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Online Genealogy Databases

• BIRTHS
• US Army - California Births of 1840-1905—FREE—SFgenealogy

 
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—FREE—SFgenealogy
• 1905—1995 California Birth Indexes—$$$$—Vitalsearch-ca.com—
• Includes Delayed Births prior to 1955 which has some birth information prior to 1905.
• 1996—2009 California Birth Index—$$$$—Vitalsearch-ca.com
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—$$$$—Family Tree Legends.com
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—$$$$—Familyrelatives.com
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—$$$$—Archives.com
• 1905—1995 California Birth Index—$$$$—World Vital Records.com

 
• MARRIAGES / DIVORCES
• Western States Marriage Index—FREE—BYU Idaho
• About 15 California counties ranging from 1849 to 1944.
• The bigger ones include Amador, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties.
• California, County Marriages, 1850-1952—FREE—FamilySearch
• Marriage Records On The Pacific Coast - 1872—FREE—Golden Nugget Library

 
• 1949-1986 California Marriage Indexes—FREE  and  $$$$—Vitalsearch-ca.com
• California Marriage Index, 1960-1985—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• California Divorce Index, 1966-1984—$$$$—Ancestry.com

 
• DEATHS
• Death Records On The Pacific Coast - 1872—FREE—Golden Nugget Library
• Pre-1905 CA Death Index Project—FREE—Rootsweb

 
• 1905—1939 California Death Index—FREE—FamilySearch.org
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—FREE—SFgenealogy
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—FREE—Rootsweb.com
• 1905—2000 California Death Index—FREE  and  $$$$—Vitalsearch-ca.com—Research Tips
• 2001—2009 California Death Index—$$$$—Vitalsearch-ca.com
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—$$$$—Family Tree Legends.com
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—$$$$—Familyrelatives.com
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—$$$$—Archives.com
• 1940—1997 California Death Index—$$$$—World Vital Records.com

 
• OBITUARIES
• Newspaper Abstracts—FREE—an all-volunteer project with a searchable collection of newspaper abstracts and extracts from historic newspapers all over the U.S.
• Obituary Daily Times,1996-present—FREE
• index of obituaries/death notices around the world
• ObitsArchive.com—$$$$
• ObituaryRegistry.com—$$$$

 
• WILLS
• Early California Wills, 1848-1900—FREE—TAG

U.S. Social Security Death Index

• SteveMorse.org—searches the following databases—FREE
• FamilySearch.org—FREE
• FamilyTreeLegends.com—FREE (not updated since 2003?)
• GenealogyBank.com—FREE
• NewEnglandAncestors.org—FREE
• World Vitals Records—FREE (requires guest registration)
• These commercial sites allow you to do an initial search, with more info if you are a subscriber:
• Ancestry.com—$$$$ (for a fee)
• More Sites
• Familyrelatives—FREE (requires guest registration)

• California Biographies—FREE
• Who's who in the Pacific Southwest: a compilation of authentic biographical sketches of citizens of Southern California and Arizona-1913—FREE—TAG

California Business

• California State Dental Association Officers & Members, 1933 - 1934—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Yeoman Shield US Death Claims - 1919—FREE—Golden Nugget Library

• California, Mortuary and Cemetery Records, 1801-1932—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)

• 1852 California Census—FREE—FamilySearch.com
• 1852 California Census—$$$$—Ancestry.com

• California Churches—FREE—Church Angels

• California Writer's Club Roster, 1953—FREE—Golden Nugget Library
• Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons - State of California - 1882—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Native Sons of the Golden West, various years (1885-1940)—FREE—Golden Nugget Library

• 1880-81 McKenny's Pacific Coast Business Directory (images)—FREE—from the Golden Nugget Library
• 1898 (March) Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Telephone Directory (images)—FREE—from the Golden Nugget Library
• 1908-09 California's Attorneys & Banker's Directory—FREE (Golden Nugget Library)
• Who's Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)
• Motion Picture Studio Directories, 1919 and 1921—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)

