Sonoma County, California Genealogy

United States California Sonoma County

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

County Courthouse
County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and land records County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1850

Parent County
18 February 1850: Sonoma County was created as an original county. County seat: Santa Rosa

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
1906: Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For a list of record loss in California counties see: California Counties with Burned Courthouses

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research
 * http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2424

Neighboring Counties

 * Lake
 * Marin
 * Mendocino
 * Napa

Church History and Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Santa Rosa

Maps

 * Maps of California (1850-1925)



Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company D

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

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Cloverdale California Family History Center
 * Coalinga California Family History Center
 * Santa Rosa California Family History Center
 * Sonoma California Family History Center

Vital Records
See also How to order California Vital Records

Death

 * Sonoma County, California Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Santa Rosa area as well as those of celebrities and VIP's.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
Sonoma County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 2273 Santa Rosa 95405 Website

Sonoma County Historical Society P.O. Box 1373 Santa Rosa 95402 Website

Sonoma Valley Historical Society P.O. Box 861 Sonoma 95476

Sonoma County History And Genealogy Library 211 E Street Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Website


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

Web Sites

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