Ancestry is the largest provider of genealogy data online. The billions of records they provide have advanced genealogy online beyond imagination just a decade ago. The following is but a small sample of what they provide for California genealogy at Ancestry. While some of these databases are free, many require a subscription. You can try a 14 day free trial and see if you can find any of your California genealogy at Ancestry!
California Genealogy Databases – Subscription May be Required
Statewide Genealogy at Ancestry
- A Memorial and biographical history of Northern California: containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast
- A Memorial and biographical history of the coast counties of central California: illustrated
- Alcatraz, California, U.S. Penitentiary, Prisoner Index, 1934-1963
- Birth place, age, residence, etc., of the officers of state, Supreme Court, and members of the Legislature of California
- California and Californians, Vol. 1
- California and Californians, Vol. 2
- California and Californians, Vol. 3
- California and Californians, Vol. 4
- California Biographical Collection: Responses to Vital Record Inquiries, 1822-1964
- California Birth Index, 1905-1995
- California Cemetery Inscription Sources
- California Census, 1790-1890
- California City Directories
- California Marriages, 1850-1877
- California Pioneers, 1542-1848
- California Spanish Mission Censuses, 1796-1798
- California State Census, 1852
- California State Roster, 1899 Government and Military records
- California State Roster, 1909 Government and Military records
- California State Roster, 1911 Government and Military records
- California, African American Who’s Who, 1948
- California, American Biography and Genealogy
- California, Biographical Index Cards, 1781-1990
- California, Death Index, 1940-1997
- California, Divorce Index, 1966-1984
- California, History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California, 1909
- California, its history and romance
- California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985
- California, Mortuary and Cemetery Records, 1801-1932
- California, Order Sons of Italy in America, Lodge Records, 1928-1960
- California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957
- California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950
- California, Railroad Employment Records, 1862-1937
- Early California wills
- German Pioneers in Early California
- Historical and biographical record of southern California : containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement
- History of San Fernando Valley
- History of the San Francisco Bay region
- Ingersoll’s century history, Santa Monica Bay cities
- Nevada State Journal, 1870-1900
- Territorial Enterprise Birth, Marriage, & Death Notices (Virginia City, Nevada), 1866-67
- The Argonauts of California : being the reminiscences of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in early mining days
- The Bay of San Francisco : the metropolis of the Pacific Coast and its suburban cities : a history
- The missions of California : their establishment, progress and decay
- The Negro trail blazers of California : a compilation of records from the California Archives in the Bancroft Library
- The western shore gazetteer and commercial directory for the state of California
- Travel Guide to Southern California, 1893
- Web: California, Find A Grave Index, 1775-2012
- Who’s Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913
California County Resources at Ancestry
- Alameda County
- Alameda County, past & present
- A Guide to church vital statistics records in California: San Francisco and Alameda Counties, six denominations
- A Directory of churches and religious organizations in Alameda County, California, 1940
- History of Alameda County, California
- History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions
- Past and present of Alameda County, California
- Souvenir of Alameda County, California
- The centennial year book of Alameda County, California : containing a summary of the discovery and settlement of California, a
- Butte County
- Colusa County
- Contra Costa County
- El Dorado County
- Fresno County
- Humboldt County
- Imperial County
- Kern County
- Kings County
- Lake County
- Los Angeles County
- An historical sketch of Los Angeles County, California: from the Spanish occupancy, by the founding of the Mission San Gabriel
- An Illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California: containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period
- Greater Los Angeles & Southern California : portraits & personal memoranda
- Hugo Reid, Indians of Los Angeles County
- Marin County
- Mendocino County
- Merced County
- Monterey County
- Napa County
- Nevada County
- Orange County
- Riverside County
- Sacramento County
- San Diego County
- San Francisco County
- San Joaquin County
- An Illustrated history of San Joaquin County, California: containing a history of San Joaquin County from the earliest period
- 1850 census, San Joaquin County
- History of San Joaquin County, California: with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county
- Marriage records of San Joaquin County, California
- Old cemeteries of San Joaquin County, California
- San Louis Obispo County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Barbara County
- Santa Clara
- History of Santa Clara County, California: including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description
- History of Santa Clara County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county
- Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or, Santa Clara County, California
- Peninsula community book : (San Mateo County, California)
- Santa Cruz County
- Shasta County
- Solano County
- Sonoma County
- Tulare County
- Tuolumne County
- Yolo County
- Yuba County
California City and Town Resources at Ancestry
- Alameda
- Arcadia
- Bakersfield
- Balboa Park
- Berkeley
- Death Valley
- Desert Hot Springs
- El Dorado
- El Tejon
- Eureka
- Fremont
- Fresno
- Hayward
- La Verne
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Angel City in turmoil
- California Narratives: Los Angeles in the Sunny Seventies
- Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement
- Los Angeles illustrated
- Los Angeles, California City Directories, 1888-90
- Our heritage and our hope : the history of First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California, 1874-1974
- The Herald’s history of Los Angeles City
- Marysville
- Modesto
- Monrovia
- Montclair
- Monterey
- Oakhurst
- Oakland
- Oakland and surroundings : illustrated and described, showing its advantages for residence or business.
