Modoc County, California Genealogy

United States California Modoc County

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

County Courthouse
County Clerk has divorce, probate, court and voter regisitration records from 1874 County Recorder has birth, marriage and death records



Parent County
17 February 1874: Modoc County was created from Siskiyou County. County seat: Alturas

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Klamath County, Oregon
 * Lake County, Oregon
 * Lassen
 * Shasta
 * Siskiyou
 * Washoe County, Nevada

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


 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Applegate Trail since 1846 (avoided the Forty Mile Desert) by leaving the Humboldt River in Nevada early at present-day Rye Reservoir, Nevada and passing through the Black Rock Desert to Fandango Pass past Goose Lake on to the Lost River and eventually the Willamette Valley in Oregon
 * The Lassen Cutoff 1848 was established by gold rushers from Oregon going to California. It branched off the Applegate Trail at Davis Creek, went through Devil's Garden to the Pit River passing east of Mt. Lassen, and turning west to Lassen Rancho, California, and from there to Sacramento. In some years as much as 1/3 of emigrants mistakenly took the Applegate Trail-Lassen Cutoff, a much longer and more difficult trail than the Truckee or Carson routes.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Alturas California Family History Center
 * Cedarville California Family History Center

Websites

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