• Japanese Immigrants to the US, 1887-1924—FREE—BYU Idaho

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970—FREE
• These are available online from ProQuest UMI through participating libraries, including:
• San Francisco Public Library (look under "articles & databases")
• San Jose Public Library (look under "articles & databases")

• California County boundaries, from 1850 to 1925—FREE—mycaliforniagenealogy.com
• Various historical California maps—FREE—University of Texas at Austin, Perry-Castañeda Library
• California maps directory—FREE—Humboldt State University Library
• California Historic Topographic Map Collection—FREE—California State University, Chico-Miriam Library
• California Historical Maps and Atlases—$$$$—Residential Genealogy

• Stevenson's Regiment, Roster of Officers, 1846—FREE—SFgenealogy
• 1st California Regiment of U.S. Volunteers, 1898—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Register of Officers of the National Guard and Naval Militia of California, 1917—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Biennial Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of California, 1891-1892—FREE—Golden Nugget Library
• "National Guard, Enrolled Militia, Roster of Officers, Retired List of Commissioned Officers, Pardons, Exempt Certificates, Honorary Certificates of Membership, Certificates of Services, Commissions Issued, Ordnance, Report of Inspection of Naval Battalion"
• California Civil War Rosters—FREE
• "Records of California Men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867”
• A list of Spanish American War Veterans buried in California—FREE—spanamwar.com
• California State Roster, 1899 Government and Military records—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• California State Roster, 1909 Government and Military records—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• California State Roster, 1911 Government and Military records—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• California, World War I Death Announcements, 1918-1921—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)
• California, World War I Soldier Citations, 1918-1921—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)

• California Names Index—$$$$ (for a fee by California Genealogical Society)
• 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
• Probate Records: Registers of Actions 1906-1942
• Notaries Public—FREE—Golden Nugget Library

California, Mortuary and Cemetery Records, 1801-1932—$$$$—Ancestry.com

• Includes:
• California State Library – Burial Records. Microfilm, 19 rolls. California State Library. Sacramento, California.
• Mortuary Records (Northern California), 1849-1900. California State Library.
• The Book of the Dead – San Francisco, El Dorado County and Tehama County Cemetery Records ca. 1850-1862. California State Library.
• The Book of the Dead – San Francisco Masonic Cemetery Records, ca. 1800-1900. California State Library.

The Book of the Dead – Northern California Cemetery Records. California State Library.

• Argonauts Of California (1890)—FREE—Golden Nugget Library
• Includes the San Francisco Pioneer Association, 49ers, Pacific Coast Pioneers, Survivors of Colonel Stevenson's Regiment, and more.
• California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950—FREE—Ancestry.com (requires guest registration)
• "Original Data: California State Library - Sacramento Co, Sacramento, California, Pioneer Index File (1906–1934); A–Z. Sacramento, California: California State Library."
• Enrollment Ledger of the Association of Territorial Pioneers—$$$$ (for a fee by California Genealogical Society)
• California Pioneer Register and Index, 1542—1848—FREE—a work in progress
• Society of California Pioneers, 1854 Officers—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Society of California Pioneers, 1863 Membership Roster—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Society of California Pioneers, 1874 Membership Roster & Officers since 1850—FREE—SFgenealogy
• California Pioneers Project—FREE—Cagenweb
• "is a list of settlers to California who migrated to or were born in California prior to 1880...and obtained from ... individuals doing genealogical research."
• Native Daughters of the Golden West (NDGW) Roster of Pioneers and Index—FREE  and  $$$$—SFgenealogy
• Contains over 35,000 references to biographical entries of individuals who entered the State or were born in the State prior to 1870—$$$$ (for a fee by NDGW)
• Census of Overland Emigrant Documents—$$$$ (for a fee by OCTA)—Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA)

• Japanese-American Internee File, 1942 - 1946—FREE—U.S. Archives
• searchable database of local Japanese residents who were detained during World War II.