- Oakland Daily Evening Tribune (Oakland, California)
- Oakland Evening Tribune (Oakland, California)
- Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)
- Oakland, 1852-1938
- Oakland, a history
- Saturday Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)
- Sunday Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)
- Who made Oakland?
- Ojai Valley
- Ontario
- Oxnard
- Pasadena
- Placerville
- Pomona
- Red Bluff
- Redlands
- Sacremento
- Sacramento California, “Sacramento Bee” newspaper 1859, Obituaries, Marriages, Births
- Sacramento California, Sacramento Bee newspaper 1892: Vital Records
- Sacramento California, Sacramento Bee Newspaper 1889 – 1890: vital records
- Sacramento California, Sacramento Bee Newspaper 1891: vital records
- Sacramento California Bee Newspaper 1889 : Vital Records
- Sacramento, California, California Biographical Great Books, 1867 and 1872
- San Antonio
- San Clemente
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- An illustrated and descriptive souvenir and guide to San Francisco : a new handbook for strangers and tourists
- Benjamin F. Taylor, Trip to San Francisco, 1870s
- Chronological outline of the history of San Francisco
- Clark’s Point: a narrative of the conquest of California and of the beginning of San Francisco
- Complete story of San Francisco’s terrible calamity of earthquake and fire : the most appalling disaster of modern times
- Continuation of The annals of San Francisco
- Fifty years of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco : October 20, 1850, October 21, 1900
- Historical abstract of San Francisco
- Inventory of the county archives of California: The city and county of San Francisco
- John Palmer, San Francisco Medicine, 1849
- Lights and shades in San Francisco
- Miriam Squier, Trip to San Francisco, 1877
- San Francisco: a pageant
- San Francisco: the bay and its cities
- San Francisco and thereabout
- San Francisco Chinese Exclusion List
- San Francisco one hundred years ago
- San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Vol. I [1850-1864]
- San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Vol. II [1850-1851]
- San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists. Vol. III: November 7, 1851 to June 17, 1852
- San Francisco, California Directories, 1889-91
- San Francisco, California, Chinese Applications for Admission, 1903-1947
- San Francisco, the financial, commercial and industrial metropolis of the Pacific Coast
- Sue Sanders, Journey to San Francisco, 1886
- The annals of San Francisco : containing a summary of the history of the first discovery, settlement, progress and present conditions
- The annals of San Francisco : containing a summary of the history of the first discovery, settlement, progress and present conditions
- The Chapter in your life entitled San Francisco : and the California it centers
- The city that is : the story of the rebuilding of San Francisco in three years
- The colonial history of the city of San Francisco
- The history of San Francisco
- The history of the first pastorate of the Howard Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, California, 1850-1862
- The lure of San Francisco : a romance amid old landmarks
- The Retrospect : a glance at thirty years of the history of Howard Street Methodist Episcopal Church of San Francisco
- William Chambliss, San Francisco Society, 1895
- San Gabriel
- San Jose
- San Mateo
- San Pasqual
- San Rafael
- Santa Barbara
- Silverado
- Tehama
- Tuolumne
- Upland
- Vallejo
- Van Nuys
- Woodland
California Military at Ancestry
- California, World War I Death Announcements, 1918-1921
- California, World War I Soldier Citations, 1918-1921
- California, WWI Soldier Photographs, 1917-1918
- California, WWI Soldier Service Cards and Photos, 1917-1918
- Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 : which led to that event
- Record of Eighty-sixth Company California Military Reserve
- Records of California men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1867
- Register of officers of the National Guard and Naval Militia of California
- Register of the California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution : instituted at San Francisco, California, October 22
California Miscellaneous Items at Ancestry
- A pioneer pastorate and times : embodying contemporary local transactions and events
- Albert S. Evans, Life in California
