California

To contact a resource owner, click on the link at the end of the citation.

General

"The Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite." Paden and Schlichtmann, Holmes Book Company, 1959. An account of freighting from Stockton through the Southern Mines to Yosemite Valley. C22

"Blacks in Gold Rush California." Lapp, Rudolph M. Yale University Press, 1977. The Black experience in Gold Rush California with names, dates and pictures. TAN

"Conquests and Historical Identities in California: 1769-1936." Lisbeth Haas. University of California Press, 1995. Especially rich resource on early Mexican settlers and residents. TAN

"The Golden Book of California." California Alumni Assn. 1937. Names of staff, students and alumni of 7 University of California campuses in 1937. Pictures of people and campuses. B20

"The Journals of Alfred Doten 1849-1903." Author:Alfred Doten, Edited: Walter Van Tilburg Clark. Publisher, Univerity of Nevada Press, 1973. Observations by a Journalist of people, places and towns beginning in California during the Gold Rush of 1849; and Nevada Mining, and State building, until his death in 1903. Lots of Names of the miners, lawmakers and pioneers of this era. RMC

"Northern California Marriage Index 1850-1860." Nancy Justus Morebeck, 1993. Index of 22 northern California county marriages from 1850-1860: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Klamath, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, Yuba. LT2

"The Portuguese Californians Immigrants in Agriculture." Alvin Ray Graves, Portuguese Heritage Publications of Ca. inc. 2004. DH15

"San Francisco Bay, A Pictoral Maritime History." John Haskell Kemble, Bonanza Books, New York, 1957. Maps & pictures of San Francisco, the Bay and surrounds 1595-1955, as well as pictures and descriptions of ships, ports, shipbuilding, bay and river carriers, fishermaen, whaling, craft, the Cape Horn trade, square-riggers under other flags, the Pacific trade, Coastwise ships, deep-water steames, the navy in the Bay, sport in the bay, conserving a tradition. 194 pp indexed. Wonderful picture resource for just about anything dealing with the SF Bay and waterbourne activities. Lots of description. LR

"San Joaquin Valley: History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the San Joaquin Valley." by Prof. J. M. Quinn, and "... containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present." 1640 pages, indexed. Chapman Pub. Co. 1905. E-mail response only. SSL

"Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century." J. M. Guinn, Chapman Publishing Company, 1902. Historical and Biographical Record of Southern California, Containing Biographies of Well-Known Citizens of the Past and Present. 1,295 pages with a full name index. [This book is freely available to download from the Internet Archive.]

"Unbound Feet: A social history of Chinese American Women in San Francisco." Judy Yung. University of California Press, 1995. Chronicles the first arrival of Chinese Women through their transformation to Americans. Names, dates, stories specifically about Chinese Women of the era. A must-have for any researcher in Chinese American Women in California. TAN

"Who's Who in California 1981-1982." Published by Who's Who Historical Society. Most of the persons listed were born between 1900 and 1940. There are 600 pages & about 10 names per page. CT4

"Yankee Jim's National Park Toll Road and the Yellowstone Trail." Doris Whithorn, privately published, April 1989. The life and times of James George, born in Ohio. He built 27 miles of road between Yellowstone National Park and Livingston, Montana in the late 1800s. Surnames of other people include: Baronett, Blair, Bozeman, Brown, Chadbourne, Chandler, Clifford, Conferr, Covely, Curl, Cutler, Dailey, Daily, Dowling, Eaton, English, Farrow, Foss, Henderson, Horr, Hosford, Huston, Ingersol, Johnson, Joy, Rudyard Kipling, Lee, Lenhardt, Lohman, McCartney, Mendenhall, Metlen, Miller, Sargent, Spencer, Stone, Story, Swift, Vivian, Weaver, Werks. JG5

Alameda Co.

"Alameda County 1890 Great Register of Voters." Registered voters of Oakland, Calif., and surrounding area. Ages, birthplaces and basic naturalization information also given. LEE

"Blue & Gold," University of California, Berkeley yearbook, 1948. B20

"Blue & Gold," University of California, Berkeley yearbook, 1952. B20

Butte Co.

"History of Butte County California." Wells & Thompson 1882. Illustrated county history. Includes about 40 biographies of citizens. [This book is freely available on Google Books.]

