Placer County, California Genealogy

Guide to Placer County, California ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named from the numerous places where the method of extracting gold from the earth, called placer mining, was practiced. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Placer County Courthouse 10820 Justice Center Drive Roseville, CA 95678 Phone: 916-408-6000 Placer County Website

County Clerk Recorder has birth, marriage and death records from 1873 and land records from 1850. County Clerk has probate records from 1850 and court records from 1851

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Placer County Biographies (Genealogy Trails)

Church Records
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * 1864-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Churches in Placer County lists churches by denomination and gives name, address, phone number, and links to web site if available.
 * Auburn
 * Roseville

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records The Placer County Archives and Research Center has the following records: In the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search on FamilySearch, for Placer, California, look at the list of records for and. Films can be sent to FamilySearch centers.
 * Court Case Files 1851-1925
 * Assessment Rolls and Maps 1851-1961
 * Record of Wills 1874-1963
 * Board of Supervisor's Minutes 1852-1980
 * Naturalization Papers 1852-1939
 * Deed Books 1851-1960
 * Great Register of Voters 1867-1974
 * Department of Education Records 1895-1997
 * Mining Records 1856-1947

Directories

 * 1861 Placer County Business Directory, 1861 (USGenWeb Archives)

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records County Clerk - Recorder keeps the land records.Land records are scanned and indexed in a grantor/grantee index. The index is cross-referenced by document type, document number and the names of the parties. The index and images of the original documents are available to the public for research or to have copies made.
 * 1851-1908 (*); Placer County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
 * Index to Placer County Federal Land Grants (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories
Google Books has some books about the history and people in Placer County, California. Try various search terms, including the names of people. Books designated with "Full view" can be read online. In the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search on FamilySearch, for Placer County, California, look at the list of records for. Films can be sent to FamilySearch centers. Public libraries may have copies of the books or can obtain them through Interlibrary Loan.
 * Index to Placer County History Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * California Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers
For historical maps,search the following free sites:
 * Maps of California (1850-1925)
 * Maps-Historical-Sate of California, the Carlifornia government's site.Links to American Memory (Library of Congress), California Missions, and the State Library
 * Historical Maps of California
 * California Maps - HSU Library, also lists and links to gazetteers
 * Perry-Castaneda Map Collection for California
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Placer County for emigrant settlers included:
 * California Trail 1844 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Truckee (River) Trail 1844 crossed the Forty Mile Desert to the Truckee River to follow it west past Reno, Nevada to Donner Pass to Emigrant Gap to Sutter's Fort (Sacramento, California). The exact route varied over the years, the most used being the Nevada City Road and Auburn Emigrant Road combination.
 * Roller Pass 1846 alternate to the Truckee Trail two miles south of Donner Pass through Emigrant Gap to Placerville, California
 * Nevada City Road 1850 branched off the Truckee Trail through Emigrant Gap to Nevada City, California the most important mining area 1850-1851
 * Auburn Emigrant Road 1850 believed to be from Nevada City to Auburn to Sacramento, California


 * Central Pacific Railroad 13 May 1865 reached Auburn, Placer County, California from Sacramento being built toward Utah.
 * 1906-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Military Records

 * California State Military Museum has a great deal of historical information and links to other military websites.
 * Index to Placer County Military Records (Genealogy Trails)

 Civil War Ancestry.com $ has Records of California men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867 Civil War service men in Placer County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (part of a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in this county:
 * - 4th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company D
 * - 4th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company E
 * - 7th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company D

World War I
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1831-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * The California Digital Newspaper Collection has newspapers from 1848 through 1922. You can search by keyword, including names, and/or by date.
 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a collection of digitized Reno, Nevada newspapers going back to 1870 that may include residents from Placer County. This database is sometimes free at libraries.
 * Placer Herald of Auburn| Death notice index covers 1852-1885

Obituaries

 * Placer County Obituary Index (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to Placer County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Voting Records

 * Placer County Great Register of Voters (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1866-1898 California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1866-1910 California, Great Registers, 1866-1910 at MyHeritage - index($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records In the FamilySearch Catalog for Placer County, California, there is a lists of resources. The Placer County Archives and Research Center has probate records from 1851-1960.
 * 1782-1999 California Wills and Probate Records 1782-1999 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1833-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records
In the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search on FamilySearch, for Placer County, California, look at the list of records for. Films can be sent to FamilySearch centers. The Placer County Clerk-Recorder's Office has birth, death and marriage records for Placer County. This office has birth and death records, 1873 to the present and marriage records 1852 to the present.

Birth

 * 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1812-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1905-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1905-1995 California Birth Index, 1905-1995 ($) (Ancestry.com)
 * Transcriptions from the California Birth Index by year (Genealogy Trails)
 * Placer County Birth Notices by year (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

 * 1800-2007 California, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1850-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1850-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1851-1860, 1877 Index to Placer County Marriages in the California Marriage Index (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1960-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
 * Index to Placer County Marriage Notices by year (Genealogy Trails)

Death

 * 1776-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1905-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1940-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * Online California Death Records &amp; Indexes links to California sites

Divorce

 * 1966-1984 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Archives
Archives and Research Center 11526 C Ave, Auburn, CA 95603 101 Maple Street Auburn, CA 95603 530-889-7789 | Fax: 530-889-7708 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Auburn California FamilySearch Center
 * El Dorado California FamilySearch Center
 * Elk Grove California FamilySearch Center
 * Nevada City California FamilySearch Center
 * South Lake Tahoe California FamilySearch Center
 * Yuba City California FamilySearch Center
 * Doris Foley Library for Historical Research Nevada County Library - an affiliate library
 * California FamilySearch Center Sacramento California FamilySearch Center

Libraries
Placer County Library 350 Nevada Street Auburn, CA 95603 530-886-4550 Email [mailto:library@placerlibrary.org library@placerlibrary.org] Website Sparks Law Library 1523 Lincoln Way Auburn (530) 823-2573 Website

Societies
Placer County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 7385 Auburn 95604-7385 Website Clayton Historical Society PO BOx 94 Clayton, CA 94517-0094 Website Colfax Area Historical Society PO Box 185 Colfax, CA 95713 Website North Lake Tahoe Historical Society 130 West Lake Blvd. Tahoe City, CA 95730 Website Roseville Genealogical Society 557 Lincoln Street Roseville, CA 95678-1459 Website

Websites

 * Placer County CAGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Linkpendium
 * Placer County, California Genealogy Trails
 * Placer County CA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * Placer Research Guide at California State Library