California, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of an index of county marriages acquired from local courthouses for the years 1850 to 1952. Coverage years will vary by county.

The county marriage records consist of a number of different type of documents including, licenses, certificates, registers, applications, affidavits, and stubs. These records are often in bound volumes but may also have some loose papers.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name of the groom
 * Name of the bride, often including the maiden name of the bride
 * Names of the officiator and witnesses
 * Names of the parents or guardians of the bride and groom
 * Date of the marriage
 * Birthplaces of the bride and groom
 * Residences of the bride and groom
 * Age and races of the bride and groom
 * Marital status of the bride and groom

Coverage Table and Map
A table and map showing the number of records per county is available at here. This page also includes a chart showing the number of records per year. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period. Records where the exact county could not be easily identified due to incomplete information in the index as listed in the table as California (State), but are not graphed on the map.

To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of California county marriage records, click here.

Digital Folder Number List
This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. These collections do not include any human-readable waypoint data making them difficult to use. A table showing each DGS number and its contents can be found in California, County Marriages Digital Folder Number List. The list can be sorted by DGS number, GS number, author, title, and county.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The date of the marriage
 * The place where the marriage occurred

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

What Do I Do Next
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in the census records
 * Use the information found in the record to find probate records
 * If applicable, search for immigration and naturalization records as well

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching a nearby locality
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of California.
 * California Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1905-Present

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.