California

A History of California’s Great Hemet-San Jacinto Valley

Leave a Comment / California, Free Archives / 5 minutes of reading

“Down Memory Lane: A Historical Record of People and Events in California’s Great Hemet-San Jacinto Valley,” compiled by Homer D. King in an Anniversary Supplement to the Hemet News on September 15, 1960, offers a detailed and vibrant exploration of this unique area’s past and present. This comprehensive guide is an invaluable resource for genealogists, historians, and anyone fascinated by the intricate web of stories that constitute our collective past.

A History of California’s Great Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Read More »

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California

Leave a Comment / California, Free Archives / 5 minutes of reading

In the heart of Northern California lies a hidden gem steeped in history and natural beauty: Elk Valley in Del Norte County. This manuscript, titled “Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California: Fifty Years in the History of Elk Valley from 1850 to the Turn of the Century,” authored by Frances Turner McBeth, embarks on a vivid journey through the transformation of this enchanting valley over half a century. From the early days of exploration and settlement to the bustling activity of the turn of the century, McBeth’s narrative weaves together the lives of the pioneers who braved the unknown to establish a community in one of California’s most picturesque landscapes.

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California Read More »

Big Sandy Rancheria History

Leave a Comment / Native American, California / 3 minutes of reading

In 1909, the Big Sandy Rancheria of Auberry became a sanctuary for the Western Mono Indians, thanks to the Bureau of Indian Affairs securing 280 acres in California. However, the 1958 California Rancheria Act, which aimed at terminating the trust status of lands for 41 Rancherias including Big Sandy, marked the beginning of a challenging period. The Rancheria’s subsequent struggle with termination and the loss of federal support led to socioeconomic hardships. In a significant turnaround, a 1983 court decision restored the Rancheria’s status, offering a fresh start towards self-sufficiency.

Big Sandy Rancheria History Read More »

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants

2 Comments / Military, Alabama, America, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Featured, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming / 113 minutes of reading

This article helps you access the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants for free. Following two simple steps, one to search, and the other to browse the actual microfilms, you can quickly find your ancestors Revolutionary War pension record, or Bounty-Land record and download the images. During 1800-1900 the United States issued more than 80,000 pensions and bounty-land-warrants to soldiers of the Revolutionary War, their spouse, or their children. Was your ancestor one of them?

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants Read More »

1876-1878 Pacific Coast Business Directory

Leave a Comment / Free Archives, Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington / 5 minutes of reading

“The Pacific Coast Business Directory is intended to be a triennial publication, which will contain the name and post office address of each merchant, manufacturer, and professional engaged in business in the States and Territories bordering on or in the immediate vicinity of the Pacific Coast, with such information connected with the resources of that

1876-1878 Pacific Coast Business Directory Read More »

Descendants of John and Mary Howes of Montgomery County, Maryland

Leave a Comment / California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Free Archives, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania / 1 minute of reading

John Howes of Montgomery County, Maryland, was born ” … after 1740, m[arried] Mary_____, and d[ied] between November, 1808 and March 1809. He is buried in Laytonsville, Maryland with his mother, his brother James and daughter Sarah. About a year after his death his widow, Mary, went to Bucks County, Kentucky.”–P. 8. Descendants and relatives lived in Maryland, Kentucky, New York, Michigan, Ohio, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, D. C., Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

Descendants of John and Mary Howes of Montgomery County, Maryland Read More »

Descendants of Matthew Watson of Leicester, Massachusetts

2 Comments / Ohio, California, Free Archives, Genealogy, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island / 1 minute of reading

Matthew Watson (d. 1720), of English lineage, married Mary Orr in 1695, and in 1718 the family immigrated from Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts and settled in Leicester, Massachusetts. Descendants and relatives lived in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nebraska, Rhode Island, California, Nevada, Michigan and elsewhere. Includes Watson, Armington, Bemis, Denny, Draper, Kent, Washburn, Bailey, Barnard, Belcher, Bent, Biscoe, Bolles, Breckenridge, Bright, Browning, Bryant, Bullock, Burrage, Dennis, Fisher, Foster, Green, Hayward, Hobbs, Hodgkins, Holman, Howard, Jenks, Jones, Kellogg, Kitchell, Knight, Lazelle, Livermore, Loring, Mason, Maynard, Munger, Patrick, Prouty, Remington, Reed, Rice, Richardson, Rogers, Sadler, Sibley, Snow, Sprague, Stone, Studley, Symonds, Taitt, Thomas, Thompson, Trask, Tucker, Waite, Webster, Westcott, Wheeler, Whittermore, Wilson, Woods and related families.