"Index of Voter Registration, Butte Co., CA. 1904." Oroville Register Print. 1904. List of males in all precints of Butte County, CA registered to vote in 1904. LT2

Colusa Co.

"Colusa County: its history traced from a state of nature through the early period of settlement and development to the present day : with a description of its resources, statistical tables, etc. : also biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent residents." Justus H. Rogers, 1891. Also day by day happings in the county from 1862 - 1890. [This book is freely available on the Internet Archives.]

Contra Costa Co.

"Contra Costa County Under the Vitascope." A reprint of a book originally published in 1902. Has 285 pictures of people, homes, farms & businesses. Published by Highland Publishers, Pittsburg, CA in 1994. CAR

"History of Concord - Its progress and promise." Published by the Concord Historical Society in 1986. Has old maps, pictures and history of families. Has a good index. CAR

"Old Times in Contra Costa" by Robert Daras Tatam. Published by Highland Publishers, Pittsburg, CA in 1993. Has 202 pages of old pictures and history about towns (some that no longer exist) in Contra Costa. CAR

El Dorado Co.

"The Pollock Pines Epic." Written and published by Marilyn Parker, 1988. The People and History of the Pollock Pines area along the highway 50 corridor of Northern California, from 1800 to 1988. M43

Fresno Co.

"1924 Owl Fresno High School." 1924 Year Book. Photos, Bios, Stories, Local Advertisments. Indexed by year. I have scanner and able to scan information. CRS

"Bit of Sweden in the Desert." Pauline Peterson Mathes, Pioneer Publishing Co., Fresno, CA 1991. This book is a history of Kingsburg, CA. At one time, over 90% of its citizens were of Swedish descent, hence the title. However, the index lists a cross section of its citizens, not just those who had Swedish ancestors. The time frame is 1850s to early 1940s. VSS

"Fresno County Cemeteries 1837 - 1910 with some Madera Kings and Mariposa Co." The Fresno Genealogical Society, 1985. Names & dates from tombstones in Fresno Co with a few from Madera, Kings & Mariposa Counties. Also includes listing of Obituaries published in the Fresno Expositor Newspaper 1870-1879. LN5

"Garden of the Sun." 2nd Edition. Wallace Smith, Linden Publishing, 2004. History of the San Joaquin Valley 1772-1939. LN5

"The McCubbin Papers: An Early History of Reedley and the '76 Country'." John C McCubbin, Editor Kenneth Zech. Pub. Reedley Historical Society, 1988. Information on historical facts and residents of Reedley and Traver, California from about 1850 thru 1890. Some information is just a name but others has a lot of facts. John C McCubbin was a historian who wrote extensively about the area.If you would like the book, please contact me. TAN

"The Valley's Legends & Legacies," Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Catherine Morison Rehart, Word Dancer Press, 1996-2006. One page stories of events in the 1800's & 1900's. Stories often have genealogical info. LN5

Humboldt Co.

"Arcata High School, Pacific Coast High School and Six River Charter High School students, faculty and staff. " These are all Arcata, CA high schools. I have most of the yearbooks and a database of over 14K names. KB8

Arcata High School Yearbook. Advance 1900-2000. KB8

"History of Humboldt County California with Illustrations." Wallace W Elliott & Co 0 1882. County history with many illustrations. Biographical sketches of approximately 110 "prominent citizens." [This book is freely available on the Internet Archives.]

Imperial Co.

"Imperial Valley - The Story of the First Decade." Edgar Howe & Wilbur J. Hall, Imperial Valley Historical Society Orig pub 1910, reprinted 1998. Contains information about the first settlers of the Imperial Valley. [This book is now freely available to download from the Internet Archive].

Inyo Co.

"El Pinon (El Piñon) 1926." Published by the students of the Bishop Union High School, Bishop, California, 1925-1926. 82pp. K21

"El Pinon (El Piñon) 1927." Published by the students of the Bishop Union High School, Bishop, California, 1926-1927. 32pp. K21

"El Pinon (El Piñon) 1928." Published by the students of the Bishop Union High School, Bishop, California, 1927-1928. 50pp. K21

Los Angeles Co.

