Finding Free Online Genealogy Collections in California

If you follow The Ancestor Hunt, you know that we specialize in curating and presenting links to Free Online Genealogy Records, Collections, and Indexes by genealogical category. Everything that is online for free has not been captured in our link lists, as some specific categories and resources have not been curated as yet, or we may never do.

However, there are archives, libraries, unique document collections, and specialized genealogy websites throughout the state. With the list below, you should have exposure to the great majority of free online resources for the state.

• Access Genealogy – California
• Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
• American History & Genealogy Project – California
• Ancestry Free Index Collections
• Anne T. Kent California Room (Marin County Free Library)
• Azusa Pacific University Digital Collections
• Berkeley Public Library
• California Baptist University Digital Collections
• California College of Arts & Crafts Digital Collections
• California Digital Archives
• California Digital Library (CDL)
• California Digital Newspaper Collection
• California Genealogical Society and Library
• California Historical Society
• California Institute of Technology Digital Collections
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Digital Collections
• California Revealed
• California State Archives
• California State Library Online Resources
• California State Library, San Francisco Sutro Library
• California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Digital Collections
• California State University – Channel Islands Digital Collections
• California State University – Chico Digital Collections
• California State University – Dominguez Hills Digital Collections
• California State University – East Bay Digital Collections
• California State University – Fresno Digital Collections
• California State University – Fullerton Digital Collections
• California State University – Los Angeles Special Collections
• California State University – Monterey Bay Digital Collections
• California State University – Northridge Digital Collections
• California State University – Sacramento Digital Collections
• California State University – San Bernardino Digital Collections
• California State University – San Marcos Digital Collections
• California State University – Stanislaus Digital Collections
• Calisphere
• Carlsbad City Library
• Carmel Public Library
• Chapman University Digital Collections
• Chinese Historical Society of America
• Chronicling America – California
• Claremont Consortium of Colleges Digital Collections
• Claremont Graduate University Digital Collections
• Claremont McKenna College Digital Collections
• Corona Public Library
• Cyndi’s List – California
• David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
• Dead Fred
• Death Indexes – California
• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America – California
• Dominican University of California Digital Collections
• FamilySearch
• FamilySearch – California Online Genealogy Records
• FamilySearch Catalog
• FamilySearch Wiki – California
• FindAGrave
• Fresno County Public Library
• Fresno Pacific University Digital Collections
• Genealogy Trails – California
• Google
• Google Books – California
• Harvey Mudd College Digital Collections
• HathiTrust – California
• Humboldt State University Digital Collections
• I Dream of Genealogy
• Immigrant Genealogical Society
• Interment.net – California
• Internet Archive – California
• Kern County Genealogical Society
• La Sierra University Digital Collections
• Lake County Library
• LDS Genealogy – California
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Linkpendium – California
• Loma Linda University Digital Collections
• Long Beach Public Library
• Los Angeles Public Library
• Los Angeles Public Library, Collections and Resources
• Loyola Marymount University Digital Collections
• Marin County Genealogical Society and Library
• Mission Viejo Library
• Mount St Mary’s University Special Collections
• Napa Valley Genealogical Society
• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Archives at Riverside
• National Archives at San Francisco
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• National Archives Resources for Genealogists
• Nationwide Gravesite Locator
• New Horizons Genealogy – California
• Occidental College Digital Collections
• Online Archive of California
• Orange County California Genealogical Society
• Palm Springs Public Library
• Palo Alto City Library Digital Collection
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Pepperdine University Digital Collections
• Pitzer College Digital Collections
• Pomona College Digital Collections
• Sacramento History Online
• Sacramento Public Library
• Saint Mary’s College of California Special Collections
• San Diego State University Digital Collections
• San Fernando Valley History Digital Library
• San Francisco and Bay Area Counties Genealogy Collections
• San Francisco Public Library
• San Francisco State University Digital Collections
• San José Public Library
• San Jose State University Digital Collections
• San Mateo Genealogical Society
• Sanborn Maps – California
• Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society
• Santa Clara University Digital Collections
• Santa Cruz Public Library
• Scripps College Digital Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library
• Sonoma County Library
• Sonoma State University Digital Collections
• Southern California Genealogical Society
• Stanford University Digital Collections
• The Official Land Records Site
• Tuolumne County Genealogical Society
• United States Social Security Death Index
• University of California – Berkeley Digital Collections
• University of California – Davis Digital Collections
• University of California – Irvine Digital Collections
• University of California – Los Angeles Digital Collections
• University of California – Merced Digital Collections
• University of California – Riverside Digital Collections
• University of California – San Diego Digital Collections
• University of California – San Francisco Digital Collections
• University of California – Santa Barbara Digital Collections
• University of California – Santa Cruz Digital Collections
• University of La Verne Digital Collections
• University of Redlands Digital Collections
• University of San Diego Digital Collections
• University of San Francisco Digital Collections
• University of Southern California Digital Collections
• University of Southern California Digital Library
• University of the Pacific Digital Collections
• US GenWeb – California
• US GenWeb Archives – California
• Vanguard University of Southern California Digital Collections
• Western University of Health Sciences Digital Collections
• Western Waters Digital Library
• Whittier College Digital Collections

Here is the list of over 8,275 curated California genealogy collection links from The Ancestor Hunt, by category:

• Newspapers
• Yearbooks
• Births
• Marriages
• Deaths
• Alumni Records
• Cemetery Records
• Church Records
• Coroner Records
• Criminal Records
• Directories
• Divorce Records
• Immigration Records
• Institutional Records
• Military Records
• Mortuary Records
• Naturalizations
• Obituaries
• Photos
• Probate and Wills
• School Records
• Tax Records
• Voter Records

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!