California, San Francisco Earthquake Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States CaliforniaSan Francisco County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection will include records from 1906. These records include an index and images of note cards of compiled information concerning deaths or probable deaths of earthquake victims.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The records may contain any of the following:


 * Name of the victim
 * Nature of injuries or cause of death if known
 * Place of death or injury
 * Name of hospital and doctor who treated the injured
 * Where death is recorded
 * Name of court processing probate
 * Names of family members
 * Names of Newspaper articles listing conditions or names of victims
 * Name and address of damaged building; nature of the damages

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:


 * The name of the victim
 * The place of residence or names of family members

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page. br>
 * 1) Select Dead or Probable Dead
 * 2) Select Surname Range

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the information found in the record to locate the death record.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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