"History of Los Angeles County, California." Thompson & West, 1880; republished 1959 by Howell-North, Berkeley. Historica atlas, including business directories and biographical sketches. [This book is freely available on the Internet Archives.]

"Santa Monica High School 'Nautilus', year 1973." School yearbook, published by students 1973. K28

"The Santa Monica Public Library 1890 to 1990." Author: Ellen Braby and Janet Hunt. 57 pages with index, dedication and acknowledgements. Copyright 1990, Santa Monica Library. Publisher: The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Wa. IBSN: 0 87062 204 8. History of the Santa Monica Library, Santa Monica, California. Includes all branches and librarians. Photographs. K28

"Venice High School 'Gondolier'." Published by the students. 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973. Venice High School yearbooks. For years 1970 thru 1973. K28

Madera Co.

"Madera High School 1941 Year Book White and Purple." Photos of Classes 1941-1944. Has local business that were advertisers of the year book. CRS

Marin Co.

"Tomales Township - A History." A. Bray Dickinson; Tomales History Center 1993. "The Story of Bolsa de Tomales before the North Pacific Coast Railroad." Native peoples and pioneers who settled the region of Tomales in Marin County on the Pacific Ocean. History of the region. K21

Mendocino Co.

"History of Mendocino County, California." 1880. Includes excellent biographical sketches of many early settles. INDEXED. [This book is freely available online at the Internet Archives.]

"Pioneering in the Shadow of Cahto Mountain First Centennial edition 1874-1974." Kate Mayo, 1974. Some pioneer history on the towns of Cahto and Laytonville in Mendocino Co. CA. JK1

Monterey Co.

"Polk's Salinas, Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel City Directory, 1933." R.L. POLK & CO., of California, 1933. Alpha Surname and "Reverse" Address and Phone directories for cities in title as well as directories for Carmel Highlands, Castroville, Chualar, DelMonte, Gonzales, Pebble Beach, Seaside, Soledad and Spreckles in Monterey Co., California. I also have several other directories for parts of Monterey County from 1933 to about 1974, and am willing to do lookups out of any of them. JH11

Mono Co.

"Bodie Bonanza The True Story of a Flamboyant Past." Warren Loose, Exoposition Press, NY 1971. Gives the history of the Ghost Town of Bodie in California from about 1859-1891. Some names are listed. D16

Nevada Co.

"History of Nevada County, California." Thompson and West, 1880; repulbished Howell North Books, 1970. Illustrated historical atlas containing 400+ biographical sketches. [This book is freely available online at the Internet Archives.]

Riverside Co.

"Lake Elsinore Valley: its story 1776-1977." Tom Hudson; Lake Elsinore Downtown Business Association & City of Lake Elsinore Centennial; 1988. A history of Lake Elsinore, California. LS6

"Murrieta - Old Town, New Town; A community history." Mary Alice Rail Boyce, Rosemar Publishing Company, 1995. A history of Murrieta, California - from 1843 to 1995. LS6

Sacramento Co.

"Elk Grove's Past buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery aka: Sheldon Cemetery." Jeanette Lawson's 5th grade class, privately published 1997. Tombstone readings from Sheldon Cemetery in Sacramento County. Includes brief history of the individual if known. A9

"Elk Grove's Past buried in Union School Cemetery aka Center Tomb Cemetery." Gate Class of Pleasant Grove School, privately published, 1998. Tombstone readings of Union School Cemetery in Sacramento County. Includes a brief history of the individual if known. A9

"Hi-Lites January 1948." Kit Carson Junior High School, Sacramento CA. This is the January 1948 yearbook for Kit Carson Junior High School. It is a twelve-page paperback with photographs, other than the portrait pages it is poorly indexed, and is heavily autographed. C40

"The Review 1929 Sacramento High School." Sacramento High School, June 1929. This is the June 1929 yearbook for Sacramento High School. It has approximately 175 black and white glossy print pages, other than the portrait pages it is poorly indexed and is moderately autographed. C40

"The Review 1930 Sacramento High School." Sacramento High School, February 1930. This is the February 1930 quarterly "yearbook" for Sacramento High School. It has approximately 87 black and white glossy print pages (sepia toned paper); other than the portrait pages it is poorly indexed and is not autographed. C40

"The Review," 1948 yearbook, Sacramento High School, 1948. B20

San Benito Co.

