Mendocino County, California Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named from Cape Mendocino (most of which is actually located in adjacent Humboldt County), which was probably named in honor of either Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–1542 (who sent the Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Expedition to this coast in 1542), or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, Viceroy from 1580 to 1583. The county seat Ukiah and the county was created February 18, 1850. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mendocino County Courthouse 100 North State Street Ukiah, CA 95482 Phone: 707-463-4664 Mendocino County Website Superior Court has divorce and court records and probate records from 1872. County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and land records. Some old records in Sonoma County

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Mendocino County Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Mendocino County Biographies (Genealogy Trails)

Cemeteries

 * 1850-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records

 * 1850 U.S. Census of Mendocino County (CAGenWeb Project)
 * 1860 Federal Census, Mendocino County, California (CAGenWeb Project)
 * 1870 Federal Census, Mendocino County, California (CAGenWeb Project)

Church Records
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * 1864-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Ukiah

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1852-1924 (*); Mendocino County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * 1858-1923 (*); Mendocino County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — imagesmages
 * 1860-1925 (*); Mendocino County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — i
 * 1860-1925 (*); Mendocino County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * 1862-1922 (*); Mendocino County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * 1870-1977 (*); Superior Court Mendocino County at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * 1947-1969 (*); Mendocino County Assessor at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * Index to BLM Land Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories
The two principal histories of Mendocino County are Lyman Palmer, History of Mendocino County, California... (San Francisco, Cal.: Alley, Bowen &amp; Co., 1880) and Aurelius O. Carpenter and Percy H. Millberry, History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California... (Los Angeles, Cal.: Historic Record Co., 1914). Both cover the early history and settlement of the county and include several biographical sketches and some portraits. There are two notable autobiographies of Ukiah residents. The first is by horticulturalist Carl Purdy, My Life and My Times (Naturegraph Press, 1976). Purdy (1861-1845) migrated to Ukiah in 1870 and lived there the remainder of his life. His story includes much local Ukiah valley history as he observed it. The other volume was written by Ukiah native and retired judge Lilburn Gibson, Some reminiscences of my seventy-four years in Mendocino County (1966). The judge was born in Ukiah in 1892 to a family that migrated to Mendocino County in the 1850s. The "wild west" character of the county is demonstrated by the Frost-Coates feud, beginning in Willits in the 1860s. This story is recounted in John Boessenecker, Badge and Buckshot: Lawlessness in Old California (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988).
 * California Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of California (1850-1925)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

 * 1906-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Military Records

 * Mendocino County Military Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1883 Mendocino County – List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)

 Civil War Civil War service men in Mendocino County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (part of a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in this county:
 * - 1st Battalion Mountaineers, California Infantry (Union), Company E

World War I
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1831-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1852-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers
The first Mendocino County newspaper was the Mendocino Herald published by Edwin R. Budd (1818-1875) on 9 November 1860. Previous to that time the principal newspaper for the county was the Sonoma Democrat, also published by Budd in Santa Rosa. His biography can be found in Lyman Palmer, History of Mendocino County, California... (San Francisco, Cal.: Alley, Bowen &amp; Co., 1880), 628-629. A summary of the early history of the press in Ukiah is found in Aurelius O. Carpenter and Percy H. Millberry, History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California... (Los Angeles, Cal.: Historic Record Co., 1914), 72-73. The largest collection of county newspapers is held by the Held-Poage Research Library of the Mendocino County Historical Society. The collection includes paper copies of older papers as well as the most complete microfilmed collection of county newspapers. Current newspapers are only archived for Ukiah. The library also maintains a Clipped Obituary File. Other current county newspapers are combed for vital records and then discarded. An index to obituaries and vital records from newspapers (though not complete) is available from the web site. Microfilmed newspapers at Held-Poage: {|  Arena Register (1884-1886) Constitutional Democrat (1863-1865) Covelo Review (1904-1907) Democratic Weekly Dispatch (1875-1881) Fort Bragg Advocate (1890-1929) Frontier Gazette (Covelo) (1960-1971) Independent Weekly Dispatch (1874-1875) Little Lake Herald (1901-1910)</li> Mendocino Beacon (1878-1979)</li> Mendocino County Democrat (1865)</li> Mendocino County Press (1871-1872)</li> Mendocino County Republican (1888-1889)</li> Mendocino Democrat (1865-1889)</li> Mendocino Dispatch Democrat (1881-1899)</li> Mendocino Herald (1861-1870)</li> Point Arena News (1878)</li> Point Arena Record (1877-1930)</li> Redwood Journal (1929-1954)</li> Round Valley News (1972-1993)</li> Sonoma Democrat (1857-1862)</li> Ukiah City Press (1877-1889)</li> Ukiah Daily Journal (1954-Present)</li> Ukiah Independent (1886-1888)</li> Ukiah News (1950-1956)</li> <li>Ukiah Republican Press (1889-1949)</li> <li>Ukiah Times (1912-1917)</li> <li>West Coast Star (1874-1877)</li> <li>Willits News (1892-1989)</li> </ul>
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * California Digital Newspaper Collection at UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research
 * The Mendocino County Library archives some county newspapers in its three main branches as follows:
 * Ukiah Branch repeats the Held-Poage microfilm holdings of Mendocino Herald, Dispatch Democrat, Ukiah Republican Press and Redwood Journal with some gaps, and the complete Ukiah Daily Journal (1954-present).
 * Fort Bragg Branch has microfilm of the Fort Bragg Advocate (1890-1929 and 1996-present), and the Mendocino Beacon (1878-1982 and 1998-present).
 * Willits Branch has holdings of the Willits News (1892-present), as well as the Little Lake Herald (1901-1910) and the Covelo Review (1904-1907).

