Trinity County, California Genealogy

United States

California

Trinity County

Guide to Trinity 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: Weaverville Organized: 09 Jun 1851 Parent County(s): Original Neighboring Counties Humboldt • Mendocino • Shasta • Siskiyou • Tehama See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Trinity County was created 18 Feb 1850 and was named for the Trinity River. Its county seat is Weaverville. It is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Trinity County Courthouse
11 Court St
Weaverville, CA 96093
Phone: 530-623-1208
Trinity County Website

County Recorder has birth and death records indexes 1873-1905, birth and death records from 1905, marriage record indexes 1857-1905, marriage records from 1905 and naturalization 1850-1940.
Court Services has divorce and court from 1881, probate records from 1887 and land records.

Trinity 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	1857	1873	1881	1855	1887	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 as an original county, on 18 February 1850. County Seat: Weaverville 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:

Unincorporated communities
Big Bar Helena	Peanut Salyer	Zenia
American Indian Communities
Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation
Census-designated places
Burnt Ranch Coffee Creek Douglas City Hayfork	Hyampom Junction City Lewiston Mad River	Ruth Trinity Center Trinity Village Weaverville

Resources

Biographies

• Index to Trinity County Biographies (Genealogy Trails)
• Index to Trinity County Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Trinity, 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	1,635	—
1860	5,125	213.5%
1870	3,213	−37.3%
1880	4,999	55.6%
1890	3,719	−25.6%
1900	4,383	17.9%
1910	3,301	−24.7%
1920	2,551	−22.7%
1930	2,809	10.1%
1940	3,970	41.3%
1950	5,087	28.1%
1960	9,706	90.8%
1970	7,615	−21.5%
1980	11,858	55.7%
1990	13,063	10.2%
2000	13,022	−0.3%
2010	13,786	5.9%
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

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

Trinity Alps Funeral Home in Weaverville

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 Federal Land Records, Trinity County, California (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 Trinity County. Histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see California Local Histories.

• 1891 Trinity County, 1891, in Memorial And Biographical History Of Northern California (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 Trinity County – List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)

Regiments. Civil War service men in Trinity 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 Mountaineers, California Infantry (Union), Company C

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 I Draft Registration, Trinity County, California (USGenWeb Archive

World War II

• World War II Army Enlistees, Trinity County (Genealogy Trails)
• Trinity County Army Enlistees, World War II (USGenWeb Archives)
• Trinity County Honor List of World War II Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel (Genealogy Trails)

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

• Trinity County Death Notices (CAGenWeb Project)
• Index to Trinity County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)

Other Records

Voting Records

California county clerks were to keep voting registers every other year from 1866 and well into the 20th century. These large books, called Great Registers, listed the men who registered to vote in that county. Besides name and age, the record may show place of birth, address, occupation, naturalization date and sometimes even a physical description.

These records are at the California State Library (1866-1944), and microfilmed copies are available through FamilySearch Centers (1866-1910). Ancestry ($) has a searchable database of Trinity Great Registers from 1867-1896.

• 1866-1898 California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1866-1910 California, Great Registers, 1866-1910 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1872 The Trinity records for 1872 are available on the RootsWeb site, by clicking here.
• 1887 Index to the Trinity County Great Register, 1887 (USGenWeb Archives)

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.

• Early Trinity County Vital Records (Births and Deaths) (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($)
• Early Birth Notices by year (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

• 1800-2007 California, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1850-1945 California Marriages, 1850-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1850-1952 California, County Marriages, 1850-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1857-1860 Trinity County Marriage Index (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
• Index to Trinity County Marriage Records (USGenWeb Archives)

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 Trinity 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

• Redding California FamilySearch Center
• Weaverville California FamilySearch Center
• Shasta Public Libraries - multiple locations - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

Societies

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

Trinity County Historical Society
P.O. Box 333
Weaverville, CA 96093
Phone: 530-623-5211
Website

Websites

• Trinity County CAGenWeb
• Linkpendium
• USGenWeb Archives
• Trinity County, California Genealogy Trails
• Trinity 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.

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.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

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

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.