Sonoma County Library has Genealogy Resources



The Sonoma County Library was formed in 1975 through a Joint Powers Agreement signed by the representatives of several cities and by the County of Sonoma. Today, this county-wide library system serves approximately 495,000 residents. The Sonoma County Library is known for their innovation and locally for their connection to their residents and communities.

The Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library is located in the “Annex”, which is a separate building that is adjacent to the Sonoma County Library. It has thousands of historical books, manuscripts, newspapers, maps and photographs.

Genealogy Resources:

* Books at the Annex: Several thousand books on genealogy world-wide. This includes: bibliographies of family histories and county histories, indexes to censuses, marriage records, military pensions, land records, tax lists, and ship passenger lists on microfilm, microfiche, and CD-ROM.

* Periodicals At the Annex: Nearly 130 genealogy-related periodicals.

* Sonoma County Records: Includes deeds, mortgages, wills and probate records, assessments of property, voter registration, oaths of office, surveys, maps, corporation records, business licenses and more. Most materials are stores at the Sonoma County Archives and must be brought to the Library for your use

* Obituaries at the Annex: Selected indexes to Sonoma County obituaries from 1855-1912.

* Census at the Annex: U.S. Censuses for California 1850 to 1920; Indexes for other states and Canada from 1790 on.

* City Directories At the Annex: California city directories from 1850 on; Sonoma County Directories from 1874 on.

Local History Collections:

* Local history in the library catalog: a comprehensive collection of Sonoma County historical works, county, family and property histories

* Sonoma County photographs collection: over 40,000 photographs, many of which are available online Sonoma Heritage Collections

* Sonoma County Archives: Many of Sonoma County’s earliest court, naturalization, and tax records

* The Sonoma County History Index: Has thousands of references to County events, places and people

* Sonoma County newspapers on microfilm from the 1850s-2000s, including Santa Rosa (1857 through 1969) and Petaluma (1855, incas well as other county newspapers for various locations and dates)

* Local history newspaper clipping file

* The California Indian Library Collection

* Select California directories and voter registrations

* Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

* Indexes to local cemetery, marriage, birth, death and militia records

Genealogy Collections:

* Genealogy in the library catalog: several thousand genealogical books and journals covering world-wide genealogical research.

* Local genealogical resources including those listed above

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Genealogy Resources at Brownwood Public Library

* Genealogy Resources at Indiana State Library

* Genealogy Resources at ADA Public Library

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