Santa Cruz County, California Genealogy

United States California  Santa Cruz County

Historical Facts
The first European settlements in Santa Cruz County began with the founding of a Franciscan mission in 1791 near the San Lorenzo River in what is now the city of Santa Cruz. In 1797, a proprietary Spanish colony was founded near the mission church and named Branciforte. When California became part of the United States in 1850, Branciforte County was one of the original counties but the name was quickly changed to Santa Cruz County.

Geographically, the coastline gives way to coastal mountains which often come right down to the sea. Two significant rivers played a role in settlement, the San Lorenzo (Santa Cruz city) and the Pajaro River (Watsonville). California hightway route 1 passes through the county along the coast and route 17 provides a connection over the coastal mountains to the San Jose/Silicon Valley area. A railroad also came to the area in the late 1800s providing a shipping outlet for agricultural products of the coastal farmlands.

Earthquakes have affected the area destroying much of the mission church in 1857 and another doing major damage to the city of Santa Cruz in 1988 but they did not cause any significant loss of records.

Parent County

18 February 1850: Originally as Branciforte County. County seat: Santa Cruz

19 April 1850: Renamed Santa Cruz County.

Boundary Changes
No significant changes.

Populated Places
Incorporated Cities (2000): Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Watsonville

Other populated places:

Amesti Aptos Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley Ben Lomond Bonny Doon Boulder Creek Brookdale Corralitos Davenport Day Valley Felton Freedom Interlaken La Selva Beach Live Oak Mount Hermon Opal Cliffs Rio del Mar Soquel Pasatiempo Twin Lakes

Neighboring Counties

 * Monterey
 * San Benito
 * San Mateo
 * Santa Clara

Cemeteries
Day Valley Cemetery (Aptos)

Evergreen Cemetery (Santa Cruz)

Felton Cemetery (Felton)

Home of Peace Cemetery (Santa Cruz, Jewish)

Holy Cross Cemetery (2 locations Soquel, Catholic)

Oakwood (Soquel)

Pajaro Valley Memorial Park (Watsonville)

Pioneer Cemetery (Watsonville)

St Francis Cemetery (Watsonville)

Santa Cruz Cemetery (Santa Cruz)

Soquel Cemetery (Soquel)

Church History and Records

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Santa Cruz
 * Watsonville

Newspapers
Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz 1866-present 2011)

Santa Cruz Surfer (Santa Cruz 1889-1919)

Mountain Echo (Boulder Creek 1896-1916)

Register Pajaronian (Watsonville, 1868-present)

Archives, Libraries and Museums

 * Santa Cruz Central Library

224 Church Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060


 * Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County library

(housed in the Central Branch Library, significant collection of genealogies)

County Courthouse
Santa Cruz County 701 Ocean Street Santa Cruz CA 95060

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * San Lorenzo Valley California Family History Center (Ben Lomond)
 * Santa Cruz California Family History Center

Vital Records

 * Santa Cruz County, California Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Pajaro, Royal Oaks, Bonny Doon, Aptos and Freedom areas.
 * Santa Cruz County Recorder

701 Ocean Street, Room 230   Santa Cruz CA 95060    831/454-2800

For records generated since 2009 

Santa Cruz County Office of Vital Records 12 West Beach Street Watsonville CA 95076 831/454-8557


 * Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency Public Health Department Birth and Death Certificates

Websites

 * Santa Cruz County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site