Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Genealogy

United States California  Los Angeles County  Cities   Los Angeles  First settled on September 4, 1781, Los Angeles grew from a small ranch town established by Spanish missionaries to the second largest city in the United States. Spanish rule, followed by Mexican rule in 1821 and then by the United States after 1847 means that the records created and sometimes preserved are very different for each period.

When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 Los Angeles had about 650 residents. In 1841 there were about 1680. Oil discovered in 1892 added to the opportunities in the area, in addition to the agriculture and ranching that helped initial prosperity. Population in the 1900 census exceeded 102, 000 people, and the later Depression and Dust Bowl eras brought more people to LA and California. The area had phenomenal growth after the 1945 end of World War II, and by the 2010 census had a city population over 3.7 million people.

Archives and Libraries
The Los Angeles Public Library has an impressive collection of genealogical material. Click on the blue text of the library name for more information or click here to go to that same page.

The Huntington Library maintains the Early California Population Projectwith baptism, marriage, and burial information for Indians, soldiers, and settlers in Alta California until 1850. Be sure to read the Search Tips.

Biography
A collection of online biographies, from the Golden Nugget Library is available here.

Cemeteries

 * Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes: Burials: 1948-present
 * Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuaries, Whittier, CA: Burials:1914-present, Obituaries: 2011-2012
 * Courtesy of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society: Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, Sylmar, CA: Burials: 1874-1959

Emigration and Immigration
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

California, Los Angeles passenger (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Newspapers

 * Arcadia Bulletin - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1940
 * Arcadia Daily Tribune - Google News Archive; 1930-1936
 * Arcadia Journal - Google News Archive; 1917-1931
 * Arcadia Tribune - Google News Archive; 1923-1936

Courtesy of the Whittier Public Library:


 * Whittier Daily News, Whittier Register, Whittier News: 1888-2007
 * Historical Photograph Collection: Images of the establishment of Whittier-late 1800s to mid-20th century