California, San Francisco Earthquake Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1906. These records include an index and images of note cards of compiled information concerning deaths or probable deaths of earthquake victims.

Record Content
The records may contain any of the following:


 * Name of the victim
 * Nature of injuries or cause of death if known
 * Place of death or injury
 * Name of hospital and doctor who treated the injured
 * Where death is recorded
 * Name of court processing probate
 * Names of family members
 * Names of Newspaper articles listing conditions or names of victims
 * Name and address of damaged building; nature of the damages

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of the victim
 * Identifying information such as residence or nature of injuries

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

If you did not find the person you were looking for, you may need to search the collection image by image. ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Dead or Probable Dead" ⇒ Select the appropriate 'Surname Range' which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one. Again you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.
 * The information on these cards is brief so it is easy to confuse individuals.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * There is also the possibility that you ancestor is not in the index.

Related Websites
Resources for Researching the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

Related Wiki Articles

 * California Genealogy
 * San Francisco County, California

Citations for 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:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation