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Research Resources (California/Bay Area)

Includes Genealogy and History Organizations

Archives, Libraries, and Museums

Bancroft Library (Berkeley)

  • The Bancroft Library is a special collections library located on the campus of the University of California Berkeley. They have extensive historical resources for California, San Francisco Bay area, Gold Rush, etc. From their website:
    • “Western Americana, Bancroft’s largest resource, documents the history of human activity in North America—primarily west of the Rocky Mountains—from the earliest days to the present time, with greatest emphasis on California.”
    • “Latin Americana is one of the world’s great repositories for historical and contemporary materials on Mexico and Central America, with a particular focus on Colonial Mexico and the Northern Territories.”
    • “The Pictorial Collection of paintings, drawings, photographs, and other documentary depictions from the earliest recorded images to the present day complements the Library's printed and manuscript collections on California, the far western United States, Mexico, and Central America.”
  • In addition, they also have the San Francisco Examiner newspaper collection: Photograph prints and negatives dating from 1919 to the late 1990s, the newsroom's clipping file, and 850 leather-bound volumes of Examiner editions from 1888 to 1956.“

California Genealogical Society [CGS] (Oakland)

  • Has a large collection of San Francisco related genealogical materials.
  • Has a library that can visited, but a fee is required if not a member.
  • CGS Names Index online database (fee is required for results)
    • San Francisco voters registered 1890
    • San Francisco IOOF Crematory and Cemetery records
    • Biographies of individuals prominent in early 20th century California
    • Records from the First and Third Congregational Churchs of San Francisco
    • Deaths in San Francisco 1865-1873, 1882-1889, 1894-1896, and 1901-1904
    • San Francisco County Probate Records: Registers of Actions 1906-1942
  • Other databases available for members
    • San Francisco Congregational Church records
    • San Francisco Divorces 1889 reported in the San Francisco Chronicle
    • San Francisco Marriages 1891 notices in the San Francisco Chronicle
    • San Francisco Births July 1, 1904 - June 30, 1905 as reported in the San Francisco Call
    • San Francisco Brides July 1, 1904 - June 30, 1905 marriage notices in the San Francisco Call
    • San Francisco Grooms July 1, 1904 - June 30, 1905 marriage notices in the San Francisco Call
    • Enrollment Ledger of the Association of Territorial Pioneers
    • The Colored Directory of the Leading Cities of Northern California 1916-1917
    • Alameda County Obituary Forms 1968 - 1977, an all-name index to three binders of obituary forms submitted to the San Leandro Morning News and the Alameda Star Times newspapers

California Historical Society (San Francisco)

  • They have rotating exhibits, a nice little store, and a research library. Some of the library holdings include:
    • Manuscripts, including diaries and letters of gold rush miners and early settlers, nineteenth century businesses and political organizations.
    • Over 50,000 books and pamphlets
    • Extensive ephemera collection
    • Maps
    • Posters and broadsides
    • Periodicals, newspapers, and microfilm
    • 500,000 photographs
    • California History, the quarterly publication of the California Historical Society
      • This publication can be found in many California libraries. However, you may request photocopies of specific articles from CHS for a fee, payable in advance, and subject to the discretion of the Director of the Library.
    • Some of their holdings can be searched on WorldCat.

California Military Museum (Sacramento)

  • California military history, educational programs, exhibits, research programs, etc.
  • Various online databases related to California military history

California State Archives (Sacramento)

  • Inventory of County and City Records Available at the California State Archives
  • Vital Records, Naturalization Records.
  • Legislative Records, California Governors, Supreme and Appellate Courts, Elections and Political Campaigns, State Agencies and Constitutional Officers, Oral Histories, Photographs.
  • Spanish and Mexican Land Grants.
  • Case Files, Criminal and Civil (WPA Series) (San Francisco and Sacramento), 1850-1935.
  • Family History Resources
    • Census Schedules: 1852 State, 1860 and 1880 Federal.
    • County Records: 1850-1987. Includes probate court case files, wills, naturalizations, deeds, homesteads, and vital records for 28 counties. Not all records are available for all counties.
    • Mental Health Records: 1856-1972. Records may include registers and case files for Stockton, DeWitt, Modesto, Mendocino, and Sonoma State Hospitals. Some indexes available. Records less than 75 years old are restricted.
    • Military Records: 1850-1942. Includes organization papers, muster rolls, and other records relating to Independent Militia Units, Indian Wars, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and II. Name indexes available for Independent Militia Units, 1851-1866 and Civil War Volunteers, 1861-1867.
    • Prison Records: 1850-1972. Includes San Quentin and Folsom prison registers, inmate photographs, inmate case files (samples only) and pardon files. Name indexes, 1850-1972. Also available are Youth Authority registers and some case files for Whittier (1891-1948), Ventura (1909-1963-girls), and Preston (1894-1914); names indexes available for records dated through 1930. Records less than 75 years old are restricted.
    • Supreme and Appellate Court Cases: 1850-1970. Filed numerically by case number. Includes briefs, transcripts and opinions. Plaintiff and defendant name indexes, 1850-1930, are available.
    • Common School Reports: 1862-1960. Filed chronologically by school year and then alphabetically by county name. Includes school districts, student attendance figures, grade taught, length of school year, school finances, names of teachers and condition of schools.
    • Articles of Incorporation: 1850-1959. Filed alphabetically by company name. Includes company name, purpose, place of business, names of officers and amount of capital invested.
    • Trademarks: 1861-date. Filed numerically by trademark number and chronologically by date of filing. Includes name of claimant, type of product, label specimen or written description and occasionally business address. Claimant and trademark name idexes available.
    • Departments Professional and Vocational Standards/Consumer Affairs - Licensing Files: 1885-1968. Filed by type of profession and then alphabetically by name. Includes biographical data, letters, photographs, newspaper clippings relating to: Architectural Examiners, 1901-1947; Civil and Professional Engineers, 1930-1966; Cosmetologists, 1928-1960; Dental Examiners, 1885-1959; Medical Examiners, 1902-1981; Pharmacy Board, 1894-1938; and Social Work Examiners, 1940-1967.
    • Collections can be searched through their online catalog Minerva.

California State Library - Sacramento (Sacramento)

  • California Newspapers
  • County and local histories
  • City and county directories
  • Telephone directories
  • Biographical dictionaries
  • Great Registers of voters
    • San Francisco, 1866, 1888-1904 (circulating microfilm via interlibrary loan)
  • Genealogical society publications
  • Historical photograph collection
  • Manuscript collections
  • California Information File (original)
  • California Information File II
  • San Francisco newspapers indexes
  • Pioneer Card File
  • California Death Index (1905-1995)
  • California Marriage Index (1949-1986)
  • California Divorce Index (1964-1984)
  • Census records and indexes (circulating microfilm via interlibrary loan)
  • DAR collections
  • Catalog

California State Library - Sutro (San Francisco)

  • Sutro is the largest genealogical library west of Salt Lake City. Their holdings contain materials from all over the United States. The total book count is over 150,000 and there are more than 65,000 microforms. This includes more than 10,000 family histories, 40,000 state, regional, county, and town histories, including vital records, 20,000 city directories, and 10,000 telephone books. Some of Sutro Library's holdings that are particularly helpful for San Francisco Bay research include:
    • California Information File (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
    • California Death Index 1940-1995 (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
    • California Marriage Index (Groom's index only) 1960-1985
    • Social Security Death Index
    • 1852 printed and microfilmed California State Census
    • Federal Census and Soundex records 1790-1920
      • 1850 printed Federal Census and census microfilm (does not include SF)
      • 1860 printed Federal Census Index (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
      • 1870 printed Federal Census Index (separate volume for SF) and census microfilm
      • 1880 Federal Census CD, soundex and census microfilms
      • 1900 Federal Census soundex and census microfilms
      • 1910 Federal Census soundex and census microfilms
      • 1920 Federal Census soundex and census microfilms
      • San Francisco City Directories from 1854 forward. A few years missing, but an excellent collection.
      • Microfilm copies of old city directories and telephone books from across the U.S.
      • Book of the Dead ” This is a collection of catalog cards, which contain abstracts of some records from:
        • Records of H. Gray & Co. Undertakers, 1848-1863
        • Lone Mountain cemetery
        • Laurel Hill Cemetery
        • Masonic cemetery
        • Yerba Buena Cemetery
      • Excellent collection of county and state histories from all over the United States
      • Over 10,000 compiled family genealogies
      • Roster of Pioneers-Native Daughters of the Golden West contains names and records of over 32,000 early pioneers (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
      • Records of the Families of California Pioneers “ included in 17+ volumes by the D.A.R. California.
      • San Francisco Newspapers
        • Alta California, 1863-1891 (on microfilm)
        • San Francisco Bulletin, 1855-1899 (on microfilm)
        • San Francisco Morning Call, 1863-1877 (on microfilm) ( note : some of the birth, marriage and death notices from this paper are indexed ) *
        • San Francisco Examiner, 1865-1899 (on microfilm)
        • San Francisco Chronicle, 1895-1899 (on microfilm)
        • San Francisco Newsletter , 1865-1889 (book bound)
        • San Francisco Newsletter , 1865-1889 (on microfilm, incomplete)
        • The Richmond Banner , 1894-1984 (on microfilm, incomplete)
      • Indexes
        • San Francisco Newspaper Index, 1904-1949 (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
        • San Francisco Chronicle Index, 1950-1980 (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
      • Extractions
        • Vital Records from the San Francisco Evening Bulletin ” (1856-59, 61-62, 64-66, 68, 73-74) by the D.A.R. California.
      • Books
        • California Wagon Train Lists, Apr 1849 to Oct 1852 “ by Louis J. Rasmussen (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for description)
        • “Who Perished–A list of persons who died as a result of the great earthquake and fire in San Francisco on April 18, 1906.” Compiled by Gladys Hansen.
        • “The foreign-born voters of California in 1872 including naturalization dates, places, and courts of record.” Compiled by Jim W. Faulkinbury.
        • “Gleanings from the 'Alta California', Marriages & Deaths, 1846-1850.” Mary Dean Alsworth.
        • “More Gleanings from the 'Alta California', Vital Records 1851.” Mary Dean Alsworth.
        • “San Francisco Deaths 1902-1904.” Barbara Ross Close.
        • “Index to San Francisco Marriage Returns 1850-1858.” Kathleen C. Beals.
        • “San Francisco Probate Index, 1880-1906: A Partial Reconstruction.” Kathleen C. Beals.
        • “California Surname Index: Biographies from Selected Histories.” Barbara Ross Close.
        • “California Cemetery Inscription Sources.” Elizabeth Kot and Shirley Thomson.
        • “Cemetery Records from California.” D.A.R. California.
        • “A personal name index to Orton's Records of California men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867 : index.” compiled by J. Carlyle Parker.
        • “Sources of Californiana : from padron to voter registration.” J. Carlyle Parker.
        • “Index to Mexican War pension applications.” transcribed by Barbara Schull Wolfe.
        • “California Wagon Train Lists, Volume 1: 5 April 1849 To 20 October 1852” Louis J. Rasmussen
        • “Railway Passenger Lists of Overland trains to San Francisco and the West” Louis J. Rasmussen
        • “Railway Passenger Lists of Overland Trains to San Francisco and the West, Vol II. November 14, 1871 To April 23, 1873” Louis J. Rasmussen
        • “San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists : Volumes I, II, III, IV; 1850-1875” Louis J. Rasmussen
        • “San Francisco Passenger Departure Lists; 6 volumes; 30 September 1850 to 30 June 1853” Peter E. Carr (Volumes 1-5)
        • “Lone mountain, the most revered of San Francisco's hills; annals of the pioneers copied from headstones and other old records” Ann Clark Hart.
        • “Index to the Argonauts of California [by] Charles Warren Haskins.” Libera Martina Spinazze.

National Park Service - San Francisco Maritime Research Center [aka J. Porter Shaw Maritime Library] (Fort Point, San Francisco)

  • The library is dedicated to commercial maritime history and focuses on sail and steam on the West Coast and in the Pacific Basin from 1520 to the present. Some of their holdings include:
    • Over 100 bibliographies
    • Oral history collection containing 975 interviews
    • San Francisco Directories from 1868 to 1920s
    • California State Library newspaper index for Bay Area newspapers
    • Whaling-related newspapers
    • Logbooks from the American President, Dollar Steamship, and American Mail Lines (1925-1944)
    • Vessel arrival/departure index
    • Ship registers
    • Photographs, manuscripts and vessel plans from the gold rush through post-World War II

National Park Service - Park Archives and Records Center (Presidio, San Francisco)

  • “more than five million documents, historic images, artifacts, objects, and other records associated with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The contents of this archival collection span from the time of Spanish exploration and colonization of San Francisco to the present day, including a large collection of Presidio Army Records.”

Native Daughters of the Golden West (San Francisco)

  • Roster of Pioneers
    • Roster of Pioneers includes over 35,000 biographical entries about people who entered the State or were born in the State prior to 1870.
  • Papers, records, publications since the founding of the Order in 1886.
  • A limited collection of census, microfiche, state and local histories.

Society of California Pioneers (Presidio, San Francisco)

The [United States] National Archives at San Francisco (San Bruno)

