This collection contains microfilm records from Bidwell Chapel Funeral Home, situated in Chico, California. The funeral home, currently known as Bidwell Chapel Funeral Home since April 1994, has undergone numerous name and ownership changes since its inception as Thomas Bicknell Funeral Home in 1896. Over the years, it has been called T. Bicknell and F. M. Edgar Co. Funeral Home (1901), T. Bicknell & F. M. Edgar Co. and Fetters and Williams Funeral Home (circa 1910), Fetter and Williams Funeral Home (1913-1925), Bicknell and Moore Funeral Home (circa 1922-1925), Fetter and Williams (1925-1926), H. C. Bicknell Funeral Home (1939-1943), Nugent Funeral Service (1943-1947), Huddleston Chapel Funeral Home (1947-1959), Timmons – Van Hook Funeral Home (1959-1968), Hall – Van Hook Funeral Home (1968-1973), and finally Bidwell Chapel Funeral Home.
The majority of the volumes in the collection include surname indexes. The records consist of funeral home registers that detail the deceased’s name, date, place, and cause of death, age, occupation, residence, next of kin, spouse or children, parents’ names, place of origin, and length of residency in California.
Death records comprise California State Board of Health-certified death certificates. The funeral information files encompass documents related to individual accounts, such as funeral home service records, orders for death certificates, copies of death certificates, burial or transportation orders to other cities or states, and miscellaneous letters concerning insurance, responsible parties for payment, and other matters. Additionally, the files may contain newspaper clippings of death notices or obituaries, funeral program cards, and memorials from fraternal or other organizations.
FamilySearch indicates that some of these microfilms are indexed. If they are, they are not completely indexed, and you should search the microfilm itself.