 and 1964. 2 v., 5 v. in 1 box, 6 boxes of card files, and 3 microfilm reels.
Indices to California land grants, 19--? J.N. Bowman, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 3 boxes card files.
Microfilm Publications Concerning Spanish Private Land Grant Claims. National Archives, San Bruno, CA.
California Local History A Centennial Bibliography. Ethel Blumann and Mabel W. Thomas, editors, Stanford University Press, 1950. LIBRARIES
California Room. California State Library
Cataloged Manuscripts and Diaries of the California Section. Thomas M. Fante, California State Library, Sacramento, 1981.
Guide to Literary Manuscripts in the Huntington Library. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, 1979.
Local History and Genealogy Resources of the California State Library. Gary Strong, California State Library Foundation, 1991.
Local Indexes in California Libraries. Richard H. Dillon, editor, New Notes of California Libraries, vol. 49, pages 501-542, Oct. 1954. California State Printing Office, Sacramento, 1954.
MELVYL --The University of California Library Catalog
Western Americana in the California State Library. Gary E. Strong and Gary F. Kurutz, editors, California State Library Foundation, 1985.
NORCAL Volunteer Lookup Library [Link]
Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Service
Union List of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Held By Institutions in the United States and Canada. R. Philip Hoehn and E.L. Woodruff, Western Association of Map Librarians, Santa Cruz, CA, 1976, 2 volumes. MAPS
Draft Registration MILITARY RECORDS
A Personal Name Index to Orton's "Records of California Men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1867." J. Carlyle Parker, Gale Research Co., Detroit, 1978.
An index to compiled military service records of Union Army volunteers from California. Family History Library films 881,604-15.
California DAR Ancestry Guide. Daughters of the American Revolution.
Index to Mexican War Pension Applications.
Index to Mexican War Pension Files.
Index to the DAR Records of the families of the California Pioneers, Vol. 1 to 27. Daughters of the American Revolution, 1929-1957, Solano County Genealogical Society, Inc. Fairfield, CA, 1988.
Index to Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858. Family History Library films 882,753-94.
Old War Pension Index, filed 1815-1926 Family History Library films 821,603-69.
Consolidated Index of Publications, Division of Mines and State Mining Bureau 1880-1943. This index is only for the publications of the California Geological Survey that were published between 1880 and 1943. Walter W. Bradley, editor, Sacramento, California Geological Survey Library 131, 1945. MINES AND MINING
Bibliography of the Geology and Mineral Resources of California For the Years 1931 to 1936, Inclusive. Solon Shedd, Sacramento, California Geological Survey Library Bulletin 115, 1937.
Bibliography of the Geology and Mineral Resources of California To December 31, 1930. Solon Shedd, Sacramento, California Geological Survey Library Bulletin 104, 1932.
California Geological Survey, Dept. of Conservation [Link]
The Official Museum Directory. American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C., 1996. MUSEUMS
African-American Records On Microfilm At The National Archives Pacific Sierra Region NATIONAL ARCHIVES
California State Archives, various records.
Chinese Immigration and Chinese in the United States. National Archives.
Guide to Records in the National Archives-Pacific Sierra Region, San Bruno, California, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, 1995.
Military Records on Microfilm at the National Archives Pacific Sierra Region
National Archives Microfilm Publications in the National Archives--Pacific Sierra Region, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC,1990.
Naturalization Records at the National Archives in San Bruno, CA
Native American Records on Microfilm at the National Archives Pacific Sierra Region
Passenger Arrival and Departure Lists on Microfilm at the National Archives Pacific Sierra Region
US Census Index Books at the National Archives Pacific Sierra Region
US Census Records on Microfilm at the National Archives Pacific Sierra Region
Obtaining Copies of Naturalization Records from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Ken Tessendorff NATURALIZATION DOCUMENTS
Summary of California County's Naturalization and Citizenship Records. J. Carlyle Parker
California Information File. Microfiche and card file, California State Library, Sacramento. NEWSPAPERS
Historical Collections on Microfilm and CD ROM. Library Microfilms, a division of Bay Microfilm, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Los Angeles Times Indexes. UMI, A Bell & Howell Co., Ann Arbor, MI.