  • NARA's holdings include many records of a national scope, but those pertaining more specifically to California include:
    • 1852 California State Census
    • U.S. Census (NOTE: a researcher has notified us that the “Federal Census microfilms, the soundex indices, and the T1210 series tapes that describe enumeration districts” have been removed. July 2016)
    • U.S. Census and Soundex microfilms 1790 to 1920
    • U.S. Census Index Books (printed) (see Norcal Genealogy Resource Center for complete list online)
    • Naturalization Records and Indexes for federal courts. Does NOT include that were done at the local County courts.
    • CD-ROM Computer
      • Census and Tax List Indexes
      • Social Security Death Benefits Records Index (Spring, 1994 version)
      • Marriage Record Indexes
    • Seamen
      • Civil Case Files - Estates of Deceased and Deserting Seamen, 1872-1970, U.S. District Court (not indexed)
      • Record of Deceased and Deserting Seamen, 1872-1942, U.S. Shipping Commissioner (indexed)
      • Civil War index of compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the State of California
    • Passenger and Crew Lists
      • Indexes and Passenger Arrival Records for San Francisco
      • Indexes to non-Chinese passenger lists of vessels arriving in San Francisco 1893-1934
      • Passenger lists of vessels arriving in San Francisco 1893-1953
      • Passenger and crew lists of vessels arriving in San Francisco 1954-1957
      • Customs Passenger lists of vessels arriving in San Francisco 1903-1918
      • Crew lists of vessels arriving in San Francisco 1904-1954
      • Admitted alien crew lists of vessels arriving at San Francisco 1896-1921
      • Passenger list of vessels arriving at San Francisco from insular possessions 1907-1911
      • Passenger lists of vessels arriving at SF from Honolulu 1902-1907
      • Lists of US citizens arriving in San Francisco 1930-1949
    • Land Records
      • California Private land claim dockets 1852-1910
      • Private land grant cases in the Circuit Court of the Northern District of CA 1852-1910
      • Index to private land grant cases, US District Court, Northern District of CA, 1853-1903
      • Index by County to private land grant cases, US District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of CA, 1852-1910
    • Chinese
      • Records of arrivals and disposition of Japanese-Americans in SF 1928-1942
      • Records of Arrivals of Chinese-Americans
      • San Francisco Chinese Mortuary records 1870-1933
      • Registers of Chinese Laborers returning to the US through port of SF 1882-1888
      • Lists of Chinese Passengers arriving in SF 1881-1914
      • Lists of Chinese applying for admission to the US through port of SF 1902-1947
      • Registers of Chinese departing from and returning to the US 1882-1908
      • Chinese passenger lists 1897-1905
    • Japanese
      • Records of arrivals and disposition of Japanese-Americans in SF 1928-1942
    • Index to Mexican War pension files, 1887-1927
    • Native American Records for Northern California
      • Indian Census rolls 1884-1940
      • Reports of Inspections of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 (rolls 3, 19, 43, 44, and 53)
      • Census Rolls of the Indians of California Authorized under the Act of May 18, 1928 (includes only those Native Americans who could trace their ancestry to Native Americans living in California in 1852)
      • California Indian Enrollment Applications, 1928-1933
    • World War I Draft Registration cards for California (also for NV and HI, on microfilm)
    • Original World War II registration cards—from the Fourth Registration only
      • The Fourth Registration was held in April 1942 and included all men (native born citizens, naturalized citizens and aliens) born on or after April 28, 1877 and on or before February 16, 1897 (inclusive). The Fourth Registration cards for California are arranged primarily by Selective Service Board number, and thereunder alphabetically by name of applicant.
    • Old War Pension Index, filed 1815-1926

Other Resources

(Resources without a physical location.)

Genealogical Societies

African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (Oakland) (genealogy, history)

California Mayflower Society (Oakland)

  • The society of Mayflower Descendants in California.

Find more Genealogy and History Organizations listed under each individual county.

Government

California Department of Health Services - Vital Records (Sacramento)

Religious Organizations

Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS): FamilySearch and Family History Centers

Episcopal Archives, Archives of the Diocese of California

  • Some of their holdings include:
    • Records for defunct congregations, including St. Paul's and St. Stephen's of San Francisco.
    • Records of the Diocesan Office and the committees and commissions of the Diocese.
    • Records of the Bishop Armitage Orphanage and Maria Kip Orphanage.
    • Please note that each congregation has their own genealogical records and the diocese doesn't have a central index of that data.

Presbyterian Archives (San Anselmo)

  • Over 100,000 volumes, including some San Francisco Prebyterian Church records
  • Howard Presbyterian Church - all the records from this defunct San Francisco church.

Roman Catholic Archives (Menlo Park)

  • The Archdiocese of San Francisco includes Dioceses of Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Rosa, and Stockton in California.
    • The archives have microfilm of early Mission records.
  • The Archdiocese of Los Angeles includes the Dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego in California.

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life (Jewish) — Western Jewish History Center (Berkeley)

  • ”… collection of original letters, diaries, oral histories, rare and historic photographs, newspapers, books, and institutional records.“
  • ”… the WJHC archive holds the records of important Bay Area congregations like San Francisco’s Emanu-El, Beth Israel, Sherith Israel, Ohabai Shalome, Temple Isaiah in Lafayette and Temple Sinai in Oakland. Besides documenting the religious life and activities of the congregations, these collections contain a wealth of genealogical information in the form of marriage certificates and burial registers.“
  • ”… has a large collection of newspaper clippings and hundreds of microfilm rolls, many of which contain 19th and 20th Century Jewish newspapers and periodicals.“

Web (Internet) Organizations

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