Doing Research

In Sonoma County

Sonoma County Archives and Libraries

Archives

California Genealogical Society Library . . . Link

Free Records Collections Include:

The CGS NAMES INDEX, containing more than 410,000 records, is the index to our largest image collections and numerous physical books.

Members-Only Records Collections Include:

Resources Developed by CGS Members: 1920s Pedigree Chart Images; 1921 Our Ancestors; 1944 Genealogies; 1950s Pedigree Chart Images; Charles Francis Griffin M.D. Collection; Frank Covell Manuscript Collection; Frederick S. Sherman Collection; John Ellis Hale Collection;

San Francisco Congregational Church Records: Introduction; Baptisms – 1851 to 1948; First Congregational Church Membership Listing – 1849 to 1909; Marriages – BRIDE Index – 1897 to 1914/15; Marriages – BRIDE Index – 1920 to 1941; Marriages – GROOM Index – 1897 to 1914/15; Marriages – GROOM Index – 1920 to 1941; Third Congregational Church Membership Listing – 1863 to 1886;

Notices from San Francisco Newspapers: San Francisco Divorces 1889 reported in the San Francisco Chronicle; SF Births July 1, 1904 – June 30, 1905 as reported in the SF Call; SF Brides July 1, 1904 – June 30, 1905 marriage notices in the SF Call; SF Grooms July 1, 1904 – June 30, 1905 marriage notices in the SF Call;
SF Marriages 1891 notices in the SF Chronicle;

Early Arrivals in California: Enrollment Ledger of the Association of Territorial Pioneers
Peralta Family Tree

California State Archives . . . Link . . . Link to their Collections

Collections Include: California Constitutions; Family History Resources; Governor's Records; Legislative Resources; Local Government Records; Oral Histories; Photograph Collections; Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Investigation Records; Spanish and Mexican Land Grants; State Agencies and Constitutional Officers Records; Supreme and Appellate Court Records; Trademarks;

California State Library Online Catalogs . . . Link

Collections Include:

Online Catalogs (California State Library's multipurpose search tool for finding books, online resources (such as articles and e-books), photographs, videos and more!); Online Collections (Online Exhibits, Digital Collections, Picture Catalog); California History Room; Genealogy; Government Publications; Information Services; San Francisco Sutro Library (Bay Area Genealogy Calendar, Physical Collections, The Sutronian (BiWeekly Blog); Witkin Law Library;

California History Section Includes: California Books; Letters; Maps; Newspapers; Periodicals; Photographs; Ephemeral Items.

Santa Rosa Junior College Libraries . . . Link

Unfortunately you must be a SRJC student to search these online, I think they can be viewed in person though. The library has 60 Databases to search from. Six of those are History. They are: Academic Search Complete; America: History and Life with Full Text; History Reference Center; JSTOR; Shared Shelf.

Sonoma County Library (SCL): Local History . . . Link

Collections Include:

Oral History And Stories, Sonoma County Stories: California Listens -- Sonoma Wildfire Stories [Videos]; California Listens -- Stories About Being California [Videos]; History & Healing After the Fire [Videos]; Sonoma County Stories -- Voices From Where We Live [Videos].

Historical Photographs and Postcards: Don Meacham Photography Collection, 1934-1985; Luther Burbank Home & Garden Collection; SCL Photograph Collection; SCL Postcard Collection; Sonoma County Historical Society Collection; Western Sonoma County Historical Society Collection;

Topical Group-Agriculture: North Bay Diaries; Sonoma County Poultry Collection.

Maps, Plans and Ephemera: SCL Map Collection; Sonoma County Advertising and Marketing Collection; Sonoma County Architectural Drawing and Plans Collection;

Partner Collections: Luther Burbank Home & Gardens; Russian River Historical Society; SCHS Historical Photographs and Postcards; Sonoma County Bar Association; Sonoma County Fair; Sonoma Historian & The Journal; Western Sonoma County Historical Society;

Documents: Early Sonoma County High School Yearbooks and Student Publications; Grand Jury Reports; Historical Newspapers; Sonoma Historian & The Journal;

Sonoma County Wine Library . . . Link

The Wine Library currently subscribes to 40-plus magazines and journals.
Topical Group-Wine: Sonoma County Visionaries, about 1865-2005; Speaking of Wine; Biblioteca Vinaria Sonoma; Wine Photography Collection.