"Early Days at the Mission San Juan Bautista." Isaac Mylar/S.J. B. Historical Society, Word Dancer Press, 1994. Reprint of a 1929 publication of Isaac Mylar's memoirs. fairly well indexed. CFW

San Bernadino Co.

"Cemeteries of Victor Valley." Hi-Desert Genealogical Society. Apple Valley and Victorville Cemeteries 1800-1994 in San Bernardino County. MEC

"Mohave (No. 1, Vol. I & II); A Class in Local Historical Research." Lawrence C. Davenort, Ed.D; Victor Valley College; 1963. Interviews, conducted by students of Victor Valley College, of the local pioneers and settlers of the Victorville, Apple Valley, California area from ca 1850-1963. Also contains info on site names, mining, farming, railroads and geography of the area. San Bernardino County. not indexed thoroughly some images (poor quality), willing to scan Some surnames include: Alf, Amaral, Baldridge, Behr, Bennington, Blackburn, Boom, Bosch, Bowen, Bright, Burton, Butterfield, Butts, Campbell, Carroll, Caughlin, Chilson, Cody, Cole, Cook, Cory, Dexter, Dinsmore, Dolch, Farrington, Gambie, Garcelon, Garrison, Godshall, Gossard, Goulding, Greenlee, Hayes, Hedrick, Hewson, Hillman, Hitchcock, Holmes, Howd, Hull, Ihmsen, Johnson, Jordon, Law, Lintner, Lunceford, Martin, McAllister, Medaris, Moon, Moore, Morrow, Murphy, Phillips, Potts, Rainsford, Reche, Robinson, Russell, Shulze, Stoddard, Swarthout, Sweet, Thomas, Turner, Vandever, Walters, Webb, Weiss, Whaley, Whitman, Wiese, Willson, Wolf,Wolfe, Woodworth, Zieger etc. K21

San Francisco Co.

"For My Kinsmen's Sake," a Salvation Army Officer's Quarter Century of Service in San Francisco Chinatown (includes a chronological list of officers who served there from 1887-1981 - list not indexed by name). Check-Hung Yee, Salvation Army Western Territory, 30840 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274, no date - probably about 1987. VSS

"Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco City Directory -- 1936." R.L. Polk & Co., 1936. BD2

"San Francisco Directory for 1897." H.S. Crocker Company - 1897. An Alphabetical list of business firms and private citizens; a directory of the city and county officers, churches, public and private schools, benevolent, literary and other associations, banks, incorporated institutions, etc. [This book is now freely available online at the Internet Archives.]

"San Francisco, San Francisco Co, CA" and "Other Historical Events." Complete Story of the San Francisco Earthquake Everett, Marshall; Copyright 1906 by Henry Neil, Chicago. Eyewitness accounts, historical data, photographs and illustrations regarding the San Francisco earthquake. Also touches on other disasters. I have created a "back-of-book" name index. You many find it listed on Rootsweb. MSR

"Visions of Reform: Congregation Emanu-El and Jews of San Francisco 1849-1999." F. Rosenbaum, Judah Magnes Museum, 2000 Those involved in the reform synagogue of Emanu-El. A15

San Joaquin Co.

"Samfow: The San Joaquin [California] Chinese Legacy". Sylvia Sun Minnick, 1988. BB5

San Luis Obispo Co.

"According to Madge." Madge Ditmas, South County Historial Society, Arroyo Grande 1983. Description: Early times in South San Luis Obispo County and Arroyo Grande Valley. DH15

"History of San Luis Obispo County, California." Myron Angel, Thompson and West Publishers, 1883, reprinted 1994. This book contains wonderful history of SLO county . Many illustrations of pioneers. Fully indexed. DH15

"San Luis Obispo County: Looking Backward into the Middle Kingdom." By Daniel E. Krieger; Windsor Publications, 1988. A history of San Luis Obispo County (on the central California coast) from the Spanish colonial period to the early 1900s. Names of prominent pioneers are included. LEE

Santa Barbara Co.

"1883 History of Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties, California." Thompson and West, Published in Oakland Cal. 1883. Prominent families and history of this era 1883. A lot of info in this book. This book is now online.

