Fresno Indian Subagency (California)

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Subagency
23 small bands of Indians known as the Fresno Indians

History
The Fresno Subagency was established in 1856 and was responsible for the Indians living on the Fresno Reservation on the Fresno River. It was also responsible for the Indians living on the Kings River Farm.. It operated until 1860 when both Fresno and Kings River were assigned to the Southern District. Fresno was abandoned in 1861 and Kings River in 1862. Some of the Indians from these farms moved to the Tule River Agency.

Agent and Appointment date
D. A. Enyart September 12, 1854 and M.L. Lewis April 17, 1856

Records
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by the agencies.

Some historical records of this subagency, including correspondence, etc., are part of the records of the California Superintendency records.