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Searchable online databases
For nearly 40 years, the members of SMCGS have worked with County and Federal Institutions to create the record indexes and transcriptions that are listed on this page. For each record collection, the SEARCH link will take you to separate website with our searchable databases. Return to this page for more information on each database. The ABOUT link will take you to a PDF file describing the collection and where to obtain copies. In a few cases, the PDF button will take you to a PDF publication of the index or records rather than to a searchable database.
The databases contain indexes to records. To obtain full copies of the records held by SMCGS, please see our Research Services page. Those documents held by other agencies should be ordered through that agency. SMCGS does not provide off site research services.
The following links are shortcuts to the various record types. You can return to the top of the page by clicking on the Top link at the bottom of each section.
Birth & Marriage * Death & Substitutes * Court And Criminal * Land and Maps * Naturalization * Recorder's Office * Institutional * Schools * Historical & Biographical * NARA - Pacific * Inventories * Publications
Birth and Marriage
San Mateo County Marriage Index : 1853-1948 ABOUT SEARCH
An index of the San Mateo County Marriage Certificates from the earliest times to the end of 1948 when the state index begins.
San Mateo Times Gazette Index : 1859-1899 PDF
An index to vital statistics listed in the San Mateo Times Gazette. The paper is available on microfilm in the Redwood City Main Library.
Index to SMC Births ABOUT SEARCH
SMCGS amended the California Birth index that is online on various websites, adding book and page numbers to aid the SMC Recorder's office in locating records. Additionally records that predate the CA birth index were added, including delayed birth records which were mainly filed about the time Social Security went into effect. Order all birth records directly from the County; their website gives explicit instructions.
Index to San Mateo County Deaths - Earliest to 1920 ABOUT SEARCH
Included in this index are Register 1 1873 to 1906 and Certificate Books A-D covering the years 1880-1920. Many of these deaths were filed at a later date.
Index to SMC Coroner's Records 1856-1984 ABOUT SEARCH
Compiled by Russ Brabec with a little help, this index covers Coroner's records from the beginning of the county to 1984. The index includes, name, age, nativity, residence at time of death, and cause of death as well as case number and box where the original file is located.
James Crowe Register of Deaths : 1880s – 1920s ABOUT SEARCH
James Crowe (1841-1913) was an undertaker who served as the coroner for San Mateo County for many years.
Public Administrator's Reports ABOUT SEARCH
When there is no one to administer an estate it falls into the hands of the Public Administrator. These reports cover 1880 and then 1897 through 1960 with about a dozen missing years. They include names, dates, amount of the estate and costs. Various years include other information.
Index to San Mateo County Obituaries ABOUT SEARCH
Nearly 80,000 entries for obituaries of San Mateo County residents. Over 75,000 have been scanned and are available from SMCGS see the research page for more information on obtaining copies.
Layng & Tinney Mortuary File ABOUT SEARCH
Index to the Layng & Tinney Mortuary File Collection housed in the San Mateo County Genealogical Society Library. Contact SMCGS Research to obtain a copy of the contents of a file.
Mortuary Files of Valente, Marini, Perata & Co ABOUT SEARCH
The firm of Valente, Marini, Perata and Co. was established in San Francisco in 1888. 129 years later it has closed its doors and donated its records to the Colma Historical Association. This an index to the records at CHA. In includes over 54000 records kept in ledgers, journals and books from 1888 to 1994 and some records from databases from 1994 until the doors closed.
Early Court Records ABOUT SEARCH
An index to Court Minute and Record Books located in the San Mateo County Historical Association Archives.
Appeals & Venue Changes ABOUT SEARCH
Papers Concerning Appeals from Justice Courts and Change of Venue to San Mateo County Superior Court 1882-1930
Lis Pendens Index ABOUT SEARCH
Notifications filed with the County that a lawsuit had been filed involving property within the county1850s through the early 1900s.
Index to Abstracts of Judgement ABOUT SEARCH
judgments from Township courts in San Mateo County and a variety of courts in other counties. It does not include Judgments made by the Superior Court of San Mateo County.
Jury Lists 1908-1932 ABOUT SEARCH
Sheriff's Office Booking Registers ABOUT SEARCH
An index to Vol 7-12 and 14-16 with over 60,000 entries.
