Contra Costa County, California Genealogy

United States California Contra Costa County

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

County Courthouse
County Recorder has birth and death records; County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records

Historical Facts
Contra Costa County began in 1850 as one of the original counties in the new state of California. Located in the East Bay area, San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay partially surround the land area of the county and have contributed to the economy since the gold rush.

Parent County
18 February 1850: Contra Costa County was created as an original county. County seat: Martinez

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating California county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation California County Boundary Maps" (1850-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss
For a list of record loss in California counties see: California Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Alameda
 * Sacramento
 * San Joaquin
 * Solano

Cemeteries

 * Oakmont Memorial Park, Lafayette BillionGraves
 * Rolling Hills Memorial Park, El Sobrante BillionGraves

Genealogy
A wiki article describing an online collecion is found at: California, Genealogical Collections at the California Genealogical Society (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maps

 * Maps of California (1850-1925)
 * Maps of California (1850-1925)



Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Antioch California Family History Center (Brentwood)
 * Concord California Family History Center
 * Danville California Family History Center

Societies
San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society serves local genealogy enthusiasts. Monthly meetings are held at the Danville Family History Center in Alamo, California on the 3rd Tuesday at 10am.

Vital Records
See also How to order California Vital Records



Death

 * Contra Costa County maintains records of death certificates from 1905 to present. You can obtain an informational copy for a fee by mailing the Application for Death Record from the county clerk's website with your payment. As with other counties, you only need to get the form notarized if you want a certified copy. Informational copies do not need a notary.
 * Contra Costa County maintains records of death certificates from 1905 to present. You can obtain an informational copy for a fee by mailing the Application for Death Record from the county clerk's website with your payment. As with other counties, you only need to get the form notarized if you want a certified copy. Informational copies do not need a notary.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries

 * List of California Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Web Sites

 * Contra Costa County, CA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * California Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * California Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Contra Costa County CAGenWeb
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site

A wiki article describing this collection is found at:


 * California, Genealogical Collections at the California Genealogical Society (FamilySearch Historical Records)