Mendocino County, California Genealogy

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Guide to Mendocino County, California ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Mendocino County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting Mendocino County
Location in the state of California, United States Genealogy
Map of the U.S. highlighting California
Location of California in the U.S.
Facts
Founded February 18, 1850
County Seat Ukiah
Courthouse
CaliforniaMendocinoCourthouse.jpg
Address Mendocino County Courthouse
501 Low Gap Rd Rm 1090
Ukiah, CA 95482
Phone 707.463.4221 Mendocino County Website


County Information[edit | edit source]

Mendocino County, California Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records[1]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1859 1859 1859 1858 1852 1872 1850
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1905. General compliance by 1920.

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

 Superior Court has divorce and court records and probate
records from 1872;County Recorder has birth, marriage,
death and land records. Some old records in Sonoma County[2]

Historical Facts[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia
 Wikipedia has more about this subject: Mendocino County, California

Parent County[edit | edit source]

18 February 1850: Mendocino County was created as an original California county at statehood. County seat: Ukiah [3]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named from Cape Mendocino (most of which is actually located in adjacent Humboldt County), which was probably named in honor of either Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–1542 (who sent the Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Expedition to this coast in 1542), or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, Viceroy from 1580 to 1583. The county seat Ukiah and the county was created February 18, 1850. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.[4]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

For animated maps illustrating California county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation California County Boundary Maps" (1850-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities[edit | edit source]

Populated Place[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]

Cities
Unincorporated communities
Native American communities
Census-designated places


Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Mendocino, California online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See California Cemeteries for more information

The following web site may have additional information on Mendocino County cemeteries.

Census[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1850 55 —
1860 3,967 7112.7%
1870 7,545 90.2%
1880 12,800 69.6%
1890 17,612 37.6%
1900 20,465 16.2%
1910 23,929 16.9%
1920 24,116 0.8%
1930 23,505 −2.5%
1940 27,864 18.5%
1950 40,854 46.6%
1960 51,059 25.0%
1970 51,101 0.1%
1980 66,738 30.6%
1990 80,345 20.4%
2000 86,265 7.4%
2010 87,841 1.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Mendocino County, California Genealogy census records online, see: California Census.

Church History and Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about California denominations, view the California Church Records wiki page.

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Ukiah


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Crime and Criminals[edit | edit source]

Directories[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Germans[edit | edit source]

Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Mendocino County, California Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section California Local Histories.

The two principal histories of Mendocino County are Lyman Palmer, History of Mendocino County, California... (San Francisco, Cal.: Alley, Bowen & Co., 1880) and Aurelius O. Carpenter and Percy H. Millberry, History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California... (Los Angeles, Cal.: Historic Record Co., 1914). Both cover the early history and settlement of the county and include several biographical sketches and some portraits.

There are two notable autobiographies of Ukiah residents. The first is by horticulturalist Carl Purdy, My Life and My Times (Naturegraph Press, 1976). Purdy (1861-1845) migrated to Ukiah in 1870 and lived there the remainder of his life. His story includes much local Ukiah valley history as he observed it. The other volume was written by Ukiah native and retired judge Lilburn Gibson, Some reminiscences of my seventy-four years in Mendocino County (1966). The judge was born in Ukiah in 1892 to a family that migrated to Mendocino County in the 1850s.

The "wild west" character of the county is demonstrated by the Frost-Coates feud, beginning in Willits in the 1860s. This story is recounted in John Boessenecker, Badge and Buckshot: Lawlessness in Old California (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988).

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See California Land and Property for additional information about early California land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Maps[edit | edit source]

Humboldt CountyTrinity CountyTehama CountyGlenn CountyLake CountySonoma CountyCA MENDOCINO.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration[edit | edit source]

Military History and Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Regiments. Service men in Mendocino County, California Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Mendocino County, California Genealogy:

- 1st Battalion Mountaineers, California Infantry (Union), Company E
World War I[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Mendocino County, California Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

The first Mendocino County newspaper was the Mendocino Herald published by Edwin R. Budd (1818-1875) on 9 November 1860. Previous to that time the principal newspaper for the county was the Sonoma Democrat, also published by Budd in Santa Rosa. His biography can be found in Lyman Palmer, History of Mendocino County, California... (San Francisco, Cal.: Alley, Bowen & Co., 1880), 628-629. A summary of the early history of the press in Ukiah is found in Aurelius O. Carpenter and Percy H. Millberry, History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California... (Los Angeles, Cal.: Historic Record Co., 1914), 72-73.

The largest collection of county newspapers is held by the Held-Poage Research Library of the Mendocino County Historical Society. The collection includes paper copies of older papers as well as the most complete microfilmed collection of county newspapers. Current newspapers are only archived for Ukiah. The library also maintains a Clipped Obituary File. Other current county newspapers are combed for vital records and then discarded. An index to obituaries and vital records from newspapers (though not complete) is available from the web site.