Early Land Records ABOUT SEARCH
Index to Early Patent Registers, Mortgage Registers and Deeds
Sheriff's Sales, Executions and Attachments 1856-1929 ABOUT SEARCH
An index to Certificates located in file drawers in the San Mateo County Record Repository
Sales by the County Tax Collector 1857-1894 ABOUT SEARCH
Index to volumes 1-4 San Mateo County Homesteads 1860 - 1913
Unrecorded Maps ABOUT
An index to 54 volumes of subdivision maps. Names were added to the maps by the county Assessors Office in the first few decades of the 20th century. The SMC Public Works Department Surveying Department has photographed the maps which are available on their website.
Index to Names on San Mateo County Maps ABOUT
An ongoing index to the names on various county maps
Water Appropriation Applications ABOUT SEARCHApplications for the rights to previously unappropriated state water
Lease Index 1856-1921 ABOUT SEARCH
An Index to recorded leases 1856-1921
Tidelands Surveys 1868-1878 PDF
A copy of the Tideland Survey book omitting blank pages.
Naturalization and Electoral Records
Many San Mateo County Naturalization Records have been digitized by FamilySearch. Use the indexes here to find the key to these records. ABOUT
Naturalizations Prior to 25 Sep 1906 PDF
Index to the Naturalization Records of San Mateo County. Includes Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen, Petitions and Certificates. These records are available unindexed on FamilySearch.
Naturalization 1907-1925 PDF
Index to the Naturalization Records of San Mateo County. Includes Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen, Petitions and Certificates. These records are available unindexed on FamilySearch.
Naturalization 1926-1945 PDF
Index to the Naturalization Records of San Mateo County. Includes Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen, Petitions and Certificates. These records are available unindexed on FamilySearch.
Naturalization 1946+ PDF
Index to the Naturalization Records of San Mateo County. Includes Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen, Petitions and Certificates. These records are available unindexed on FamilySearch.
Camp Fremont Naturalization Records PDF
Those non-citizens who served in the US Forces during WWI were able to become naturalized before they were discharged. This is an index to the 13 volumes of Petitions of those who were discharged from Camp Fremont (Menlo Park) in 1918 and 1919. No Declaration of Intention was required.
Naturalized Voters SEARCH
In order to vote, it was necessary to provide information on naturalization if you were foreign born. The county created a card file of those who had done so, the information included might provide not only a place of naturalization, but also a date, the name of the person who was naturalized (in the case of a wife or child), a marriage date and the voting district the person was living in at the time they provided the information. This file is a transcription of an index card file circa 1930. All the information from the original cards has been transcribed into the database.
Board of Supervisors Minutes ABOUT SEARCH IMAGES
Images to Board of Supervisor Minute Books 1857-1940. Index is an ongoing project.
Miscellaneous Recordings ABOUT SEARCH
Miscellaneous Registers ABOUT SEARCH
An index to volumes 1-7 of San Mateo County Miscellaneous Registers
Index to the Register of Separate Property of Married and Sole Traders (1856-1913)
Index to Mechanic's Liens ABOUT SEARCH
index to Mechanics Liens Volumes 1-7
Official/Surety Bonds ABOUT SEARCH
Elections ABOUT
Professional Registers ABOUT SEARCH
An index to Registers of Physicians, Surgeons & Optometrists, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Pharmacists, Dentists and Dental Hygenists
Cancelled Architects who had practiced in San Mateo County ABOUT SEARCH
Brands Brand Book 1 Brand Book 2 SEARCH
Two PDF files showing brands and an index of brands originally filed in other counties 1876 to 1921.
San Mateo County Poor Farm ABOUT
- Inmate List SEARCH A listing of those who were admitted to the SMC Poor Farm /Hospital and those buried there.
- County Poor Farm Employees SEARCH compiled from Census records and Treasurer's Book located at SMCHA.
- County Poor Farm Reports 1903-1905 PDF clippings attached to the Day book 1897-1929
- Sources for County Poor Farm Records PDF
- Index to County Poor Farm Contracts 1912-1917 PDF
- County Poor Farm Income & Expense Reports 1916-1920 PDF
Record of Orphans, Half-Orphans, etc. ABOUT SEARCH
A List of Children supported by the County between 1910-1915
List of Indigents ABOUT SEARCH
Supported by San Mateo County between January 1904 and January 1915.
1907 School Funding Petition PDF Drawer 31 in the SMC record repository.
Trustee Petition For More Funds 1920 PDF Drawer 31 in the SMC record repository.
