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Monterey County, California Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Salinas
Organized: February 18, 1850
Parent County(s): Original
Neighboring Counties
Fresno • Kern • Kings • San Benito • San Luis Obispo • Santa Cruz
See County Maps
Courthouse
California, Monterey County Courthouse.png
Location Map
California Monterey Map.png

County Information

Description

Monterey County was created 18 Feb 1850[1] and was named for Monterey Bay. Its county seat is Salinas. It is located in the west central area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Monterey County Courthouse
240 Church Street
Salinas, CA 93901
Phone: 831-755-5400
Monterey County Website

County Recorder has birth, death, and marriage records from 1893.
Clerk Superior Court has probate and land records.
County Court has divorce and court records.[3]

Monterey 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[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1893 1893 1893 1850 1850 1850 1850
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1905. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this 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:[7]

Cities
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Monterey, California online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
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. %±
1850 1,872 —
1860 4,739 153.2%
1870 9,876 108.4%
1880 11,302 14.4%
1890 18,637 64.9%
1900 19,380 4.0%
1910 24,146 24.6%
1920 27,980 15.9%
1930 53,705 91.9%
1940 73,032 36.0%
1950 130,498 78.7%
1960 198,351 52.0%
1970 250,071 26.1%
1980 290,444 16.1%
1990 355,660 22.5%
2000 401,762 13.0%
2010 415,057 3.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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.

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

  • Monterey
  • Pacific Grove
  • Salinas

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Online Court Indexes and Records
Superior Court of California – County of Monterey
 Case Lookup – Index
Court Portal
Probate/Guardianship. Conservatorship Case Fillings
 Probate

PDF
Requesting Court Case File and Adjudicative Records (divorce, criminal, complaints, judgments, traffic tickets, case information) Mostly available at the clerk’s office at the court location where record was originally filed. Requests to inspect and copy case file and other adjudicative records prepared for or filed or used in a court proceeding may be made at the courthouse where they are filed. There is a copying fee of $0.50 per page, which must be paid in advance. Please direct requests for access to administrative records maintained by the Monterey County Superior Court to:
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE Superior Court of California
County of Monterey 240 Church Street
Salinas, CA 93901
Phone: (831) 775-5400 x3020
Fax: (831) 775-5499
Mediainfo@monterey.courts.ca.gov
 Court records held by Monterey County Historical Society:

Probate Superior Court (bonds, wills 1850-1947
Court of Session Criminal Records
 1850-1864
District Court Judgments 1850-1879
Superior & Civil Court Documents 1859-1970
County Court Judgments 1850-1879
Superior Court Judgments 1880-1934
Criminal Dockets & Small Claims 1913-1960
Superior Court Minutes 1880-1911
Criminal Dockets (Sheriff) 1889-1966
Jail Registers 1990-1966
Superior & Civil Court Records 1859-1970

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

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

Assessment Rolls 1850-1947
Lot Books (real estate records dating from the time the Land Grants were subdivided)
Grantor Records - deeds & grants 1889-1897


Local Histories

Local histories are available for Monterey County. Histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see California Local Histories.
The Old Monterey Courthouse
History - Monterey County Courthouse Completed 1878 Monterey Courts.
The military and social capital of Alta California during Spanish and Mexican rule, the town of Monterey naturally became the county seat when the 27 original counties were formed in, 1850. But when it was learned that the railroad was to go through the valley and not along the coast, the government center was moved to Salinas. After the house used as a courthouse burned, this much larger brick Victorian building was commissioned. The courthouse remained in use while the current one was being constructed around it, and then was demolished. Today a courtyard, lily pond, and commemorative sculpture occupy the site.


Maps and Gazetteers

Santa Cruz CountySan Benito CountyFresno CountyKings CountyKern CountySan Luis Obispo CountyCA MONTEREY.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Civil War service men in Monterey County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (part of a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in this county:

- 1st Battalion, California Native Cavalry (Union), Company A
- 1st Battalion, California Native Cavalry (Union), Company B

World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

Newspapers

(note: some of these dates may be off due to incomplete holdings lists and variations in titles of the newspapers)
BIG SUR
Big Sur Gazette (1978-1981)
CARMEL and CARMEL VALLEY
Carmel Californian (1936-1937)
Carmel Cottager (1934)
Carmel Cymbal (1926-1941)
Carmel Cymbal and Masten’s Gazette (1941-1942)
Carmel, Pebble Beach, Carmel Valley Spectator (1949)
Carmel Pine Cone (1915-present)
Carmel Pine Cone and Carmel Valley Outlook (1981-1993)
Carmel Pine Cone Cymbal (1942-1962)
Carmel Spectator (1949-1955)
Carmel Sun (1992-1994)
Carmel Valley News (1951-1955)
Carmel Valley Sun (1983-1990)
Carmel Valley Outlook (1979-1981)
Carmel Valley Weekly Sun (1990-1993)
Carmel Village Daily (1933)
Masten’s Gazette (1941)
Paisano (1948)
Peninsula Spectator (1959)
Spectator (1949-1950)
CASTROVILLE and MOSS LANDING
Castroville News (1936-1942)
Castroville Times (1950-1952)
Castroville Times Journal (1950)
Castroville Times and Moss Landing Harbor News (1952-1975)
North County News (1975-1982)
FORT ORD
Fort Ord Panorama (1980-1982)
GONZALES
Gonzales Tribune (1956-1991)
GREENFIELD
Greenfield News (1952-1991)
KING CITY
King City Rustler (1901-1997)
Rustler and King City Herald (1961-1964)
Semi Weekly Rustler (1936-1937)
MARINA
Marina Tribune (1981-1982)
Marina Weekly Tribune (1979)
MONTEREY
Army News (1904)
At Ease (1990)
Monterey American (1913-1916)
Monterey Argus (1887-1888)
Monterey Bay Labor News 1955-1985
Monterey Bay News (1947-1950)
Monterey Bay and Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach Tribune (1985)
Monterey Bay Tribune (1985-1987)
Monterey County Herald (1992-present)
Monterey County Journal (1864)
Monterey County Post (1929-1933)
Monterey Daily Cypress 1889-1922)
Monterey Democrat (1868-1889)
Monterey Enterprise (?)
Monterey Evening Herald (1909-1910)
Monterey Gazette (1863-1868)
Monterey Herald (1986-1992)
Monterey Labor News (1937)
Monterey New Era (1890-1909)
Monterey News Daily and Monterey Trader (1940)
Monterey Peninsula Herald (1929-1992)
Monterey Sentinel (1855-1856)
Monterey Trader (1933-1951)
Monterey Union (1862)
Montereyan (1951-1955)
Peninsula Advocate (1910-1911)
Peninsula Daily Herald (1927-1929)
Peninsula Daily Herald and Monterey Daily Cypress and Monterey American (1923-1927)
Peninsula Merchants’ Semi-Monthly Bulletin (1915-1916)
PACIFIC GROVE
Pacific Grove Beacon (1994-1995)
Pacific Grove Daily Review (1892-1926)
Pacific Grove Monarch (1987-1992)
Pacific Grove News (1916)
Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach Tribune (1976-1984)
Pacific Grove Progress (1916)
Pacific Grove Review (1888-1912)
Pacific Grove Tide (1936-1943)
Pacific Grove Tribune (1943-1951, 1984-1985)
Pacific Grove Weekly Tribune (1978-1979)
Peninsula Pelican (1925)
Peninsular Review and Pacific Grove Daily Review (1926-1932)
SALINAS
Monterey County Labor News (1942-1954)
Monterey County Post (1929-1933)
North Monterey County Fortnighter (1983-1989)
Owl (1894)
Salinas Californian (1942-present)
Salinas Daily Index (1894-1928)
Salinas Daily Journal (1889-1897)
Salinas Daily Post and Monterey County Post (1933-1942)
Salinas Democrat (1889-1896)
Salinas Index (1895-1904)
Salinas Index Journal (1928-1942)
Salinas Index Weekly (1873-1925)
Salinas Labor News (1937-1942)
Salinas Morning Post (1936-1942)
Salinas Standard (1869-1872)
Salinas Valley Rustler (1906-1923)
Salinas Valley Settler (1889)
Salinas Village Crier (1942)
Salinas Weekly Index (1883-1895)
Salinas Weekly Journal (1867-1915).
SEASIDE
Free Weekly Sentinel (1987)
Right-On Post (1970)
Seaside News Sentinel (1950-1970)
Seaside Post (1969-1970)
Seaside Post News Sentinel (1970-1988)
Seaside Post Sentinel (1970)
Seaside Sentinel (1988-1996)
Seaside Weekly Sentinel (1987-1988)
SPRECKELS
Spreckles Courier (1909-1914)
WATSONVILLE
Watsonville Rustler (1888-1897)
[8]

Obituaries

Other Records

Voting Records

The following is a list of original voter registration records recently transferred from Monterey County Elections Department to the Monterey County Historical Society archival facility in Salinas. To access records, see: MCHS Museum

Great Register of Voters:
Ledger Books:
1866-1870 1 book
1870 1 book
1881-1883,1886,1888,1890 1 book
1892 (Vol. 1, Vol. 2) 2 books
1896 (Vol. 1, Vol. 2) 2 books
1898 (Vol. 3) 2 books
1900 (Vol. 1,Vol. 2) 2 books
1902 (Vol. 1, Vol. 2) 2 books
1904 (Vol. 1, Vol.2) 2 books
1906-1907 (Vol. 1, Vol. 2) 2 books
1908-1909 (A-L, M-Z) 2 books
1910-1911 (A-L, M-Z) 2 books
1912-1913 (A-L, M-Z) 4 books
1914-1915 (A-L, M-Z) 2 books

