California Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes marriage records from 1850 to 1945.

This index is not complete for any particular place, region or time period. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 1998, a few of the entries were published on 7 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "North America Vital Records Index." This index is an index of the births, marriages, and deaths throughout California. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored the indexing to accomplish its program of identifying the ancestry of mankind.

Church records and civil registration were official sources and are some of the most reliable sources of information available on those who were born, married, or died in California.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The marriage index entries may include:


 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Names of the parents
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place
 * Family History Library Microfilm and item numbers for the source materials

Coverage Table and Map
A coverage table for this collection is available is the wiki article California Marriages, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)

To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of California marriages, click here.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The approximate date and or location 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.

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

 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other vital records such as birth, baptism, or death
 * Search the marriages for other family members
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in census 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 records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names
 * Consult the California Research Tips and Strategies and its Record Finder to find other records

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 Marriages, 1850-1945." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
 * Collection Citation:

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