- Albert Williams, San Francisco, California Pastorate, 1849-54
- Alexandre Dumas, Trip to California
- Alonzo Delano, California Correspondence, 1849-1852
- An old California pioneer
- Bayard Taylor, California Correspondence, 1849
- Bayard Taylor, California Correspondence, 1850
- Benjamin Avery, California Poetry and Prose, 1878
- Benjamin D. Wilson, Report on California Indians, 1852
- CalGideon Lee Knapp, Extracts from Letters and Journals of Gideon Lee Knapp
- California letters of William Gill
- California Narratives: A Year of American Travel
- California Narratives: California for Health, Pleasure and Residence
- California Narratives: Early Voyages to California
- California Narratives: Phoenixiana, or Sketches and Burlesques
- California Narratives: Recollections of a Long and Somewhat Uneventful Life
- California Narratives: The Adventures of a Forty-Niner
- California Narratives: The Expedition of the Donner Party
- California Narratives: Fourth Thousand, Life on the Plains
- California Narratives: Glimpses of Hungryland
- California Narratives: Summer Saunterings
- Carl Meyer, Life in California
- Caroline Churchill, California Travel Letters, 1870-73
- Caroline Churchill, California Travel Letters, 1874-80
- Charles Beebe Turrill , Notes
- Charles Dowsett, California Land Sales Agent, 1891
- Charles Holder, Life in California, early 1900s
- Charles Murdock, California Printing and Politics, 1855-1910
- Charles Painter, Report on the Indian Territory and California
- Charles Peters, Autobiography, 1915
- Charles Stoddard, Footsteps of the Padres, 1856
- Charles Stoddard, Vacation Beyond the Rockies
- Charles Warner, Southern California, 1890
- Chauncey Canfield, Diary of a Forty-niner
- Clark’s Point: a narrative of the conquest of California and of the beginning of San Francisco
- Clifford Allen, Rail Trip to California, early 1900s
- Colonel L.A. Norton, Life and Adventures
- Constance Gordon-Cumming, Five Months in California
- D.B. Bates, Trip from Massachusetts to California, 1850
- Daniel Woods, Sixteen Months in California, 1849-50
- David A. Shaw, California As Seen by a Pioneer
- David Leeper, Life in California, 1849-1854
- David Phillips, Life in California, 1876
- Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 : which led to that event
- Don Janssens, Life and Adventures
- Dow Stephens, Jayhawker in California, 1849
- Dr. William McCollum, Trips to California, 1849-50
- Early days at the Mission San Juan Bautista
- Edward D. Holton, Rail Trip to California, 1879
- Edward G. Buffum, Three Years in California, 1847-1849
- Edward McGowan, Life in California, 1856
- Edward McIlhany, Recollections of a ’49er, 1908
- Edward S. Parkinson, California Summer, 1892
- El Pueblo
- Elisha Crosby, California Memoirs
- Eliza and James Gregson, Life in California, 1840s
- Eliza Burhans Franham, How We Farm, Mine, and Live Generally in the Golden State
- Emma Adams, Trips to California, 1880s
- Enos Christman, Life in California, 1849-1852
- Ernest de Massey, Life in California’s Gold Rush
- Evelyn Hertslet, Ranch Life in California, 1885
- Felix Wierzbicki, California Guidebook, 1849
- Frank Leach, Early California Newspaperman
- Frank Marryat, California Mountains and Molehills, 1855
- Franklin Buck, Yankee Trader in the Gold Rush
- Franz Lecouvreur, From East Prussia to the Golden Gate
- Frederick Gay, Sketches of California, 1848
- Frederick Rindge, Life in California, Late 1800s
- Fremont Older, My Own Story
- Friedrich Gerstacker, A German Perspective
- Friedrich W. C. Gerstacker, Travels in America
- Genealogical records from Mrs. Otis O. Fleming
- Genealogical records from Mrs. Serge Ballif
- George W. Bryan, Recollections of a California Pioneer
- George Weeks, California Newspaperman
- Hariet Harper, Six Months in California, 1888
- Harris Newmark, Sixty Years in California
- Harvey Rice, Letters from California, 1870
- Heinrich Lienhard, Life at Sutter’s Fort, 1840s
- Helen H. Jackson, Glimpses of California and the Missions
- Henry Brewer, Surveying California, 1860-64
- Henry Ellis, Trip from Maine to California, 1849
- Henry Huntley, California Gold, 1856
- Henry Vizetelly, Four Months in the California Gold Fields
- Herman Scharmann, Journey to California
- Hinton Helper, Life in California, 1850s
- Hiram Dwight Pierce, A Forty-Niner Speaks
- Horace Bell, More Reminiscences, 1860s
- Horace Bell, Reminiscences, 1850s
