California Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This index covers events from 1812 through 1988.

This index is an electronic database of information compiled from a variety of sources including the following:


 * Family Records
 * Church Records
 * Civil Registration

For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 1998, a few of the entries were published on 7 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "North America Vital Records Index." This index is an index of the births, marriages, and deaths throughout California. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored the indexing to accomplish its program of identifying the ancestry of mankind.

Church records and civil registration were official sources and are some of the most reliable sources of information available on those who were born, married, or died in California.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in birth index entries may include:


 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Christening date (if the source is a church record)
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials

Coverage Table
This collection is a partial index of records for the localities listed below as of April 2010. The table below shows the number of records by locality. Localities not listed may not have any records in this collection.

Most of these records date from the time period indicated in the columns below; however, there may be records before and after these dates. Record counts where the locality information was incomplete are included below under the country name. Because of this, you may wish to search only by state.

As this is an index of records compiled from various sources, it is strongly recommended that you verify the information in original records. Due to privacy laws not all records may be displayed.

How to Use the Record
This information could help you identify family relationships and lineages as well as direct you to original records of your ancestors, which may contain additional information.

In birth or christening records, if a surname is not listed for the child, the indexer often assigns the father’s surname to the child. This surname may not be correct. So if you are looking for a birth or christening, search by the given name of the child, adding parents' names and as much locality information as is permitted.

Each entry in this index has a source listed which includes a batch number. You will need to trace the batch number for the individual entry to learn its source. Please see the following wiki articles for more information on batch numbers:

IGI

IGI Batch Number Descriptions

IGI Batch Numbers for the British Isles and North America

Related Websites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Western States Marriage Index, hosted by BYU/Idaho. Search by bride or groom - Free. Online California Death Records and Indexes. Free Death Records Search. A guide for finding death records on the internet.

Related Wiki Articles
California, Birth Index (FamilySearch Historical Records) California, County Birth and Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records) California Church Records California Vital Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“California, Births and Christenings, 1812-1988,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 26 March 2012), Emma Lambert, 15 October 1876; citing Alameda County (California). Recorder, Birth certificates, 1870-1904 for the city of Oakland, California-ODM, Film Number 1571208; index based on the International Genealogical Index. FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.