Modoc County, California Genealogy
United States 
California Modoc County
Guide to Modoc County California genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Modoc County, California | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of California | |
 Location of California in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 17, 1874 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Alturas |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Modoc County Courthouse ] 204 Court Street PO Box 131 Alturas, CA 96101-0131 Phone 530.233.6205 Modoc County Website |
County Courthouse
County Clerk has divorce, probate, court and voter regisitration records from 1874
County Recorder has birth, marriage and death records [1]
Historical Facts
Parent County
17 February 1874: Modoc County was created from Siskiyou County. County seat: Alturas [2]
Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating California county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation California County Boundary Maps" (1850-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Records Loss
For a list of record loss in California counties see: California Counties with Burned Courthouses
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
For tips on accessing Modoc County, California Genealogy census records online, see: California Census.
Church History and 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.
Court Records
Crime and Criminals
Directories
Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
Germans
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Local histories are available for Modoc County, California Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section California Local Histories.
Land and Property
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.
Maps
Migration
Early migration routes to and from Modoc County, California Genealogy for emigrant settlers included:[3][4]
- California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
- Applegate Trail since 1846 (avoided the Forty Mile Desert) by leaving the Humboldt River in Nevada early at present-day Rye Reservoir, Nevada and passing through the Black Rock Desert to Fandango Pass past Goose Lake on to the Lost River and eventually the Willamette Valley in Oregon
- The Lassen Cutoff 1848 was established by gold rushers from Oregon going to California. It branched off the Applegate Trail at Davis Creek, went through Devil's Garden to the Pit River passing east of Mt. Lassen, and turning west to Lassen Rancho, California, and from there to Sacramento. In some years as much as 1/3 of emigrants mistakenly took the Applegate Trail-Lassen Cutoff, a much longer and more difficult trail than the Truckee or Carson routes.
Military History and Records
Naturalization and Citizenship
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Modoc County, California Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Modoc County, California Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog. Do NOT use the word County. (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
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.
Repositories
Archives, Libraries and Museums
County Courthouse
Family History Centers
- Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
- Alturas California Family History Center
- Cedarville California Family History Center
Societies
Taxation
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. See also How to order California Vital Records
Birth
Marriage
Divorce
Death
Voting Registers
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 Family History Centers (1866-1910). Ancestry ($) has a searchable database of Modoc Great Registers from 1875-1898.
The Modoc records for 1874 are available on the RootsWeb site, by clicking here.
Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
Web Sites
- Modoc County, CA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- California Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- California Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- Linkpendium
- USGenWeb Archives
- USGenWeb Archives backup site
- FamilySearch FamilySearch Catalog
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Modoc County, California. Page 85 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ National Park Service, "California Trail" (map) in California National Historic Trail at http://www.nps.gov/cali/planyourvisit/upload/CALImap1-web.pdf (accessed 5 August 2011).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "California Trail" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Trail (accessed 5 August 2012).