• State Normal School, San Jose, California, 1862 - 1889—FREE—SFgenealogy

• Record of Ships Arriving at California Ports, 1774-1847—FREE—SFgenealogy
• no passenger lists
• California Bound—FREE—SFgenealogy
• Passenger lists for ship and wagon train passengers traveling to California between 1848 and 1873. The lists are transcribed from microfilm of the New York Daily Times, the New York Herald, the New Orleans Picayune, the Panama Star, the Panama Herald, the Boston Daily Evening Transcript and other miscellaneous newspapers. Also includes some vitals information for Panama.
• Argonauts Of California (1890)—FREE—Golden Nugget Library
• includes lists of Overland groups and Ship Passenger lists for 1849.
• Maritime Heritage Project—FREE
• This site contains lists of ships and passengers sailing to San Francisco from 1846 through the 1860s.
• California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957—$$$$—Ancestry.com

• California, Great Registers, 1866-1910—FREE
• 1872 Foreign-Born Voters of California Database Index—$$$$ (further information on each individual require a fee by Jim Faulkinbury)
• California Voter Registrations (various counties)—$$$$—Ancestry.com
• 1866-1898
• 1900-1944

(Note: 1850 and 1890 records are not available for San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara Counties.)

• 1790 - 1940 United States Census Indexes and Images—FREE
• Provided free by the LDS
• 1910 (partial), 1920, and 1930 United States Census Images—FREE
• Provided free by the Internet Archive (NO indexes)
• 1790 - 1930 United States Census Indexes and Images—$$$$
• Provided FOR A FEE or FREE by HeritageQuest through libraries (List of participating libraries).
• Images and indexes available for California (head of household name index): 1860, 1870, 1880*, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930*
• 1790 - 1930 United States Census Indexes and Images—$$$$
• Provided FOR A FEE by Ancestry.com
• Images and indexes for California (all names index): 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 (only head of household names index), 1920, 1930
• One Step Searches by stevemorse.com
• 1790 - 1940 United States Census Indexes and Images—$$$$
• Provided FOR A FEE by Archives.com
• 1790 - 1930 United States Census Indexes and Images—$$$$
• Provided FOR A FEE by Genealogy.com
• Images and indexes for California: 1850*, 1860, 1870, 1880*, 1900, 1910, 1920*, 1930*
*NOT indexed
• 1930 United States Census Indexes and Images—$$$$
• Provided FOR A FEE by Footnote.com
• Images and indexes for California: 1930

• Library of Congress—FREE
• Various California newspapers. Includes images of the newspapers along with a searchable index.
• Google News Archive—FREE
• An index of newspaper articles in online free and fee-based databases. Fee-based includes ProQuest and Newspaperarchive.com.
• ProQuest—FREE—through libraries
• Los Angeles Times (1985-current), New York Times, New York Times Book Review, New York Times Magazine (1999-current), and Wall Street Journal (1984-current). Includes images of the newpapers along with a searchable index.
• GenealogyBank.com—$$$$
• Various California newspapers. Includes images of the newspapers along with a searchable index. California list.
• Newspaperarchive.com—$$$$
• Various California newspapers. Includes images of the newpapers along with a searchable index.
• California Newspaper Project
• San Francisco Call, Amador Ledger, Imperial Valley Press, and the Los Angeles Herald (1900-1910).

• California, Northern U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989—FREE—FamilySearch
• "This collection is a card index to naturalization records in the district and circuit courts of Northern California."
• Index to Case Files for Early Immigrants to San Francisco and Hawaii—FREE—U.C. Berkeley
• A searchable online index to records held at the National Archives and Records Administration in San Bruno, California, for nearly 250,000 people who tried to immigrate through San Francisco and Honolulu during the period of the Chinese Exclusion Acts, 1882-1943.

• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors—FREE
• From the National Archives Archival Online Databases—FREE
• World War II Army Enlistment Records—FREE
• World War II Electronic Army Serial Number, ca. 1938 - 1946
• Korean War Casualities, Dead, and POWs—FREE
• Vietnam Casualties, Dead, MIAs and POWs—FREE

• U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1863-1866—$$$$ (Ancestry.com)
•  Monthly, Annual and Special Lists for California