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 this Collection 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?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least one of the following:
 * The name of your deceased ancestor.
 * The age of your deceased ancestor.
 * The date of death.
 * The place of death.
 * The names of relatives or other associates.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page:

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "City (County)" ⇒Select the "Year Range" ⇒Select the "Funeral Home" ⇒Select the "Record Type and Volume/Page Range" which will take you to the images.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article [FamilySearch Tips and Tricks].

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age or date of birth to find other records such as birth, census, and marriage and land records.
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of California, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the California Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation