Ventura County, California Genealogy

United States California  Ventura County

Quick Facts
Mission San Buenaventura, one of the original 21 Roman Catholic missions in Alta California was founded in what is now downtown Ventura city in 1782 although it had a long rocky history including fires, earthquakes, tsunami and pirates, among other difficulties. The mission fathers kept the original vital records.

The costal plains and inland valleys are mostly devoted to agriculture even today but the costal mountains also cover a considerable part of the county. El Camino Real, the original roadway connecting the early missions, crosses the county. In the late 1800s the railroads came and in the 1900s US-101 followed essentially the Camino Real route heading north to Santa Barbara. Settlements mainly grew up along these routes.

Parent County
22 March 1872: Ventura County was created from Santa Barbara County. County seat: Ventura

Places/Localities
Camarillo, Fillmore, Hueneme, Moorpark, Nyeland Acres, Newbury Park, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Piru, Santa Paula, Simi, Somis, Thousand Oaks, Ventura

Neighboring Counties

 * Kern
 * Los Angeles
 * San Luis Obispo
 * Santa Barbara

Cemeteries
[List of Ventura County cemeteries with transcriptions of a few cemeteries

Census

 * Ventura County censuses from 1850-1900

Church History and Records

 * Ventura Congregational Church Baptisms to 1900, Ventura

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Ventura

Court Records
Guardianship record index,1873-1993

Directories

 * Miscellaneous County Directories

History

 * Victims of the St. Francis Dam Disaster, 1928

Land and Property
Spanish and Mexican Land Grants in Ventura County

Index to Ventura County Deeds, 1873-1917

Military History and Records

 * Military Records

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Local Naturalization Records, 1873-1911

Probate Records

 * Probate Record Index, 1873-1993

Vital Records
The County Recorder maintains records from 1873. Prior to that the Santa Barbara Recorder has the records. Ventura County Recorder fees: $14 to search and/or copy birth and death records, $12 to search and/or copy marriage records.


 * Ventura County Recorder.


 * Ventura County Death Records Index, 1872-1908; Coroner's Inquest Records, 1873-1941

Societies, Libraries and Museums

 * Ventura County Genealogical Society


 * Conejo Valley Genealogical Society


 * Ventura County Museum of History and Art The museum is currently closed for renovation, though a temporary exhibit space and gift shop are open on California St. The Librarian is available to answer question by phone. Once the museum is reopened the Library is an excellent research resource.


 * Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County
 * Scandinavian Center. Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation at California Lutheran University. Large oral history recordings collection; many early works about Scandinavian churches in Midwest United States. See library catalog at CLU.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Camarillo California Family History Center
 * Camarillo, California

Websites

 * Ventura County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site