San Francisco County CAGenWeb

                                                                      

 My name is Bob Jenkins and I am the San Francisco County Coordinator.
 
 We have many genealogical resources available here.

 We would appreciate any contributions you would like to  make to this site.

San Francisco County, California

San Francisco County began as the homeland of the Ohlone peoples, whose villages surrounded the Bay long before European contact. Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) in 1776, creating the region’s first permanent European settlements. After Mexico gained independence in 1821, the mission system declined and ranchos spread across the peninsula. The United States assumed control in 1846 during the Mexican‑American War, and San Francisco became one of California’s original counties when the state was admitted in 1850.

During the 1850s, the city struggled to keep pace with the explosive population growth brought on by the Gold Rush. The 1860s brought continued expansion as the Pony Express and new railroad connections linked San Francisco to the East Coast. The 1870s were marked by major civic improvements, including the creation of Golden Gate Park and the launch of the first cable car system, though the decade ended with economic hardship. Military activity at the Presidio increased during the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s, contributing to further development. Despite a national depression in the 1890s, the city continued to grow.

At the start of the 20th century, renewed optimism accompanied the nation’s recovery—until 1906, when a devastating earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city. The disaster caused extensive loss of early county records, leaving pre‑1906 documents sparse or nonexistent. For genealogists, this makes later records, newspapers, church registers, directories, passenger lists, and federal sources essential for reconstructing family histories in San Francisco.

San Francisco county record images at FamilySearch. These are not indexed, but if you know the timeframe that relates to your ancestor you can browse through the images. A Lot of good info here. San Francisco Passenger & Chinese Immigration Records California, San Francisco, Passenger Lists, 1893–1953 FamilySearch Image Index California, San Francisco Chinese Passenger Lists, 1882–1947 FamilySearch Collection San Francisco, Records of Chinese Laborers Returning to the U.S., 1882–1888 FamilySearch Collection

 

The CAGenWeb Project sincerely thanks the dedicated volunteers who devoted time and effort toward making this site a successful one: Pamela Storm-Wolfskill (1996 – 2006) Ron Filion (Co-Coordinator, 2002 – 2006) Joyce Pilgrim (2006 – 2016) Linda Simpson (2016 – 2022) Denise Wells (2022 – 2023)