Newspaper Holdings of the California State Library. Marianne Leach, California State Library Foundation, Sacramento, 1986.
Newspaper Indexes: A location and subject guide for researchers. Anita C. Milner, Scarecrow Press, Metwchen, NJ, 1977, 2 volumes. 1982.
San Francisco Newspaper Index. 1904 to 1949. microfiche, 1986.
Sacramento Bee Indexes.
San Francisco Call Index, 1904-1913. University of California, Library Photographic Service, Berkeley, Ca, 1986.
San Francisco Chronicle Index. 1950-1980, card file or microfiche, California State Library, Sacramento.
San Francisco Chronicle Indexes. 1976-1995, UMI, A Bell & Howell Co., Ann Arbor, MI.
Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) [Link] ORGANIZATIONS
Native Daughters of the Golden West (Overview)
Native Daughters of the Golden West (Pioneer Roster) [Link1] [Link2]
City and County Federation of Women's Clubs - San Francisco, CA.(1915-1920) [Link]
California Wagon Train Lists. Louis J. Rasmussen San Francisco Historic Records Co., 1994. OVERLAND JOURNEY TO THE PACIFIC
Census of Overland Emigrant Documents
Name Index of the California Pioneers, Members of Overland Companies and Ship Passengers Lists Given in "The Argonauts of California" by C.W. Haskins. DAR
Platte River Road Narratives: A Descriptive Bibliography of Travel Over the Great Central Overland Route to Oregon. Merrill J. Mattes, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
The World Rushed In, The California Gold Rush Experience. J.S. Holliday, A Touchstone Book, New York, 1981.
Trail to California The Overland Journal of Vincent Geiger and Wademan Bryarly. David Morris Potter, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1962.
Intercontinental Railway to California
California Post Office and County Finder 1849-1935 POST OFFICES
VITAL RECORDS
A Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in California. The Northern California Historical Records Survey Project, WPA, San Francisco, May 1942. (including birth, marriage, death, divorce, probate, wills)
An Alphabetical Listing of the California Mission Vital Records. Family History Library film 1,307,621, item 4; fiche 6047009.
California Cemeteries. 18 volumes, DAR compilation.
California County Recorder Office Survey. Betty Stevenson and Thea Roberts, California State Genealogical Alliance, Special Publication 1, 1984-1985.
California State Archives, various records.
California Death Index, State of California Department of Health, Sacramento, CA, microfiche, 1905-1990.
California Marriage Records 1850-1905
1949-1959 Brides and Grooms Index. State of California Department of Health, Sacramento.
1960-1985 Brides and Grooms Index. State of California Department of Health, Sacramento.
Gleanings from the Alta California: Marriages and Deaths, 1846-1850. Mary Dean Alsworth, Dean Publications, Rancho Cordova, CA, 1980.
More Gleanings from Alta California. Vital Records 1851. Mary Dean Alsworth, Dean Publications, Rancho Cordova, CA, 1982.
Guide To The County Archives of California. Owen C. Coy, Ph.D., Director and Archivist, California Historical Survey Commission, 1919.
Guide to California County Probate & Vital Records. Laura Peritore, Ace Creations, San Bruno, CA, 1994.
Identification of the Historical Records of County Government in California. Laren W. Metzer, Sacramento, 1981.
Northern California Marriage Index 1850-1860. Nancy J. Morebeck, Vacaville, CA, 1993.
California's Great Registers VOTING RECORDS
Great Registers of California, Dorthy Lazelle Williams, Indices Publishing, Vallejo, CA
Historical Collections on Microfilm and CD ROM. Library Microfilms, a division of Bay Microfilm, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Background graphic from Eos Development
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