Sonoma State University Library . . . Link to Library . . . Link to their Collections. 

Special Collections & University Archives is home to Sonoma State University Library's rare books, archives, and manuscript collections. We provide a vibrant, interactive place to conduct research, engage in classes using original sources, and view changing exhibitions. We commit to a concerted focus on voices, knowledge, and memory-making practices historically excluded from the archival record.

Physical Collections Include:

Bill (William M.) Kortum Papers; Brenda Starr Comic Collection; C.O.A.A.S.T. Scrapbook Collection; California Folklore Miscellany; Charles Rhinehart Papers; Corrick Brown Santa Rosa Symphony Collection; Dawson Lime Kiln Photograph Collection; Dust Bowl Migration Archive; English Chapbook Collection; Ernest Hemingway Letters, Ernestine Smith Papers; Finley-McFarling Genealogy Collection ; Gaye LeBaron Collection; George McCabe Papers; Hector Lee Folklore Collection; Hoyt Earthquake Photograph Collection; Iva Warner Papers; Jack London Collection; John LeBaron Photograph Collection; John P. Crevelli Papers; John Schubert Russian River Collection; John Shackelford Taylor Papers; John W. Hudson Papers; Leopold Justi Papers; Lynn Woolsey Congressional Papers; Modini Ranch Journals Collection; Nakata and Stevens Papers; Nellie Tombs Papers; North Bay Ethnic Archive; Regional Newspapers Collection; Roland Hauck Papers; Roy Maxwell Talbot Papers; Simmons-Banta Photograph Collection; Sonoma County Agriculture, Land Use, and Tourism Collection; Sonoma County Highways; Sonoma County Oral History Project; Sonoma County Preservation Project; Sonoma County Women’s Oral History Collection; Walt Phillips Small Press Collection; Windsor Oral Histories;

Digital Collections Include:

California Folklore Digital Collection; Earthquake of 1906 Digital Collection; Environmental History Digital Collection; Gaye LeBaron Digital Collection; Lime Kiln Digital Collection; Modini Ranch Journals Digital Collection; Nellie Tombs Digital Collection; North Bay Digital Maps; North Bay Ethnic Digital Collection; Roy Maxwell Talbot Digital Collection; Sonoma County Agriculture, Land Use, and Tourism Digital Collection; Student Newspaper Digital Collection; Student Newspaper Index, 1960s–present; University Archives Digital Collection; Finley-McFarling Website and Database;

Other Sources Found Here:

Sonoma Historian Index . . . Link
Sonoma Historian Online . . . . Link
The cumulative index to the Sonoma Historian (1962 - 2021), the journal of the Sonoma County Historical Society, was maintained by the Sonoma State University Library Special Collections department for the historical society until the end of 2021, when the historical society ceased print publication of the journal.

Special Collections Include (May Change):   Link

Made in Amache: Objects from a Japanese American Incarceration Camp
Student Voices: Aa SSU Community Archive
Mapping Our Community: Gaye Lebaron And The Stories Of Sonoma County

The Sonoma County History Index . . . Link

The Sonoma County History Index - a database searchable by subject (places, names, events, etc.) - is a Sonoma County local history researcher's tool of first choice.

Western Sonoma County Historical Society . . . Link

Has a Newsletter: History Corner can be found at . . . Link

Libraries

List of All Libraries in Sonoma County, California . . . Link

California Genealogical Society Library . . . Link

California State Archives . . . Link

California State Library Online Catalogs . . . Link

Petaluma Museum Research Library . . . Link

Santa Rosa Junior College Libraries . . . Link

Sonoma County Library: Local History . . . Link

Sonoma County Wine Library . . . Link

Sonoma State University: Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center . . . Link