Microfilmed newspapers at Held-Poage:

Arena Register (1884-1886)
Constitutional Democrat (1863-1865)
Covelo Review (1904-1907)
Democratic Weekly Dispatch (1875-1881)
Fort Bragg Advocate (1890-1929)
Frontier Gazette (Covelo) (1960-1971)
Independent Weekly Dispatch (1874-1875)
Little Lake Herald (1901-1910)
Mendocino Beacon (1878-1979)
Mendocino County Democrat (1865)
Mendocino County Press (1871-1872)
Mendocino County Republican (1888-1889)
Mendocino Democrat (1865-1889)
Mendocino Dispatch Democrat (1881-1899)
Mendocino Herald (1861-1870)
Point Arena News (1878)
Point Arena Record (1877-1930)
Redwood Journal (1929-1954)
Round Valley News (1972-1993)
Sonoma Democrat (1857-1862)
Ukiah City Press (1877-1889)
Ukiah Daily Journal (1954-Present)
Ukiah Independent (1886-1888)
Ukiah News (1950-1956)
Ukiah Republican Press (1889-1949)
Ukiah Times (1912-1917)
West Coast Star (1874-1877)
Willits News (1892-1989).

The Mendocino County Library archives some county newspapers in its three main branches as follows:

  • Ukiah Branch repeats the Held-Poage microfilm holdings of Mendocino Herald, Dispatch Democrat, Ukiah Republican Press and Redwood Journal with some gaps, and the complete Ukiah Daily Journal (1954-present).
  • Fort Bragg Branch has microfilm of the Fort Bragg Advocate (1890-1929 and 1996-present), and the Mendocino Beacon (1878-1982 and 1998-present).
  • Willits Branch has holdings of the Willits News (1892-present), as well as the Little Lake Herald (1901-1910) and the Covelo Review (1904-1907).

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

The county clerk is usually the custodian of probate records. The records include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

You can obtain copies of the original probate records (such as wills and estate files) by writing to the county clerk at the county courthouse.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for California - Mendocino - Probate records.

Online Probate Records

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Archives, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]

The Mendocino County Library archives some county newspapers in its three main branches as follows:

  • Ukiah Branch repeats the Held-Poage microfilm holdings of Mendocino Herald, Dispatch Democrat, Ukiah Republican Press and Redwood Journal with some gaps, and the complete Ukiah Daily Journal (1954-present).
  • Fort Bragg Branch has microfilm of the Fort Bragg Advocate (1890-1929 and 1996-present), and the Mendocino Beacon (1878-1982 and 1998-present).
  • Willits Branch has holdings of the Willits News (1892-present), as well as the Little Lake Herald (1901-1910) and the Covelo Review (1904-1907).

The Mendocino County Museum in Willits has also published a number of historical works, e.g., John Keller, As I remember Ukiah: history, stories and memories (2002).

The Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House is, in addition to the Held-Poage Library, the major repository of local history collections. Named for local artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937), the museum is located behind her 1911 craftsman home, the Sun House. The Museum collections include not only her artwork of local subjects, but also the writings of her mother Helen McGowen Carpenter and the photographs and writings of her father Aurelius O. Carpenter, both early Mendocino County immigrants (1850s). A recent publication of the museum is Marvin A. Schenck, et al., Aurelius O. Carpenter: Photographer of the Mendocino Frontier (2006).

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Libraries

Fort Bragg California Family History Center

Societies[edit | edit source]

The Mendocino County Historical Society has published several items, one of the more ambitious projects being Bruce Levene, et al., Mendocino County remembered: an oral history, 2 vols. (1976). The Society also publishes a quarterly Newsletter. The Held-Poage Research Library in Ukiah is maintained by the Society and contains the most complete collection of historical and genealogical materials relating to the county.

Taxation[edit | edit source]

California tax records complement land records and can supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see the wiki page California Taxation.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. See the CDC Where to Write website for information on acquiring copies of these records. The State office has records since July 1905. For earlier records, contact the County Recorder. See also How to order California Vital Records

Birth[edit | edit source]
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Death[edit | edit source]

Voting Registers[edit | edit source]

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Anderson Valley Historical Society
P.O. Box 676
Boonville, CA 95415
Phone: 707-895-3207

Mendocino Historical Research
Kelley House Museum
45007 Albion Street (P.O. Box 922)
Mendocino, CA 95460

Mendocino County Historical Society, Inc.
603 West Perkins Street
Ukiah, CA 95482-4726
Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

U.S. Census Bureau. 2000 Census.


  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Mendocino County, California. Page 84-88 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 81-83.
  2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Mendocino County, California. Page 85 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mendocino County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendocino_County,_California 05/04/2017.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mendocino County, California," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendocino_County,_California#Communities, accessed 17 September 2019.

 



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