Plumas County, California Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Plumas County Courthouse 520 Main Street Quincy, CA 95971 Phone: 530.283.6218

County Clerk has divorce records from 1860; County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and probate records from 1860; County Museum Archives has biographies and photographs

Parent County
18 March 1854: Plumas County was created from Butte County. County seat: Quincy

Description
The county was named from the Spanish words for the Feather River (Río de las Plumas), which flows through the county. The county seat Quincy and the county was created 1854. The County is located in the northeast 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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Butte
 * Lassen
 * Shasta
 * Sierra
 * Tehama
 * Yuba

Cemeteries
The following web sites may have additional information on Plumas  County cemeteries.


 * Interment.net California cemetery records by County.


 * 1850 - 1960 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Church History and Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Portola

Maps

 * Maps of California (1850-1925)



Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * The Lassen Cutoff 1848 was established by gold rushers from Oregon going to California. It branched off the Applegate Trail at Davis Creek, went through Devil's Garden to the Pit River passing east of Mt. Lassen, and turning west to Lassen Rancho, California, and from there to Sacramento. In some years as much as 1/3 of emigrants mistakenly took the Applegate Trail-Lassen Cutoff, a much longer and more difficult trail than the Truckee or Carson routes.
 * Beckwourth Trail 1850 left the Truckee Trail near present-day Sparks, Nevada going to Oroville and Marysville, California
 * Nobles Road 1851 from the Applegate Trail at Rabbithole Springs in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada to Shasta City, California

Civil War

 * - 1st Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company F
 * - 5th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company F

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1782 - 1999 - California Wills and Probate Records 1782-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1880 - 1919 - Plumas County California list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills - free
 * 1833 - 1991 - at FamilySearch — images

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Portola California Family History Center
 * Quincy 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
Plumas County Historical Society P.O. Box 695 Quincy 95971


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

Web Sites

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