Scattered records:
Voter affidavits*:
1922-23 (Affidavits, Pleyto precinct)
1930-31 (Affidavits, Blanco precinct)

Indexes (no voter affidavits):
1938, August primary (Greenfield precincts No.1 and No. 2)

Description of collection:
The ledger books1 titled Great Register of Voters are the original handwritten manuscripts kept by the County Clerk’s (Registrar of Voters) office of the County of Monterey beginning in 1866.2 The entries are made in alphabetical sections (with alpha sub-sections) and show chronological appearance of voters as they were sworn and registered to vote. The entries include place of nativity (birthplace); age of voter; place of residence (post office or precinct); date and place of naturalization, if applicable; whether citizen by virtue of Treaty of Hildago or citizen by virtue of father’s naturalization (and in later years a woman’s citizenship status by marriage); occupation; date of appearance to be sworn; and date of registration. Later registration data includes a physical description of the voter and party affiliation. The Registrar of Voters also appended notes to the entries to indicate reasons for cancellation whether due to removal to another county or state, transfer to another county due to change of boundary lines (i.e. to San Benito County in 1874), death, incarceration or “Section 1106” (failure to vote). These notations usually contained dates if known. Copies of the list of voters not thus cancelled, were made every two years and sometimes more frequently if a special election occurred (polling lists). These copies of uncancelled voters were sent to the state and other repositories on a routine basis. Microfilm of these typeset lists is available at the California State Library in Sacramento, California, and other repositories.3

These original handwritten Great Register ledger books have not been microfilmed or transcribed. There was a partial transcription done of the 1890 Great Register as part of a census substitute project4 but the transcription does not include cancellation information.

Note: The Great Register books contain information for years other than marked on the book spines. For example, the 1866-1870 Great Register contains several entries made after 1870 when cancellations were noted and the 1890 Great Register shows voter registration dates which occurred years earlier.

[9]

Periodicals

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


School Records

Social Security Records

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.

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Monterey 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

Libraries

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

Museums

Societies

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

Carmel Heritage Society
Lincoln and Sixth
P.O. Box 701
Carmel, CA 93921
Phone: 831-624-4447
Website

The Carmel Valley History Center
P.O. Box 1612
77 W. Carmel Valley Road
Carmel Valley, CA 93924
Phone: 831-659-5715
Website

Castroville Historical Society
11560 Merritt Street
Castroville, CA 95012

Monterey County Genealogy Society Inc
P.O. Box 8144
Salinas, CA 93912-8144
Website

Monterey County Historical Society, Inc
Boronda Adobe History Center
333 Boronda Road
Salinas, CA 93907
Phone: 831-757-8085
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 3576
Salinas, CA 93912
Website

Soledad Historical Society
P.O. Box 593
Soledad, CA 93960
Phone: 831-678-8668
Website

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ Individual County Chronologies, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/CA_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mono County, California" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_County,_California 05/04/2017.
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Monterey County, California. Page 86 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Monterey County, California. Page 84-88 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 81-83.
  5. ↑ https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/CA_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm#MONTEREY
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002).At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Monterey County, California," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_County,_California#Communities, accessed 18 September 2019.
  8. ↑ References:
    1. “Californian.” In the California Weekly, vol. 1, August 27, 1909, p629.
    2. “Californian.” In the Grizzly Bear, vol. 2, Feb. 1908 p23
    3. Denny, Melcena Burns. “California’s First newspaper Printed without a Letter ‘W’ on Flimsy Cigarette Paper.” In Montana, the Magazine of Western History, vol. 15, no. 4, October 1965 p29-41.
    4. Dethlefs, Helen. “First California Newspaper Founded 100 Years Ago, August 15, 1846.” In California Publisher, August 1946, p11.
    5. “First newspaper in California.” In The Pony Express, September 1946 p2.
    6. Harding, Geroge L. “The Origin of California’s First printing Press.” In Book Club of California, Quarterly news-letter 2:5-8, June 1934.
    7. “The Salinas Californian; Newspaper’s Growth Tied to a Dream.” In California Publisher, Vol. 1, Nos 2 ; 3, Nov-Dec 1971, p34-35.
    8. “Newspaper Holdings of the California State Library” compiled by Marianne Leach
  9. ↑ 1 Some years are missing. 2 Beginning in the year 1866, California state law required a list of voters to be kept. 3 Monterey County (California) County Clerk. Great Register of Voters 1867, 1869, 1872, 1875-1876, 1879-1880, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1898. (Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1975). 4 Bettyann Lockwood Hedegard, ed., 1890 great register of Monterey County, California. (Salinas, CA: Monterey County Genealogy Society, c1993). Courtesy of Junel Davidsen
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