California Marriage Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of an index to marriages from the California Department of Health Services in Sacramento. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

Record Content
The index may include the following information:


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Marriage date and place
 * Name of spouse (May only list surname)
 * Reference ID - Page/Volume/Entry/Certificate Number

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to marriages make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The names of the bride and groom
 * The marriage place
 * The marriage date

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestor in the marriage records from California. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct marriage. You may need to compare the information of more than one marriage to make this determination.

Related Websites
California Marriage Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * California
 * California History
 * California Vital Records

Citation for This Collection
The following citation explains the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records:

California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985. Ancestry.com. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Example of a Source Citation for a Record Found in This Collection
"California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 March 2012), William Knichrehlm and Augusta Fater,  11 January 1890; citing Los Angeles County (California). County Recorder, California. County Court (Los Angeles County), Marriage certificates, 1851-1924; index, 1851-1920, FHL microfilm 1,033,139, v. 21-24 1889-1891, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Ancestry.com, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.