California, San Mateo County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection primarily includes land records – deeds, patents, and homesteads. However, the following various county records may also be intermixed within the land records: The collection includes records from 1851 to 1991.
 * Marriage intentions (1856 to 1943)
 * Naturalization (1856 to 1930)
 * Military service discharges (1856 to 1965)

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Dates when the transaction occurred, was written up, and was recorded with the county
 * Names of the grantors (sellers), grantees (buyers), witnesses, and sometimes neighbors
 * Ages are seldom given, but a person might be mentioned as a minor
 * Exact relationships (may be included if property was sold or given to heirs during a person’s lifetime)
 * Residences of the grantor and grantee (usually included)
 * Occupations of the grantor and grantee (usually included)
 * Signature or mark (usually an X) of the grantor
 * Legal description of the parcel
 * Amount of consideration (included until the late 1800s)

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

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

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?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * 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 census records
 * Use the information found in the record to find probate records
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and property records
 * Search for death or burial information in BillionGraves Index
 * 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
 * California Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1905-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * compiled and written sic by Philip W. Alexander, Charles P. Hamm. History of San Mateo County : from the earliest times with a description of its resources and advantages; and the biographies of its representative men. Burlingame, California : Burlingame Publishing Co., 1916. FHL 979.469 H2a
 * County Clerk. coroners' reports, 1865-1991
 * County Clerk. deed records, 1856-1967
 * County Clerk. patents, homesteads, etc. 1851-1924
 * County Clerk. marriage records, 1927-1943
 * Superior Court. naturalization records, 1856-1947
 * Camp Fremont naturalization index, 1918-1919

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Northern California Historical Records Survey Project, Division of Professional and Service Projects, W.P.A. Inventory of the county archives of California, San Mateo County (Redwood City).San Francisco, California : Northern California Historical Records Survey, 1938

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

California, San Mateo, registros del condado (Registros históricos de FamilySearch)