Index to San Mateo County Histories ABOUT SEARCH
The Student Monograph Collection at the SMCHA Archives ABOUT SEARCH Index by Craig Siulinski
SMCGS Clipping File ABOUT
A collection of articles about San Mateo County residents
The Richard Schellens Collection of Historical Materials ABOUT
- California
- San Mateo County
- San Francisco
- Other CA Counties All counties except San Mateo and San Francisco
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- Name Index SEARCH
- The Other States Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington
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- Name Index SEARCH
- References SEARCH
The indexes in this section were created by Martha Wallace. Contact Nara Pacific Region - SF which is located in San Bruno for an appointment to view the records
Admiralty Case Files 1855-1863 PDF
NARA Record Group 21 - Cases on appeal from the Northern and Southern Districts of California. Cases involve ships with too many passengers, abandoned contracts, damaged goods, cargo not paid for, workers not paid, mistreatment of passengers, and Panama & NIcaragua crossings.
Equity Case Files 1855-1863 PDF
Cases involve land claims, land sales, mining claims, mortgages, lands in San Mateo, San Francisco (many water lots), Santa Clara, and Alameda counties and others in Northern California, patent infringement (telegraph, crushing quartz to get gold, gold digger fork, self-rising flour, mould grooving machine, boxes for axles & gudgeons, rice hullers), cutting down trees, ferries in San Francisco Bay, people like John Charles Fremont, Maria Bernal de Bereyesa, Wm T Sherman, James Phelan, Samuel F B Morse as plaintiffs and defendants. RG 21 - Arranged in 3 groupings: Private cases (boxes 1-12 - cases 1-116), Southern District case 2 (Farnham v. Russell)(box 13) and U.S. cases (box 14 cases 1-4).
Private Common Law Cases 1855-1863 PDF
Arranged numerically by case file number. The parties in cases in this series are private individuals, corporations, and municipal governments. The United States is not a party in any case. Cases involve ejectment (wrongful occupation of lands, squatters), patent fraud, import impoundment, promissory notes, water lots in San Francisco, unpaid taxes and unpaid moneys, lands in Oakland (Kellersburger map), San Mateo (Rancho de las Pulgas), Santa Clara (Guadalupe Mines), John C Fremont, Pacific Mail Steamship Company, trips across the Isthmus of Panama, Gustave Touchard, and more. These cases are very local and tell great stories of California in its early statehood. - Record Group 21, Records of District Court of the United States - U.S. Circuit Court for Districts of California
Criminal Case Files 1863-1917 PDF
An index to more than 2000 case files, in 63 boxes and two docket books. Criminal cases heard in Federal Court include tax cases, civil rights cases, admiralty cases and other violations of federal laws.
Index to Fair Employment Practices Committee Cases PDF
In 1941, President Roosevelt ordered that all industry essential to the war effort be non-discriminatory in all hiring practices without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. Workers who felt that discrimination had occurred could file a formal complaint with the FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Committee, 1941-1945) and the situation would be investigated and changes made where appropriate and possible. The records for northern California, Portland, and Seattle produced in the San Francisco office of the FEPC, Region 12, contain letters, complaint forms, and more, and are stored in RG 228 at the National Archives, Pacific Region, San Francisco, California (located in San Bruno). • A complete indexing of these files is in the attached PDF • Contact NARA in San Bruno to set up an appointment to see the files.
Inventory of County Records SEARCH
An inventory of original San Mateo County records, listing repository, online copies and online indexes. This is a work in progress, contributions are welcome.
Inventory of the County Archives of California #42 San Mateo County PDF
Historical Records Survey: Division of Women's and Professional Projects, Works Progress Administration. San Francisco California, The Historical Records Survey, June 1938. A scanned copy showing location of records throughout San Mateo County in 1938.
Identification of the Historical Records of the State of California PDF
March Fong Eu, Secretary of State; California State Archives 1981
Bibliography of San Mateo County Publications SEARCH
A Bibliography of published materials on San Mateo County genealogy, history and biography. This is a work in progress, contributions are welcome.
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Sunset View Cemetery: Cemetery for the Paupers and Indigent of San Francisco PDF
(c) 2015 Russell R Brabec
San Mateo County Genealogical Society SMCGS is a 501(c)(3) organization | PO Box 230 |
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