- Hubert Howe Bancroft, Literary Industries: A Memoir
- In Tamal land
- Isaac Mylar, San Juan Bautista Mission, California, 1860s
- J. W. Linkins, California Book Agent, 1868-74
- J.G. Player-Frowd, Six Months in California, 1870s
- Jackson Graves, Seventy Years in California
- Jacob Barzilla, Camping Out in California
- Jacob Harlan, Wagon Trip to California, 1846
- James Abbey, A Trip Across the Plains, 1850
- James Brown, Finding Gold at Sutter’s Mill, 1848
- James Carson, California Mining Life, 1848-52
- James Hamilton, Life in California
- James J. Ayers, Journalist, 1849-1890
- James Steele, Sketch of California History, 1889
- James Tyson, California Physician, 1849
- James Woods, Church Work in California, 1850-60
- Jessie Benton Fremont, Far-West Sketches
- Johann Sutter, Diary
- John Bidwell, Life in California
- John Bidwell, Living in California, 1841-89
- John Borthwick, Three Years in California, 1851-54
- John Brown, Reminiscences of San Francisco, 1886
- John Letts, Life in California
- John Muir in the Sierras
- John Ross Browne, Crusoe’s Island
- John Ross Browne, The Debates of the Convention of California
- John Swan, Life in California, 1848
- John Todd, The Sunset Land or The Great Pacific Slope
- Joseph Heco, From Japan to California, 1850, Part 2
- Joseph Heco, Life in California
- Joseph Le Conte, Travels through the High Sierra
- Joseph W. Hines, Pacific Coast Pioneer
- Judge Benjamin Hayes, California Diary
- Kimball Webster, Seeking Gold in California, 1849-54
- Lee Whipple-Haslam, Life in California
- Lell Woolley, Sixty-four Years in California
- Leonard Kip, Gold Mine Sketches
- Lewis and Elizabeth Stickney, Records of a Calfornia Family
- Lilian Cross, Life in California
- Lloyd Briggs, Trips to California
- Lone Mountain: the most revered of San Francisco’s hills : annals of the pioneers copied from headstones and other old record
- Loraine Pratt Immen, California Travel Letters, 1896
- Louise Clappe, Letters from California, 1851-52
- Lucius Fairchild, California Letters, 1849-1855
- Luther Schaeffer, Sketches of California, 1860
- Luzena Wilson, Life in California
- Mary Cone, Two Years in California, 1873-75
- Mary Wills, Winter in California, 1888
- Michael White, Life in Mexican California, early 1800s
- Mina Deane Halsey, A Tenderfoot in Southern California
- Oscar Fitzgerald, 20 Years in California
- Oscar Fitzgerald, 20 Years in California, 2nd Edition
- Peter Burnett, Life in California
- Pioneer days and Kebo Club nights
- Prentice Mulford, Life in California
- Pringle Shaw, California Mining, 1857
- Red horizons
- Richard Dana, Two Years in California, 1834-36
- Richardson-Snedigar genealogy
- Robert La Follette, Autobiography, 1913
- Samuel H. Willey, Thirty Years in California
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Roughing It
- Samuel McNeil, Trip to California, 1849
- Samuel Upham, Voyage to California, 1848
- Sarah Smith, Raised On a California Sheep Ranch, 1870s
- Semi-Tropical California, Its Climate, Healthfulness, Productiveness and Scenery
- Sim Moak,The Last of the Mill Creeks, and Early Life in Northern California
- So, this is California!
- Solomon Mead, Notes of Two Trips to California and Return
- Stephen Davis, Gold Rush Merchant, 1850-1854
- Stephen Field, Practicing Law in California, 1850
- Susie Clark, From Boston to California, 1890
- Thaddeus Kenderdine, California Travels, 1858-1859
- Thaddeus Kenderdine, Return to California, 1898
- The march of Portol
- The pioneer steamer California, 1848-1849
- The romantic southland of California
- Theodore Johnson, Life in California, 1849
- Thomas Chard, California Sketches, 1888
- Walter Colton, Three Years in California, 1846-1849
- Walter Fisher, Life in California, 1870s
- William Francis White, A Picture of Pioneer Times in California
- William H. Davis, Seventy-Five Years in California
- William Hutton, Glances at California, 1847-53
- William Kelly, Excursion to California, Vol. 1, 1849
- William Kelly, Excursion to California, Vol. 2, 1849-1850
- William Kip, Early Days of My Episcopate
- William Pond, Calfornia Congregationalism, 1833-1920
- William Ryan, Adventures in California, Vol. 1
- William Ryan, Adventures in California, Vol. 2
- William Shaw, Trip from Australia to California, 1849
- William Sherman, Recollections of California, 1846-61
- William Taylor, Life in California, 1849-1855
- William Taylor, Preaching in California, 1849-56