San Mateo County, California Genealogy

United States California San Mateo County

County Courthouse

 * San Mateo County Superior Court

Parent County
18 February 1856: San Mateo County was created from San Francisco County, with additional territory added in 1868 from Santa Cruz County. County seat: Redwood City

Boundary Changes
1868 - Land from Santa Cruz County

Resources

 * San Mateo County Places sfgenealogy

History

 * Atherton town 1923
 * Belmont town 1926
 * Brisbane
 * Broadmoor unincorporated
 * Burlingame
 * Camp Fremont World War I Training Camp
 * Colma town 1924
 * Crystal Springs
 * Daly City
 * East Palo Alto City 1983/1987
 * El Granada Unincorporated
 * Fair Oaks (Menlo Park / Atherton)
 * Foster City City 1971
 * Hillsborough City 1910
 * La Honda unincorporated
 * Menlo Park 1874-1876/ 1923
 * Millbrae City 1948
 * Miramar (Half Moon Bay)
 * Montara unicorporated
 * Moss Beach - Fitzgerald Reserve
 * Pacifica City 1957
 * Pescadero Unincorporated
 * Portola Valley Town 1964
 * Princeton by the Sea
 * Purissima abandoned
 * Redwood City City 1868 - County seat
 * Ravenswood (East Palo Alto)
 * San Benito (Half Moon Bay / Spanishtown)
 * San Bruno City 1914
 * San Carlos City 1926
 * San Gregorio
 * San Mateo 1894
 * Searsville Abandoned 1891 when Searsville Dam was built
 * South San Francisco 1908
 * Spanishtown
 * Westlake
 * Woodside

Populated Places (Official city and town websites)

 * Atherton
 * Belmont
 * Brisbane
 * Burlingame
 * Colma
 * Daly City
 * East Palo Alto
 * Fremont
 * Half Moon Bay
 * Hillsborough
 * Millbrae
 * Menlo Park
 * Montara
 * Pacifica
 * Pescadero
 * Portola Valley
 * Redwood City
 * San Bruno
 * San Carlos
 * San Gregorio
 * San Mateo
 * South San Francisco
 * Woodside

Neighboring Counties

 * Alameda
 * San Francisco
 * Santa Clara
 * Santa Cruz

Archives and Libraries
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Libraries and Archives

Cemeteries
California Genealogy and History Archives - Links to pictures, indexes and more

SFGenealogy San Mateo and San Francisco Cemetery links to indexes and more

Golden Gate National Cemetery 1300 Sneath Lane San Bruno, CA 94066

Church History and Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Burlingame
 * Redwood City
 * San Mateo

Roman Catholic - Archdiocese of San Francisco


 * Archives 320 Middlefield Road Menlo Park, CA 94063 email: sfarchiv@concentric.net telephone: (650) 328-6502
 * San Mateo County Parishes
 * History of Diocese on Wikipedia

Court Records
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Court Records

History
In 1856 the city and county of San Francisco was incorporated within its present borders, the land down the peninsula that was not included in the incorporation became San Mateo County A portion of the bill that established the county required the election of county officers and the naming of a county seat on the second Monday of May of the current year (1856). Three well known but not very ethical politicians, Bernard and Billy Mulligan and Chris Lilly, arranged to gain control of the new county’s government. The resulting vote was proof of corruption. The Laguna area reported 297 votes with a voting population of 25, Colma had a return of 500 with 50-60 eligible voters. In Belmont witnesses were not allowed to monitor the vote. In all 1800 ballots were cast in an area with a total population of only 2500 at a time when only adult males were eligible to vote.

Fortunately not all of those who were elected were corrupt. The post of County Judge was won by Benjamin I Fox of Redwood City. It was his court, sitting in the temporary quarters at Angelo's Hotel in Belmont (the town named county seat in the election) which presided over the suits resulting from the election. As the trials went on, earlier misdeeds caught up with many of the accused. The majority fled the area for parts unknown. Others, however, were caught, tried and at least one, James Casey, was hung.

Stating that an election that took place before the Consolidation Act that necessitated it took effect on July 1, could not be legal, the California State Supreme Court threw out the entire election in October of 1856. The officials who were in place, however, continued to function as San Mateo County's governing body until a true and legal election was held in 1857. When the legislature officially recognized San Mateo County in 1857 they named Redwood City as the capitol.

The rich resources of the area and the mild climate have been instumental in the settlement of San Mateo County. The early Ohlone Indians were hunters and gatherers, living under some of the huge oak trees that still dot the area. Spanish explorers, padres and ranchers used the area for food production. Anglo settlers came in at the time of the gold rush. Although little if any gold was found in the county, they stayed establishing a thriving lumber community and numerous dairy farms.

The wealthy of San Francisco opened summer homes on the Peninsula. In the early days it was a full days trip to get from San Francisco to those homes. But first the railroad and later improved roads and cars opened up the possibilities and the inhabitants of San Francisco moved permanently into San Mateo County. The 1906 earthquake displaced many people in San Francisco. After relocating in San Mateo County, many never moved back into San Francisco. World War I brought industrial growth to the areas around South San Francisco and with it an influx of residents. No longer did residents have to travel to work in San Francisco, they were employed in masses on the peninsula. There are many books available on the history of San Mateo County and it's individual cities.


 * CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County History

Land and Property
The Spanish and Mexican Governments distributed the bulk of San Mateo County lands to those who had served the government or military. Most of the Rancho owners also had residences around Mission Dolores in the current San Francisco. See California Land &amp; Property for more information.

With the collapse of the Bear Flag Republic and the end of the Mexican War, California was ceded to the United States and the federal government was given control of all California lands. Rancho owners and those who had bought land from them, were required to petition for the lands they already held. See United States - Private Land Claims for more information.

The resulting patents have been recorded in San Mateo County in Patent Books 1-3. Those books are currently located in the Recorder's Office offsite repository and have been indexed by SMCGS.

The Recorder's Office also has Deed Books, Mortgage Books, Official Records and Miscellanous records in the offsite repository. Many of the earliest books have been indexed by SMCGS volunteers. For links to San Mateo County Land Records check the CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Land and Maps.

Current Records and microfilms of old deeds are available in the County Recorder's Office in Redwood City. Start by searching for the current address at one of the available computers. You will find the current owner and also links to maps related to the property including original rancho maps and maps showing the first subdivision of the land. There are more maps available in the record repository, some show the early landowners in various areas throughout the county.

The index books have been scanned and you can search through them just as you would the original indexes, but without the weight. This can be a busy office so if you need help navitating through the system be patient. It is possible to get every deed for a property and printouts of the maps with a few hours research and a few dollars.

Maps
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Land and Maps

Military
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Military

Newspapers
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Newspapers

Probate
CSGA Research Guide - San Mateo County Court Records

Vital Records
You can get informational copies of birth and death certificates from the San Mateo County Clerk. Print and complete an Application for Certified Copy of Vital Record. As with other California counties, requests for an Official Certified Copy of either birth or death records must be notarized. Requests for an Informational Certifed Copy do not need to be notarized.

Websites

 * San Mateo County Genealogical Society
 * San Mateo County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site