Doing Research

In Sonoma County

Marriage Resources for Sonoma County

Resources Provided by the Sonoma County Genealogical Society

I put these resources first because I know they are Sonoma County focused.

These resources are available in printed version for purchase, and most will have a viewable index for Free.

~ Marriages License Affidavits, 1861-1921, Sonoma County, California: Volume 1 (A-F) . . . Printed  . . . Index

~ Marriages License Affidavits, 1861-1921, Sonoma County, California: Volume 2 (G-M) . . . Printed . . . Index

~ Marriages License Affidavits, 1861-1921, Sonoma County, California: Volume 3 (N-Z) . . . Printed . . . Index

~ Marriages License Affidavits, 1861-1921, Sonoma County, California: Volume 4 (Bride index) . . . Printed . . . Index

* The Bride Index is VERY large and takes a while to load. Use the "Find on Page" option in your Web Browser for easier searches.

Searching For Marriage Records

Marriage records in Sonoma County began to be recorded in 1846. The County Clerk has marriage records for events occurring in Sonoma County from 9/23/1846 to the present.

Ancestry Marriage Databases (These require membership):

In all the below collections I found at least 1 entry with an event in Sonoma County, though it may not necessarily be the Marriage that happened in Sonoma County. Most collections are for ALL California, but you can narrow searches down by putting Sonoma County in "Any Event: Location" field.

~ California Biographical Collection: Responses to Vital Record Inquiries, 1822-1964 . . . Link

~ California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 . . . Link

~ California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959 . . . Link

~ California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985 . . . Link

~ California, U.S., Select Marriages, 1850-1945 . . . Link

~ U.S., Evangelical Covenant Church, Swedish American Church Records, 1868-1970 . . . Link

~ U.S., Evangelical Free Church of America, Swedish American Church Records, 1842-1947 Results . . . Link

~ U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 . . . Link

~ U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947 . . . Link

~ U.S., Newspaper Marriage Index, 2002-2015 (Though I couldn’t find any Sonoma County at this time, that may change.) . . . Link

~ U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current . . . Link

~ U.S., Special Census on Deaf Family Marriages and Hearing Relatives, 1888-1895 . . . Link 

~ Web: Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2016 . . . Link

Marriage Records at FamilySearch: 

Add Link to Database here

Searching For Divorce Records

Ancestry Divorce Databases (These require membership):

~ California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984 . . . Link

Searchable Resources That Are Not Marriage Specific

These sources are not specifically marriage based, but may include spouses names and information.

~ California Biographical Collection: Responses to Vital Record Inquiries, 1822-1964 . . . Link
~ California, Biographical Index Cards, 1781-1990 . . . Link
~ California, U.S., Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950 (May or may not include marriage info.) . . . Link
~ California, U.S., World War I Soldier Service Cards and Photos, 1917-1918 (May or may not include a SPOUES name.) . . . Link
~ U.S., Published Quaker Family Histories, 1845-1920 (This data collection includes more than 100 volumes of histories related to Quaker families. They can be a trove of family information, with names, dates, relationships, photographs, stories, even pedigree charts.) . . . Link

Obtaining a Record

~ Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder (1858 on) . . . Link  OR  Link

~ Sonoma County Clerk's Office Marriage Applications . . . Link

~ To Order Sonoma County Birth Records . . . Link