El Dorado County, California Genealogy

United States California El Dorado County

Guide to El Dorado County California genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records County Recorder has birth, marriage, death burial, land and military records Historical Facts

Parent County
18 February 1850: El Dorado County was created ;as an original county. County seat: Placerville

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation California County Boundary Maps" (1850-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
PLACERVILLE, CAL., FIRE.

Placerville, Cal., May 16. -- Fire which broke out in a barn in the center of town last night, destroyed the courthouse, and several business houses, entailing a loss of about $100,000.

The Ogden Standard Utah 1910-05-16

source: gendisasters.com

Neighboring Counties
Alpine | Amador | Placer | Sacramento | Douglas County, Nevada

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * California Trail 1844 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California


 * Carson (River) Trail 1848 (aka Mormon Emigrant Trail) crossed the Forty Mile Desert past the west side of the Carson Sink to pick up the Carson River near Fallon, Nevada up to Hope Valley and Red Lake. The Devil's Ladder then climbed 700 feet (210 m) in half a mile so ropes, chains, and pulleys were required to lift the wagons. Carson Pass was followed by the relatively easy West Pass (Kirkwood, California) and then on to Pollock Pines, Placerville, and Sutter's Fort, California


 * Johnson's Cutoff 1850-1851 (aka Placerville Route, Lake Tahoe Route and Day's Route) from Carson City, Nevada past the south end of Lake Tahoe going south and then west to Placerville, California and Sacramento
 * Daggett Pass 1850 (aka Georgetown Pack Trail) Carson Valley, Nevada to Johnson's Cutoff near South Lake Tahoe, California
 * Grizzly Flat Road 1852 an extension of Carson Trail down the middle fork of the Consumnes River to Grizzly Flat and Placerville, California
 * Volcano Road 1852 from Coral Flat (Pioneer) on the Carson Trail to Volcano, California
 * Luther Pass Trail 1854 connected the Carson Trail and Johnson's Cutoff and allowed travelers to avoid Lake Tahoe. It became one of the routes to the Comstock Lode in Nevada

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * El Dorado California Family History Center
 * Pacerville, California
 * South Lake Tahoe California Family History Center
 * South Lake Tahoe, California

Marriage
For marriages from 1850-1875 Western States Marriage Index.

Websites

 * El Dorado County CAGenWeb
 * El Dorado County, CA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site