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Pacific Coast Heritage Toolkit

By Nancy Hendrickson Premium

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On the bookshelf

California Surname Index: Biographies from Selected Histories by Barbara Ross Close (California Genealogical Society)

The Census of 1790: A Demographic History of Colonial California by William Mason (Ballena Press, out of print)

Early Oregon Days by Edwin D. Culp (Caxton Printers)

Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims, volumes 1-5, by Lottie Curley (Genealogical Forum of Oregon)

Germans from Russia, Index of Naturalization Records in Whitman County, Washington, 1860-1942 by Janet Margolis Damm (Palouse Publications)

An Index to the Biographies in 19th Century California County Histories by J. Carlyle Parker (Gale Group, out of print)

Italians of the American Northwest by Charley Vingo (Pine Orchard)

Marriage Records of Territorial Pierce County, 1853-1889 (Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society)

Oregon Burial Site Guide by Stanley R. Clarke and Janice M. Healy (Stoney Way) see <www.aracnet.com/-healyzh/obsg.html>

Oregon Country: Oregon Territory Map Changes (Oregon Genealogical Society)

Oregon Guide to Genealogical Sources by Connie Lenzen (Genealogical Forum of Oregon)

The Oregon Trail: Yesterday and Today by William E. Hill (Caxton Printers)

Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California by Stephen Levine and Barbara T. Newcombe (Cir/Cnpa)

San Francisco Passenger Departure Lists, volumes 1-6, by Peter E. Carr (TCI Genealogical Resources)

Terrible Trail: The Meek Cutoff, 1845 by Keith Clark and Lowell Tiller (Maverick Publications)

A Useful Guide to Researching San Francisco Ancestry by Kathleen C. Beals (California Genealogical Society)

Washington State Atlas of Historical County Boundaries edited by John H. Long (Charles Scribners Sons, out of print)
 
 

Find it on the Web

California Census Links

<www.census-online.com/links/CA.html>: Links to transcriptions from several counties.

California County History

<csac.counties.org/counties_close_up/county_history>: Original California counties and map.

California Federal Land Records

<www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/ca-land.htm>: Links to county data.

California GenWeb

<www.cagenweb.com>: Links to county queries and message boards.

California State Archives

<www.ss.ca.gov/archives/level3_county. htm>: Where to obtain local government records.

Family History Library Resource Guides

<www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp>: Start here to access Research Outlines for each state.

Historical Oregon Information Services

<www.historicaloregon.org>: This group aims to bring information about Oregon’s history into one place; its Web site offers lookups in the service’s historical and genealogical books and a biweekly e-mail newsletter.

Hudson’s Bay Company Archives

<www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca>: How to obtain records from this fur-trading company’s posts in Oregon, Washington and California. Records include weather reports, visitors’ arrival and departure and daily activities.

Oregon Land Records

<arcweb.sos.state.or.us/land.htmI>: Lists of Oregon land records in the Oregon State Archives.

Oregon GenWeb

<www.rootsweb.com/~orgenweb>: Links to county queries, message boards.

Oregon Genealogical Information Locator

<159.121.172.88/genealogy/search>. lasso: 195,022 entries, including vital records, probates, naturalization.

Oregon Trail

<www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail. html>: Fact-packed site about the great migration trail.

Oregon Census Online

<www.census-online.com/links/OR.html>: Links to Oregon census transcriptions.

San Francisco Public Library

<sfpl4.sfpl.org/INFDIR/IS_Vital_Records. htm>: Guide to obtaining pre-1906 San Francisco vital records.

San Francisco Vital Records Information

<www.sfo.com/~timandpamwolf/sfranvit.htm>: Sources of birth, marriage and death records.

Selected Guide to Sources for California Genealogy

<www.library.ca.gov/calhist/genealogy.html>: What you can find in the California State Library.

USGenWeb Census Project

<www.rootsweb.com/~census/states>: Links to online census transcriptions.

Washington Census Online

<www.census-online.com/links/WA>: Links to federal and territorial census transcriptions.

Washington GenWeb

<www.rootsweb.com/~wagenweb>: Links to county queries and message boards.

Washington State Archives

<www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/research.asp>: Where to find property, corporation, court, census and naturalization records.