Descendants of Matthew Watson of Leicester, Massachusetts Read More »

The Descendants of Franklin Mary Noyes Rowe of Humboldt County, Iowa

Leave a Comment / California, Free Archives, Genealogy, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin / 7 minutes of reading

Franklin Rowe, son of Lucy Stillwell and Lucian Rowe, was born in Onondaga County, New York, possibly at Manlius as his parents were married there March 16, 1826. Franklin was the youngest and eighth child, born December 30, 1836. He was the grandson of Ebenezer and Mary Rowe, his grandfather was born in 1772 and died February 16, 1828 and is buried in Christ Church cemetery at Manlius, New York, his name is in the 1820 census but not in that of 1810 so he must have come to Onondaga County between those dates but diligent search has not been rewarded with further information regarding the lineage of Franklin Rowe. He had the following brothers and sisters, whose names may not be given in order of birth: Elihu, Thaddeus, Charlotte, Caroline, Mary, Martha, and Lucy.

The Descendants of Franklin Mary Noyes Rowe of Humboldt County, Iowa Read More »

United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955

4 Comments / Alabama, America, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Featured, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming / 2 minutes of reading

3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds) granted by the Federal Government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), military bounty land warrants, private land claims, railroad grants, school grants, and swamp grants. Additional items of information included in the tract books are as follows: number of acres, date of sale, purchase price, land office, entry number, final Certificate of Purchase number, and notes on relinquishments and conversions.

United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955 Read More »

Sacramento California Police Mug Books 1864-1949

1 Comment / California, Colorado, Featured, Nevada, Oregon / 7 minutes of reading

Mug Books of the past have been replaced by computer databases now, but back before the days of computers and databases, they served as an effective method for Police Departments to keep track of past criminals and wanted people. The Sacramento Police Department has generously provided these scanned images to archive.org for free access to everyone. If you are not aware if one of your ancestors may have been arrested for a crime, then I suggest you first search the newspaper records available online for free of Sacramento California, so that you have a year span to choose from. Unless you’re like me and just like perusing the old mug shots…

Sacramento California Police Mug Books 1864-1949 Read More »

Chronicling America Historical Newspapers

America, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Free Archives, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, News, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming / 120 minutes of reading

Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

Chronicling America Historical Newspapers Read More »

California World War 2 Casualties – Army, Air Force

1 Comment / California, Military / 1 minute of reading

This database contains War Department casualties (Army and Army Air Force personnel) from World War II for California. Information provided includes serial number, rank and type of casualty. The birthplace or residence of the deceased is not indicated. An introduction explaining how the list was compiled, a statistical tabulation, and the descriptions of the types of casualties incurred are also included.

California World War 2 Casualties – Army, Air Force Read More »

Small Town Newspapers

1 Comment / America, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Featured, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming / 9 minutes of reading

Small Town Papers gives you free access to the people, places and events recorded in real time over the decades or even centuries! Browse and search the scanned newspaper archive from 1846 up to the current edition! Their archives contain millions of names of ancestors not found anywhere else. Enhance your Ancestry research with their high resolution scanned newspaper archive. Find distant relatives and discover your ethnic heritage by reading the articles about family and friends written back in the day.

Small Town Newspapers Read More »

Ancestry of Herbert Isam Mitchell of Brockton, MA

Leave a Comment / Genealogy, California, Massachusetts / 10 minutes of reading

The family bearing the name of Mitchell is one of the oldest in the New World, its progenitor being Experience Mitchell, who came over in 1623 in the “Ann,” and from that time to the present the records of various towns of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, chiefly Plymouth, Duxbury and the Bridgewaters, bear mute testimony of the prominence in peace and war of the members of the family in the different generations, and the present head of the family in Brockton, Isam Mitchell, president of Isam Mitchell & Co., lumber dealers and contractors, and his son, the late Herbert Isam Mitchell, active in business with his father and prominent in fraternal circles, have proved themselves firm in purpose and able in business.

Ancestry of Herbert Isam Mitchell of Brockton, MA Read More »

Wiyot Tribe

Leave a Comment / California, Native American / 5 minutes of reading

A small tribe, whose name Powell adopted for the Wishoskan linguistic family, on the coast of North California about Humboldt Bay. The word seems to be a misapplication of their own name for their Athapascan neighbors, Wishashk. Wiyot, which has sometimes been used as an equivalent, is therefore probably a better term than Wishosk, though not entirely exact.

Wiyot Tribe Read More »

Chronological Record of Police Appointments City and County of San Francisco

Leave a Comment / California, Free Archives / 4 minutes of reading

This free collection contains three volumes of handwritten manuscripts which depict the chronological record of police appointments for the city and county of San Francisco from Oct 1853 – Nov 1947. They are set up in a ledger format with an index at the front of each volume. The volumes, since they are handwritten, are not searchable.

Chronological Record of Police Appointments City and County of San Francisco Read More »

Pin It on Pinterest

Scroll to Top