California Compiled Genealogies

United StatesCaliforniaGenealogy

Most archives, historical societies, and genealogical societies have special collections and indexes of genealogical value. You must usually search these in person. A published collection for early California is Marie E. Northrop, Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California: 1769-1850, Two Volumes. (New Orleans, Louisiana: Polyanthos, 1976; Family History Library book ).

Some notable manuscript collections of compiled genealogies for California are:

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Collection. This collection consists of transcripts of Bible records, cemetery records, church records, marriages, deaths, obituaries, and wills. It was microfilmed in 1971 at the DAR Library, Washington, D.C., and is available on 42 films at the Family History Library (Family History Library films -50, -449, and others). The volumes are generally arranged by county and many have individual indexes.

The Spanish-American Mission Collection. This is a collection of family group records showing the ancestry of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Southwest. It is on microfilm at the Family History Library (Family History Library Spanish America films -6).

Society of Mayflower Descendants (California) Collection. This is a large collection of alphabetized family group records for California families. It was microfilmed in 1974 at the Society's headquarters in San Francisco and is at the Family History Library (Family History Library films -230 and -85).

Writing and Sharing Your Family History
Sharing your own family history is valuable for several reasons:


 * It helps you see gaps in your own research and raises opportunities to find new information.
 * It helps other researchers progress in researching ancestors you share in common.
 * It draws other researchers to you who already have information about your family that you do not yet possess.
 * It draws together researchers with common interests, sparking collaboration opportunities. For instance, researchers in various localities might choose to do lookups for each other in remote repositories. Your readers may also share photos of your ancestors that you have never seen before.


 * See also:
 * Create a Family History
 * Writing Your Family and Personal History
 * A Guide to Printing Your Family History