California State Archives and Libraries

Research resources for genealogists and family historians

Return to State Archives home page.

Search California Births, Marriages and Deaths

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California State Archives

The California State Archives has best source for county records, such as court records, prison records, wills, deeds, as well as military records, state census records, and school records.

California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California, 95814

Phone: Reference Desk: (916) 653-2246

Visit Website: http://www.ss.ca.gov/archives/archives.htm

California State Library

The California State Library contains a history room with excellent resources and materials for genealogy research. Among their materials include: California State Census Records 1852, 1890 Great Register Index, 1880 United States Census, city and county directories, biographical dictionaries, county histories, newspapers, pioneer register and index, vital records indexes, among others.

California State Library
California History Room
900 N St., Rm. 200, Sacramento, CA

Phone: (916) 654-0176

Visit Website: http://www.library.ca.gov/index.cfm

Note: The State Library also has genealogical resources and materials at their Sutro branch:

Sutro Library
480 Winston Drive
San Francisco, CA 94132

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

NARA maintains the best goverment source for federal records such as the U.S. Census Records, Social Security Death Index, Federal Land Patent Records, Naturalization Records, and Maps:

Laguna Niguel (Southern California) 24000 Avila Road, 1st Floor, East Entrance Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3497 (949) 360-2641

San Bruno (Northern California) 1000 Commodore Drive San Bruno, California 94066-2350 (650) 876-9009

Selected LDS Family History Centers

The following family history centers in California offer the most comprehensive genealogy resources:

Los Angeles Family History Center 10741 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90025 (310) 474-9990	San Bruno Family History Center 975 Sneath Lane San Bruno, California, 94066 (650) 873-1928
Orange Family History Center 674 S. Yorba Street Orange, California 92693 (714) 997-7710	San Diego Family History Center 4195 Camino del Rio South San Diego, California, 92108 (619) 584-7668