California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States CaliforniaSan Francisco County

What Is in the Collection?
This set is a collection of various records maintained by several San Francisco funeral homes, including


 * N. Gray and Co., (records of the Burlingame and San Francisco branches)
 * Halsted and Co. Undertakers
 * H.F. Suhr &amp; Co.
 * Godeau Funeral Service, (branches in San Francisco and Stockton)
 * George H. Clark Funeral Home (Sacramento)
 * Clark &amp; Booth Funeral Directors (Sacramento)
 * Kremple &amp; Halsted-Undertakers
 * W.P. Peterson &amp; Co.
 * H.W. Gantner (Gantner Bros.)

Several different types of records were created. The collection includes records from 1835 to 1979. The indexes are arranged alphabetically by surname, grouped by type of record. Some indexes will index the names of the deceased, others will index the persons making the funeral and financial arrangements, and others will index both. Some indexes refer to only the name and page number. Others may also include death and/or burial dates, the age at time of death, birth place, residence, cause of death, grave site, cemetery name, and the persons making funeral and financial arrangements. Some page numbers were incorrectly transcribed when the indexes were created and such records are usually found within a page or two of the page given.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The records usually contain:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Age of deceased
 * Date of death
 * Place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name of physician

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:


 * Name of the person
 * The place or date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page. br>
 * 1) Select City (County)
 * 2) Select Year Range
 * 3) Select Funeral Home
 * 4) Select Record Type and Volume/Page 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.

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What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

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.
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Citing This Collection
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