Inyo County, California Genealogy

United States

California

Inyo County

Guide to Inyo County, California ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

California Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Independence Organized: March 22, 1866 Parent County(s): Mono, Tulare Neighboring Counties Clark (NV) • Esmeralda (NV) • Fresno • Kern • Mono • Nye (NV) • San Bernardino • Tulare See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Inyo County was created 22 Mar 1866 and was named for the Imperial Valley, which was named for the Native American word for the mountains in the area. The meaning of the word inyo is "dwelling place of the great spirit." Its county seat is Independence. It is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Inyo County Courthouse
168 N Edwards St.
Independence, CA 93526
Phone: 760-872-3038
Inyo County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1904, marriage and land records from 1866 and mining records from 1872

Inyo County, California Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1904	1866	1904	1866	1866	1866	1850
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1905. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

Inyo Co. Courthouse was destroyed by an earthquake March 26, 1872. On June 30, 1886 a fire broke out in a vacant building in Independence and destroyed thirty-eight buildings. Although the county records and most of the furniture were saved, the courthouse was one of the buildings destroyed. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Mono and Tulare Counties, on 22 March 1866. County Seat: Independence California Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county California Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating California county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Bishop
Unincorporated communities
Calvada Springs	Deep Springs	Laws
American Indian Communities
Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley Bishop Paiute Tribe	Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe	Timbisha
Census-designated places
Big Pine Cartago Darwin Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek Furnace Creek Homewood Canyon Independence	Keeler Lone Pine Mesa Olancha Pearsonville Round Valley	Shoshone Tecopa Trona Valley Wells West Bishop Wilkerson

Resources

Biographies

• Index to Inyo County Biographies (CAGenWeb Project)
• Index to Inyo County Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)
• Inyo County Biographies (Genealogy Trails)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Inyo, California online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves USGW Tombstone Transcription Project Interment.net
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Catalog WorldCat.org
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places
See California Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

For online censuses (state and federal) and for more information, see California Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	1,956	—
1880	2,928	49.7%
1890	3,544	21.0%
1900	4,377	23.5%
1910	6,974	59.3%
1920	7,031	0.8%
1930	6,555	−6.8%
1940	7,625	16.3%
1950	11,658	52.9%
1960	11,684	0.2%
1970	15,571	33.3%
1980	17,895	14.9%
1990	18,281	2.2%
2000	17,945	−1.8%
2010	18,546	3.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• 1870 Inyo County Census Files (USGenWeb Archives)
• 1880 Inyo County 1880 Mortality Schedule (Genealogy Trails)

Church Records

Church records vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. Usually listed on the town level, they may contain ages, dates (baptism, christening, birth, marriage, death), maiden names, and more. See also California Church Records.

• 1864-1985 California, Church Records, 1864-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Churches in Inyo County, California (Genealogy Trails)

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Bishop

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary
  

Funeral Homes

Brune Mortuary in Bishop Mt. Whitney Funeral Home in Lone Pine

Land and Property Records

Land and property records provide exact location of land, often reveal family relationships, and give names of witnesses and neighbors. They include deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents. See California Land and Property for online resources, including early land grants. Online Land Indexes and Records

• Index to Inyo County Land Records (USGenWeb Archives)
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Inyo County. Histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see California Local Histories.

• The Story of Inyo. By Willie A. Chalfant. Chicago, Illinois : W.A. Chalfant, 1922. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of California (1850-1925)
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

• 1906-1935 California, Pioneer Migration Index, Compiled 1906-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Military Records

• 1883 Inyo County List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)

World War I

• 1914-1918 California, Geographical and Name Index of Californians who served in WWI, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II

• Inyo County WWII Army Enlistments, Surnames A-G (USGenWeb Archives)
• Inyo County WWII Army Enlistments, Surnames H-M (USGenWeb Archives)
• Inyo County WWII Army Enlistments, Surnames N-V (USGenWeb Archives)
• Inyo County WWII Army Enlistments, Surnames W-Z (USGenWeb Archives)
• Honor List of Dead and Missing WWII, Inyo County, California (Genealogy Trails)

Newspapers

• California, U.S., Newspapers.com Stories and Events Index at Ancestry — index & images ($)

• 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
• California Digital Newspaper Collection at UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research
• California, U.S., Newspapers.com Stories and Events Index at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

• Inyo County Vital Records and Obituaries (CAGenWeb Project)
• Inyo County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1866-1898 California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1866-1910 California, Great Registers, 1866-1910 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Probate Records

Probate records include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. They may give the decedent's date of death, names and residences of spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, and others. For online records and more information, see California Probate Records.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1782-1999 California Wills and Probate Records 1782-1999 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

California tax records complement land records and can supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see California Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. The state has records since July 1905, although county records may start earlier. See California Vital Records for more information.

• Inyo County Vital Records and Obituaries (CAGenWeb Project)

Birth

• 1800-1994 California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1812-1988 California Births and Christenings, 1812-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1905-1995 California Birth Index, 1905-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1905-1810 Inyo County Birth Index (Genealogy Trails)
• Inyo County Birth Notices (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

• 1800-2007 California, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
• 1850-1945 California Marriages, 1850-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1850-1952 California, County Marriages, 1850-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1960-1985 California Marriage Index, 1960-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)
• Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
• Inyo County Marriage Notices (Genealogy Trails)

Death

• 1776-2000 California Deaths and Burials, 1776-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1800-1994 California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1905-1939 California Death Index, 1905-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1940-1997 California Death Index, 1940-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at: MyHeritage($)

Divorce

• 1966-1984 California Divorce Index, 1966-1984 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Inyo County. For state-wide facilities, see California Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Auberry California FamilySearch Center
• Bishop California FamilySearch Center
• Oakhurst California FamilySearch Center
• Fresno County Public Library - an affiliate library
• Tulare Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Inyo County. For state-wide library facilities, see California Archives and Libraries.

Inyo County Libraries (Genealogy Trails)Website

Museums

Bishop Museum & Historical Society
P.O. Box 363
Bishop, CA 93514,
Phone: 760-873-5950
Website

Friends of the Eastern California Museum
P.O. Box 206
155 Grant Street
Independence, CA 93526
Phone: 760-878-364 or 760-878-0259-8
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Inyo County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see California Societies.

Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert
P.O. Box 2001
230 W Ridgecrest Blvd.
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
Phone: 760-675-8465
Website

Searles Valley Historical Society
P.O. Box 630
Trona, CA 93592

Websites

• Inyo County CAGenWeb and CA GenWeb
• USGenWeb Archives
• Linkpendium
• Inyo County Genealogy Trails
• Inyo County CA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

• Inyo Research Guide at California State Library

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

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Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

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