Obituaries

 * Mendocino County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to Mendocino County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Mendocino County Obituary Clips (CAGenWeb Project)
 * Mendocino County Obituaries (RootsWeb)

Voting Records

 * 1866-1898 California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1866-1910 California, Great Registers, 1866-1910 at MyHeritage - index($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1782-1999 California Wills and Probate Records 1782-1999 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1833-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

 * Mendocino County Indexes - Includes Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. (CAGenWeb Project)

Birth

 * 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1812-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1905-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * Mendocino County Birth Notices (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

 * 1800-2007 California, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1850-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1850-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1859-1860 Mendocino County Marriage Records, 1859-1860 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1960-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
 * Mendocino County Marriage Notices (Genealogy Trails)

Death

 * 1776-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1905-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1940-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * Mendocino County Death Records (Genealogy Trails)

Divorce

 * 1966-1984 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

FamilySearch Centers

 * Fort Bragg California FamilySearch Center
 * Lakeport California FamilySearch Center
 * Miranda California FamilySearch Center
 * Ukiah California FamilySearch Center
 * Willits California FamilySearch Center
 * California Genealogical Society Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
The Mendocino County Library archives some county newspapers in its three main branches as follows:Website Ukiah Branch 105 N. Main Street Ukiah, CA 95482 707-234-2860 Website Fort Bragg Branch'499 East Laurel Street Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-964-2020 Website Willits Branch 390 E. Commercial Street Willits, CA 95490 Website

Museums
The Mendocino County Museum 400 East Commercial Street Willits, CA 95482 707-459-2736 in Willits has also published a number of historical works, e.g., John Keller, As I remember Ukiah: history, stories and memories (2002). Website The Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House 431 South Main Street Ukiah, CA 95482 707-467-2836
 * in addition to the Held-Poage Library, the major repository of local history collections. Named for local artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937), the museum is located behind her 1911 craftsman home, the Sun House. The Museum collections include not only her artwork of local subjects, but also the writings of her mother Helen McGowen Carpenter and the photographs and writings of her father Aurelius O. Carpenter, both early Mendocino County immigrants (1850s). A recent publication of the museum is Marvin A. Schenck, et al., Aurelius O. Carpenter: Photographer of the Mendocino Frontier (2006).

Website

Societies
The Mendocino County Historical Society 100 S Dora Street Ukiah, CA 95482 707-462-6969
 * has published several items, one of the more ambitious projects being Bruce Levene, et al., Mendocino County remembered: an oral history, 2 vols. (1976). The Society also publishes a quarterly Newsletter. The Held-Poage Research Library in Ukiah is maintained by the Society and contains the most complete collection of historical and genealogical materials relating to the county.

Website Anderson Valley Historical Society P.O. Box 676 Boonville, CA 95415 Phone: 707-895-3207 Website Mendocino Historical Research Kelley House Museum 45007 Albion Street (P.O. Box 922) Mendocino, CA 95460 Website Mendocino County Historical Society 603 West Perkins Street Ukiah, CA 95482-4726 Website

Websites

 * CAGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Linkpendium
 * Mendocino County, California Genealogy Trails
 * Mendocino County CA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * Mendocino Research Guide at California State Library