Solano County, California Genealogy

United States

California

Solano County

Guide to Solano 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: Fairfield Organized: February 18, 1850 Parent County(s): Original Neighboring Counties Contra Costa • Napa • Sacramento • Yolo See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Solano County was created 18 Feb 1850 and was named after Chief Solano of the Suisun people. Its county seat is Fairfield. It is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Solano County Courthouse
600 Union Ave
Fairfield, CA 94533
Phone: 707-207-7300
Solano County Website

County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and land records.
County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1850.

Solano 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
1873	1850	1873	1850	1848	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

Parent County(s): Created 18 February 1850 as an original county. County Seat: Fairfield 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
Benicia Dixon Fairfield	Rio Vista Suisun City	Vacaville Vallejo
Unincorporated communities
Bahia Birds Landing Bucktown	Collinsville Fairfield Maine Prairie	Rockville Scandia
Census-designated places
Allendale Elmira	Green Valley	Hartley

Resources

Biographies

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

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Solano, California online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves Interment.net USGW Tombstone Transcription Project
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.	%±
1850	580	—
1860	7,169	1136.0%
1870	16,871	135.3%
1880	18,475	9.5%
1890	20,946	13.4%
1900	24,143	15.3%
1910	27,559	14.1%
1920	40,602	47.3%
1930	40,834	0.6%
1940	49,118	20.3%
1950	104,833	113.4%
1960	134,597	28.4%
1970	169,941	26.3%
1980	235,203	38.4%
1990	340,421	44.7%
2000	394,542	15.9%
2010	413,344	4.8%
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.

• 1864-1985 California, Church Records, 1864-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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

• Vallejo

List of Churches and Church Parishes

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

Directories

• 1942 Polk's Vallejo, California, City Directory, 1942 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
  
• 1955 Vallejo, Solano County, California, City Directory, 1955 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
  
• 1957 Vallejo, Solano County, California, City Directory, 1957 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
  
• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary
  

Funeral Homes

• ca. 1996? Index to various cemeteries ; includes a few funeral homes in Solano County, earliest to present (ca. 1996?)(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

All Souls Cemetery & Funeral Center in Vallejo Bryan-Braker Funeral Home in Fairfield Bryan-Braker Funeral Home in Vacaville Colonial Chapels in Vallejo Fairfield Funeral Home in Fairfield Fairmont Cremation Services in Fairfield McCune Garden Chapel & Milton Carpenter Funeral Home in Dixon McCune Garden Chapel & Milton Carpenter Funeral Home in Vacaville Neptune Society of Fairfield in Fairfield Passalacqua Funeral Chapel in Benicia Sir Winston Funeral Services International, Inc. in Vallejo Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo Twin Chapels Mortuary in Vallejo Vaca Hills Chapel Funeral Home in Vacaville Wiggins-Knipp Funeral Home in Vallejo

Genealogies

Vacaville California FamilySearch Center

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

• 1848-1920 Deed Books(*); Solano County Recorder at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
• 1850-1921 Solano County, California Deeds, Abandonment of Homesteads and Homesteads(*); Solano CountyCounty Clerk at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
• Index to Property Owners, and Township Lists of Historical Atlas Map of Solano County, California(*); by Nancy Justus Morebeck at FamilySearch Library Catalog — images
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

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

• Solano History Database is an online, interactive database containing historical articles, photos, books, and other content relating to the history of Solano County, CA. The Vacaville Heritage Council updates this site on a regular basis.
• Excerpt from Sacramento Valley Expositions Commission, 1915 (Genealogy Trails)
• Solano County Historical Records (USGenWeb Archives)

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

Civil War

• 1883 Solano County – List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
• 1884, 1886 Civil War Veterans Rosters, G.A.R. Posts, Solano County, California (USGenWeb Archives)
• Solano County. Record of burial of ex-Union soldiers, sailors, and Marines

Regiments. Civil War service men in Solano 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:

- 3rd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company C

- 3rd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company E

- 3rd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company F

- 3rd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company G

- [3rd Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company H

- 5th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company I

- 8th Regiment, California Infantry (Union), Company I

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

• Index to Solano County Army Inductees, World War II (USGenWeb Archives)

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1831-1985 California County Naturalizations, 1831-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

• 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

• Solano County Library, Vacaville, CA
• Solano County and Vallejo, CA Obituaries (Newspapers.net)
• Index to Solano County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)
• Index to Solano County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

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 ($)
• 1833-1991 California Probate Estate Files, 1833-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; 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.

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 Birth Index, Solano County Genealogy Trails)
• Early Birth Notice Index by year (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

• 1800-2007 California, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1850-1945 California Marriages, 1850-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1850-1952 California, County Marriages, 1850-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1850-1848 Solano County Marriages, 1850-1858 (Genealogy Trails)
• 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
• Early Solano County Marriage Notices by year (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 Solano 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

• Fairfield California FamilySearch Center
• Napa California FamilySearch Center
• Oakland California FamilySearch Library
• Vallejo California FamilySearch Center
• California Genealogical Society Library - an affiliate library
• Napa Valley Genealogical Society and Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

Societies

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

Genealogical Society of Vallejo-Benicia
734 Marin Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
Website

Solano County Historical Society
P.O. Box 922
Vallejo, CA 94590
Website

Solano County Genealogical Society
610 East Main Street
Vacaville, CA 95688
Phone: 707-446-6869
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Solano County CAGenWeb
• Linkpendium
• USGenWeb Archives
• Solano County, California Genealogy Trails
• Solano County CA Genealogy (at LDS Genealogy]

• 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.