California, Shasta County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States California Shasta County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection include images of naturalizations, marriage applications, veteran burials and probate records from the Superior Court in Redding, California for the years 1851 to 1950.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Marriage license applications may include:


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

Wills and probate records and estate case files may include:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Event year
 * Event place
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Sometimes the date of death

Naturalization records may include:


 * Name of the immigrant
 * Country of birth
 * Arrival date
 * Date of Declaration of Intent or Naturalization
 * Names of witnesses
 * Signature of judge or court official

In post-1906 records, you may also find:


 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Race
 * Last foreign residence
 * Current residence
 * Arrival place
 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse
 * Maiden name of wife
 * Birth date of spouse
 * Residence of spouse

Veterans’ grave sites may include:


 * Name of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date and place of death
 * War in which veteran served
 * Cause of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Next of kin
 * Date and place of enlistment
 * Branch of service, rank and unit of service
 * Discharge date and place
 * Cemetery record includes grave number, book number and page of record
 * Source of information

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

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate age of your ancestor
 * The place where your ancestor lived
 * The names of other family members and their relationships

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒ Select the “Record Category” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type, Record Description, and Year Range”

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the information found in the record to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests.
 * Use the record to learn your ancestor’s foreign and “Americanized” names, if they were different.
 * Use the record to learn the place of origin and find their church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and probate records.
 * Use the record to see if other family members who may have immigrated with the person you are looking for are listed and have additional information or leads; you may also find additional information on new family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who 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. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived. Then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts, then in state, county, or city courts. An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process.
 * Check other possible ports of entry
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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