Inyo County, California Genealogy

Guide to Inyo County, California ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1904 marriage and land records from 1866 and mining records from 1872

Parent Counties
22 March 1866: Inyo County was created 22 March 1866 from Mono and Tulare Counties. County seat: Independence

Description
The county was named from the Native American name for the mountains in its area. The meaning of the word inyo is "dwelling place of the great spirit." wikipedia. The County Seat is Independence and was founded 1866. It is located in the east-central area of the state.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating California county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation California County Boundary Maps" (1850-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss
Inyo Co. Courthouse was destroyed by an earthquake March 26, 1872. On June 30, 1886 a fire broke out in a vacant building in Independence and destroyed thirty-eight buildings. Although the county records and most of the furniture were saved, the courthouse was one of the buildings destroyed.

Populated Places
Big Pine, Bishop Cartago Darwin, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek Furnace Creek Homewood Canyon-Valley Wells Independence Keeler Lone Pine Mesa Olancha Pearsonville Round Valley Shoshone Tecopa West Bishop

Neighboring Counties

 * Clark County, Nevada
 * Esmeralda County, Nevada
 * Fresno
 * Kern
 * Mono
 * Nye County, Nevada
 * San Bernardino
 * Tulare

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Inyo County cemeteries.


 * Interment.net California cemetery records by County.

Church History and Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Bishop

Maps

 * Maps of California (1850-1925)



Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1782 – 1999 California Wills and Probate Records 1782-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1833 – 1991 at FamilySearch — images

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Bishop California Family History Center

Vital Records
See also How to order California Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1850 - 1952 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1854 - 1885 - Western States Marriage Index.
 * 1960 - 1985 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
Bishop Museum &amp; Historical Society P.O. Box 363 Bishop, CA 93514, Phone: (760) 873-5950 Website

Friends of the Eastern California Museum P.O. Box 206 155 Grant Street Independence, CA 93526 Phone:760-878-364 or 760-878-0259-8

Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert P.O. Box 2001 230 W Ridgecrest Blvd. Ridgecrest, CA 93555 Phone: 760-675-8465 Website

Searles Valley Historical Society P.O. Box 630 Trona, CA 93592 Website


 * List of California Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Web Sites

 * Inyo County, CA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * California Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * California Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Inyo County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site