Round Valley Indian Agency (California)

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous People of California

Round Valley Indian Agency (California)

Native American Topics
Buffalo Hunt under the Wolf-Skin Mask
Beginning Research
Beginning Your Search Finding Your United States Indigenous Ancestor Starting Native American Research Indigenous Peoples of North America - A Beginner's Guide
Tribes
Tribes of the U.S. Fed Recognized Tribes 5 Civilized Tribes	Tribes by State State Recognized Tribes If the Tribe Is Unknown
Record Types
Allotment Records Annuity Rolls Biography Cemeteries Census Rolls Census Schedules Church Records Correspondence and Reports Court Records Enrollment Records Dawes Rolls Guion Miller Rolls Factories/Trading	Health Records Heirship Records Individual History Card Land and Property Maps Military Records Newpapers Online Records Oral Histories Probate Records Register of Families Removal Records Sanitary Records Schools and Education Records Treaties Vital Records
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Agencies	Area Offices Reservations Superintendencies
Other Topics
Archives/Libraries Citizenship Claims Commissn. Cultural Groups Forts Glossary	Laws and Policies Regions For Further Reading

 

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency

Yuki, Yupu, Pit River, Concow (Konkau), Ukiah (Yokaia), Wailaki, Redwood (Whilkut), Pomo, Salan Pomo (Potter Valley), Little Lake, Nomelaki

History

The Round Valley Agency was established in 1865 and is located in Mendocino County in northeastern California. It was known as Nome Cult prior to 1861, and was a part of the Nome Lackee Agency. This agency was also responsible for Indians who had lived on the Medocino Reservation prior to 1864. The Round Valley Agency was abolished in 1924 and its duties were transferred to the Sacramento Agency. Some records for Round Valley date later than 1924.

Agents and Appointment Dates

B. L. Fairfield March 22, 1865, Lt. J. S. Styles July 8, 1869, Lt. W. H. Andrews March 4, 1870, Hugh Gibson January 23, 1871, John S. Burchard August 16, 1872, Henry B. Sheldon August 25, 1877

Records

Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by the agencies.

Some of the historical records of the Round Valley Agency are in the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San Francisco. Among these are:

• Land allotment and heirship records, 1859-1922
• Agency reports and administrative records, 1862-1930
• Court records, 1874-1886
• Sanitary Records, 1890-1910
• Census records, 1896-1923
• Education records, 1899-1923
• Register of Indian Families, 1901-1908
• Birth and death registers and certificates, 1901-1924

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Round Valley Indian Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Round Valley Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 208, Round Valley Indian Reservation, in Mendocino County, California.

Reports of Inspection of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of Microcopy Number M1070. The reports for Round Valley Agency, 1883-1900, are on rolls 43-44 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their microfilm roll numbers 1617716-1617717).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1885-1905, 1909, and 1915-1923. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 447-449. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their microfilm numbers 581441 thru 581443). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com's subscription web site.

Records Available through the Family History Library

• 1880 Special Census. FHL film: 1012674

• Census Records, 1896-1935. FHL films: 976988-976989, 977775

• Census Records, 1885-1905, 1909, 1915-1923. FHL film: 581441

• Land Records, 1909-1923. FHL film: 976987

• Employee Records 1873-1920. FHL films: 976984-976986

• Heirship Records, 1916. FHL film: 976990 item 1

• School Records, 1897-1916, FHL film: 976983

• Vital Records, 1890-1899, 1901-1906,1906-16, 1924 FHL Book 970.1 P221v or film: 908042 item 3

• Vital Records, Sanitary records, 1890-1905. FHL film: 976991

• Vital Records, birth and death, 1901-1924. FHL film: 976990 item 2

References

• American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.
• Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981.
• Hill, Edward E. The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880: Historical Sketches. New York, New York: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.
• Historical Sketches for Jurisdictional and Subject Headings Used for the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880. National Archives Microcopy T1105.
• Marquette University. Guide to Catholic-Related Records in the Midwest about Native Americans.
• Preliminary Inventory No. 163: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Services. Available online

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)