"Northern Santa Barbara County Directory and Guide Book 1955-1956." Santa Maria Advertiser 1955. Lists residents of the areas of Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. DH15

"San Ramon Chapel Pioneers and Their California Heritage." Erlinda Ontiveros, Olive Press, Los Olivos, Ca. 1990. Covers the families of the Santa Ynes Valley and surrounding areas: Sisquoc, Garey, Tepusquet. Lots of genealogy data. DH15

Santa Clara Co.

"Early Settlers Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World." Edited by H.S. Foote, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888. Contains biographical sketches of prominent Santa Clara Valley citizens and other information about the Santa Clara Valley from 1844-1888. KLM

Sierra Co.

"The August Rutishauser Letters 1903-1904." Second Edition. Richard Lee Hanson, 14 July 2006. Pertains only to the town of Downieville and Queen City vicinity in Sierra County, California, United States during 1903-04. Specifically contains personal letters exchanged between a dying cancer patient (August Rutishauser) in the Downieville county hospital and his wife & children living at Queen City. Letter text includes community gossip with many references to the activities of friends, neighbors and the hospital staff. Can email letter text and/or JPEG letter images. RLH

Sonoma Co.

"1877 Atlas of Sonoma County (California)." Over 2300 entries. I have completed an Index to the Atlas. NW

"History of Petaluma - A California River Town." Adair Heig. Scottwall Associates, 1982. NW

"Penngrove-Past and Present." Ellen Harris - 1983 - unknown publisher. A pictorial history of the small community of Penngrove, from 1845 to 1983. I have created an index for this book. NW

"Petaluma - As Seen Through the Eyes of Bill Lewis." Lewis - 1972. Photos of early 20th-century Petaluma, with personal recollections of people and places by the author. I have created an index for this book.NW

"Santa Rosa - A Nineteenth Century Town." Gaye LeBaron et al. Historia, Ltd. 1985. A history of Santa Rosa in the 1800s. NW

"Santa Rosa - A Twentieth Century Town." Gaye LeBaron et al; Historia, Ltd,; 1993. A history of Santa Rosa in the 1900s. NW

"Wild Oats in Eden - Sonoma County in the 19th Century." by Harvey J Hansen and Jeanne Thurlow Miller; Hooper Printing &Lithograph, Santa Rosa; 1962. A history of Sonoma County, through the 19th century, encompassing Indian, Russian, and Mexican settlements, history and culture, as well as the advent of Americans which followed. Many photographs. Indexed. NW

Stanislaus Co.

"History of Stanislaus County California with Illustrations." Elliott & Moors, 1881. Well illustrated county history. Name indexed. Some biographies. [This book is freely available online at Google Books.]

Sutter Co.

"History in the Making, the Centennial Gold & White Yearbook." Sutter Union High Shool Yearbook Classs, 1997. Gold & White Commemorative Yearbook. Contains lists of Sutter Union High School graduates from 1896 to 1997. Historical photos of the school, some student activities, and graduates. In your requests, please include name of student and year[s] they attended. CID

"History of Sutter County, California." William Henry Chamberlain, Publ by Thompson & West, Oakland, Calif. 1879. Usually referred to as Thompson & West's 1879 "History of Sutter County". About 200 brief bios; some Civil War vets, Black Americans. Some are parents or grandparents of people listed in Peter J. Delay's 1924 "History of Yuba & Sutter Counties, Calif." For those interested in this book, it has been reprinted and is available from the Sutter County Historical Society, PO Box 1004, Yuba City, CA 95992 for $45 plus tax ($49.73 total). CID

"History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, California." Peter J. Delay, Historic Record Company, 1924. Includes biographical sketches of many people in these two counties. CID

Tehama Co.

"Manton Yesteryears!" Alice M. Wilson, privately published, 1988. This is a collection of remembrances and statements by and about early residents of this small community in Tehama County. There is also a list of Manton Cemetery Headstones. LL4

Ventura Co.

Yolo Co.

"Capay Valley, The Land The People 1846-1900." Ada Merhoff Pioneer history of the people in the Capay Valley in the northwest corner of Yolo Co. California from Capay to Rumsey. C6

Yuba Co.