Kings County, California Genealogy

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

Kings County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting Kings 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 March 22, 1893
County Seat Hanford
Courthouse
CaliforniaKingsCourthouse.jpg
Address Kings County Courthouse
1400 W Lacey Blvd
Hanford, CA 93230
Phone 559.582.3211 Kings County Website


County Information[edit | edit source]

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

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records[1]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1893 1893 1993 1893 1893 1893 1850
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1905. General compliance by 1920.

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Kings County Courthouse
1400 W Lacey Blvd
Hanford, CA 93230
Phone 559.582.3211

County Clerk has birth marriage, death, divorce, probate,
court land and naturalization records from 1893[2]

Historical Facts[edit | edit source]

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

Parent County[edit | edit source]

22 March 1893: Kings County was created from Tulare County. County seat: Hanford [3]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Kings River after which the county was named. The County Seat is Hanford and was founded March 22, 1893. It is located in the central 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 Places[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 Kings, 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 Kings County cemeteries.

Census[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1900 9,871 —
1910 16,230 64.4%
1920 22,031 35.7%
1930 25,385 15.2%
1940 35,168 38.5%
1950 46,768 33.0%
1960 49,954 6.8%
1970 64,610 29.3%
1980 73,738 14.1%
1990 101,469 37.6%
2000 129,461 27.6%
2010 152,982 18.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Kings 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

  • Avenal
  • Hanford


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 Kings 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.

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]

Monterey CountyFresno CountyTulare CountyKern CountySan Luis Obispo CountyCA KINGS.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration[edit | edit source]

Military History and Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

World War I[edit | edit source]

World War II[edit | edit source]

Korean War[edit | edit source]

Vietnam War[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 Kings County, California Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

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 - Kings - Probate records.

Online Probate Records

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Archives, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]

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

Societies[edit | edit source]

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]

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kings 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), Kings 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, "Kings County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_County,_California 5/03/2017.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Kings County, California," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_County%2C_California, accessed 15 September 2019.
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