California Genealogy

California Genealogy Facts

Although California was sighted by Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, its first Spanish mission (at San Diego) was not established until 1769. California became a U.S. territory in 1847 when Mexico surrendered it to John C. Frémont. On Jan. 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill, starting the California Gold Rush and bringing settlers to the state in large numbers.

  • California entered the union as a state on Sept. 9, 1850 as the 31st state.
  • California has 58 Counties.
  • California’s capital is Sacramento.
  • California is bordered by Oregon (north), Nevada (east), Arizona (east).
  • California has a land area of 163,707 square miles making it the 3rd largest state.
  • California’s 2010 population was 37,253,956.
  • California  largest cities are Los Angeles, 3,792,621; San Diego, 1,307,402; San Jose, 945,942; San Francisco, 805,235; Fresno, 510,365; Sacramento, 489,488; Long Beach, 462,257; Oakland, 409,300; Bakersfield, 347,483; Anaheim, 336,265.
  • California is named for a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance (“Las Sergas de Esplandian”) written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510. The Spanish explorers originally thought that California was an island.
  • California State Nickname is “The Golden State”.
  • California State Motto is “Eureka” (I have found it).

California County Genealogy

The following pages in the table below is a listing of the extant vital, land, probate, and court records for each county. Some counties encompass land settled in the eighteenth century; their records pre-date county formation. Land transactions and vital records recorded in the county are at the county recorder’s office. The county clerk general has probate books and files from the county’s superior court, civil court records, and naturalizations. Divorces may be in either place, depending on how filed. The California State Archives has microfilm of selected county records, 1850–1919, reproduced by the Utah State Genealogical Society and available through the FHL.

Select a County Below

COUNTY PAGES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

California contains some counties that no longer exist because they were discontinued, renamed or merged with another county. These are important for California genealogy research purposes. Those California counties are:

  • Branciforte County was one of the original 27 counties adopted by statutes of 1850, but soon after that the legislature changed the name to Santa Cruz County.
  • Coloma County was a county proposed by a committee of the California Constitutional Convention. Before the statute was adopted, the legislature changed the name to El Dorado County.
  • Coso County was approved by the State Legislature which designated territory in Mono County and Tulare County to be in the new county with the county seat at Bend City. Coso County, however, was never organized. In 1866 substantially the same territory was created as Inyo County.
  • Fremont County was a county proposed by a committee of the California Constitutional Convention. Before the statute was adopted, the legislature changed the name to Yola County and later changed the name to Yolo County.
  • Klamath County was created on 1851 from the northern half of Trinity County. In 1857 Klamath County lost significant territory to the newly formed Del Norte County. In 1875 Klamath County was abolished and its territory was divided between Humboldt County and Siskiyou County. Territory which at one time was in Klamath County is now in Del Norte County, Humboldt County, Siskiyou County, and Trinity County.
  • Mount Diablo County was a county proposed by a committee of the California Constitutional Convention. Before the statute was adopted, the legislature changed the name to Contra Costa County.
  • Oro County was a county proposed by a committee of the California Constitutional Convention. Before the statute was adopted, the legislature changed the name to Tuolumne County.
  • Pautah County was created on 1852, an act to be effective when the United States Congress ceded to the State of California the territory described, in what is now the State of Nevada. The County seat was to be Carsonville. California never acquired the territory and the act creating the county was repealed in 1859.
  • Redding County was a county proposed by a committee of the California Constitutional Convention. Before the statute was adopted, the legislature changed the name to Shasta County.

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California Genealogy Links

See California County Genealogy for County Links. These genealogy links fall into 3 categories: Commercial Sites, Personal Sites or Organization Sites. Some are have free access some require a payment. This is just a list that has been collected or submitted. I do not endorse or promote one genealogy site above another. Feel free to submit your own favorite genealogy or family history related sites.

California State History

 

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