Free Online California Digital Archives

The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 24 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.

There is a massive amount of genealogy and historical material that can help us researchers as we discover who belongs in our family tree, and more importantly, what is their life story. But much of this genealogical and historical material doesn’t fit nicely into a specific genealogy record category.

As researchers, we should avail ourselves of the types of materials listed below. They definitely will help us in our genealogy and family history research  These online resources are available generally at state libraries and archives, larger public libraries, and college and university digital collections. Hence the creation of these lists of links to free online digital archives for the state. I hope they prove useful to you in your pursuit.

Types of Information Available in Digital Archives

• Scrapbooks
• Diaries
• Family Papers, Biographies, and Other Collections
• Letters
• Oral Histories
• Maps
• Bulletins and Newsletters
• Corporate Collections
• Local Community and County Histories
• Photographs and Postcards
• Rare Books and Manuscripts
• Government Publications and Documents
• and Yes, Genealogy Record Collections and Indexes

The Free Online Digital Archives for the state are listed below, preceded by Archives that are available for the region or the country:

Multistate Archives

• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library

California Archives

• Anne T. Kent California Room (Marin County Free Library)
• Azusa Pacific University Digital Collections
• California Baptist University Digital Collections
• California College of Arts & Crafts Digital Collections
• California Digital Archives
• California Digital Library (CDL)
• 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
• Chapman University Digital Collections
• Chinese Historical Society of America
• Claremont Consortium of Colleges Digital Collections
• Claremont Graduate University Digital Collections
• Claremont McKenna College Digital Collections
• Dominican University of California Digital Collections
• FamilySearch – California Online Genealogy Records
• Fresno Pacific University Digital Collections
• Harvey Mudd College Digital Collections
• Humboldt State University Digital Collections
• Immigrant Genealogical Society
• La Sierra University Digital Collections
• 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
• Mount St Mary’s University Digital Collections
• Napa Valley Genealogical Society
• National Archives at Riverside
• National Archives at San Francisco
• Occidental College Digital Collections
• Online Archive of California
• Orange County California Genealogical Society
• Pepperdine University Digital Collections
• Pitzer College Digital Collections
• Pomona College Digital Collections
• Sacramento History Online
• Saint Mary’s College of California Digital Collections
• San Diego State University Digital Collections
• San Fernando Valley History Digital Library
• San Francisco State University Digital Collections
• San Jose State University Digital Collections
• Santa Clara University Digital Collections
• Santa Cruz Public Library
• Scripps College Digital Collections
• Sonoma State University Digital Collections
• Southern California Genealogical Society
• Stanford University Digital Collections
• Tuolumne County Genealogical Society
• 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 the Pacific Digital Collections
• Vanguard University of Southern California Digital Collections
• Western University of Health Sciences Digital Collections
• Whittier College Digital Collections