Washington State Genealogical Resource Guide

<www.rootsweb.com/~wasgs/resguide.htm>: Historical and genealogical data for Washington counties.

Washington Vital Records

<www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/genealogy.aspx> How to get copies of vital records.
 
 

Toolkit

Free Searchable Databases

California Death Records

<userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi>: Covers 1940 through 1997.

California Pioneer Project

<cpl.cagenweb.com>: List of settlers who were born in or migrated to California pre-1880.

Associated Catholic Cemeteries Search

<adhostnt.adhost.com/acc-seattle/accrsrch.html>: Provide your name and e-mail to access the Archdiocese of Seattle’s database of burial dates and locations.

Cemeteries of California

<www.interment.net/us/ca>: User-submitted transcriptions of tombstone and cemetery data.

City of Portland Death Index

<arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/genealogy.htm>: Follow the death index link to search for records between 1881 and 1917.

City of Portland Birth Index

<arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/genealogy.htm>: Follow the birth index link to search records beginning in March 1881.

The East Side Journal

<www.bcc.ctc.edu/cpsha/esj>: A1918 to 1975 index of the Kirkland, Wash., newspaper.

Foreign-Born Voters of California, 1872

<feefhs.org/fbvca/fbvcagri.html>: 61,691 records extracted from each county’s Great Registers.

Museum of the City of San Francisco

<www.sfmuseum.org/perished>: List of those who died in the earthquake of 1906.

Oregon Cemeteries

<www.interment.net/us/or>: Post or search transcriptions of grave markers.

Salem Public Library Historic Photo Database

<photos.salemhistory.org>: Search thousands of photos from the mid-1800s.

San Francisco Obituary and Death Records

<www.sfo.com/~timandpamwolf/sfranobi.htm>: Free collection of pre-1906 death records.

Tacoma Obituaries

<search.tpl.lib.wa.us/obits>: 367,000 individual index records, from 1930 to the present.

University of Washington Library Asahel Curtis Photo Company Collection

<content.lib.washington.edu/Acurtis>: 1,704 photos of Seattle, Washington State and Alaska from the 1850s to 1940.

Washington Cemeteries

<www.interment.net/us/wa>: County-by-county tombstone transcriptions contributed by visitors.

Washington Place Names

<www.tpl.lib.wa.us/v2/nwroom/wanames.htm>: Find obscure or obsolete locations with the Tacoma Public Library’s online tool.

Western States Historical Marriage Records Index

<abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/fhc/gbsearch.htm>: Covers eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and selected California counties.

 
 
Organizations & Archives
 
The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720

 
California Genealogical Society
1611 Telegraph Ave. #200
Oakland, CA 94612

 
California Historical Society

678 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105

 
California State Archives

1020 O St.
Sacramento, CA 95814

 
Genealogical Forum of Oregon

Box 42567
Portland, OR 97242

 
National Archives Pacific Region

24000 Avila Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

 
National Archives Pacific Region

1000 Commodore Drive
San Bruno, CA 94066

 
National Archives Pacific Alaska Region

6125 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115

 
Oregon Genealogical Society

Box 10306
Eugene, OR 97440

 
Oregon Historical Society

1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland, OR 97205

 
Oregon State Archives
800 Summer St.
NE Salem, OR 97310

 
Sutro Library

480 Winston Drive
San Francisco, CA 94132

 
Washington State Genealogical Society

Box 1422
Olympia, WA 98507

 
Washington State Historical Society

1911 Pacific Ave.
Tacoma, WA 98402

<www.wshs.org>

 

Lectures

All of these tapes can be ordered for $8.50 each from Repeat Performance <www.audiotapes.com>:

“Family History on the Oregon Trail” by Katherine Scott Sturdevant

“Finding Ancestors in California’s Great Register” by Betty K. Summers

“Oregon Records and Resources” by Connie Lenzen

“Resources at the Oregon State Archives” by Layne Sawyer

“Staking Out the Northwest: Donation Land Claims” by Jennifer Blacke

“Washington State Genealogical Research” by Sarah Thorson Little
 
From the August 2002 issue of Family Tree Magazine

 

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