Source Information

California State Library
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Biographical Collection: Responses to Vital Record Inquiries, 1822-1964 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data:

Miscellaneous Card Indexes; Vital Statistics Index (1900–1951). Microfilm 734, reels 14–23. California State Library, California History Section, Sacramento, California.

About California, U.S., Biographical Collection: Responses to Vital Record Inquiries, 1822-1964

This database contains biographical information on cards created by California State Library employees responding to vital records inquiries.

What’s in the Records

When responding to queries for details about births, marriages, divorces, deaths, and proof of citizenship, California State Library employees created these cards summarizing their answers. The library did not have access to the vital records themselves, so responses included references to city directories and obituaries and notices of marriages and births in California newspapers, transcribed entries from California voter registers (Great Registers), and other sources. Cards mention unsuccessful searches as well.

The cards mention the request and may include names, places, dates, and sources for events such as births, marriages, divorces, deaths, and naturalizations. Most of the requests were made in the 1930s.