CENSUS RECORDS

In 1850, the first federal census was enumerated for the state of California. They were taken every ten years, and are available through 1920, with the exceptions of 1890 which was mostly destroyed. All are indexed in one format or another. The 1850 census is not complete, missing schedules from Contra Costa, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

California also has an 1852 state census enumeration which, in addition to usual questions from that era, also inquires about prior residence. As well, early censuses were taken by the following missions there prior to statehood: San Carlos (1796), San Luis Ibispo (1797, 1798), San Antonio (1798), and Soledad (1798). Various other state and mission censuses are available for select locales and years, though rarely involve more than small groups of inhabitants.

California Research Sources

Cleland, Robert Glass. From Wilderness to Empire: A History of California, 1542–1900. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1944.

A History of California: The American Period. New York: Macmillan Co., 1922.

Ogle, Sandra K. "Genealogical Research in California" National Genealogical Society Quarterly 76 (Sept. 1988): 194–211.

Parker, J. Carlyle. Index to Biographees [sic] in 19th Century California County Histories. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979.

Ryskamp, George R. Tracing Your Hispanic Heritage. Riverside, CA: Hispanic Family History Research, 1984.

California State Archives
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: 916-653-2246
Fax: 916-653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@ss.ca.gov
List of Family History Resources at the Archives
http://www.ss.ca.gov/archives/level3_genie.htm

California Genealogical Society
300 Brennan Street
P.O. Box 77105
San Francisco, CA 94107-0105
Tel: 415-777-9936

California State Genealogical Alliance
P.O. Box 311
Danville CA 94526-0311
http://feefhs.org/csga/frg-csga.html

California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: 415-357-1848
Fax: 415-357-1850
http://www.calhist.org

Hispanic America, Genealogical Society of
Southern California Branch (GSHA-SC)
P.O. Box 2472
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670-0472

Hispanic Historical & Ancestral Research, Society of
P.O. Box 5294
Fullerton, CA 92635
Email: SHHARPres@AOL.com
http://members.aol.com/shhar/

Chinese Historical Society of America
650 Commercial Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel: 415-391-1188

Society of California Pioneers
P.O. Box 191850
San Francisco, CA 94119-1850
Tel 415-957-1849
Fax 415-957-9858
Email: pioneers@wenet.net

California State Library
California History Room
900 N Street, Room 200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: 916-654-0176
Email: csl-adm@library.ca.gov

Sutro Library
480 Winston Drive
San Francisco, CA 94132
Tel: 415-731-4477
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/gencoll/gencolsu.htm
MELVYL Catalog: http://www.dla.ucop.edu

NORCAL Genealogy Index
A State-Wide Index to Genealogical Information in California
http://www.best.com/~bearbr/genealogy/caindexes/index.html