Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library
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Main
Local History & Genealogy page
onoma
County Library welcomes you to the Sonoma
County History & Genealogy Library. Here are thousands
of historical books, CDs, manuscripts, archives, newspapers,
maps, and photographs awaiting your discovery. Our expert staff,
specialists in the history of Sonoma County and genealogical
research, is eager to assist and train you in the use of our
collections, facilities, methodologies, and technologies.
We can help you:
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![[Wells, Fargo and Company's Express, Guerneville, 1880]](../img/history/Wells.jpg) Wells, Fargo & Company's Express Guerneville, 1880 |
![[Pomo Family, 1907]](../img/history/PomoFamily.jpg) Pomo Indian Family, 1907 |
Sonoma County Library's local history and genealogy collection is a community resource of immense value, with its beginnings in the Santa Rosa Central Library's California Room. In 1998, the history and genealogy collections were moved to larger quarters in the annex to the Central Library. In 2002, the Sonoma County Library Commission, governing board of the county-wide library system, adopted a new mission statement for the local history and family research division and renamed it the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library. Our services, resources, and technologies continue to grow and expand to better meet the needs of our community. |
Some of the resources available for your enhanced instruction, learning, and enjoyment include:
- An expert staff of specialists on Sonoma County history, genealogy, and research methods and technology
- Personalized, one-on-one instruction in historical and genealogical research
- Over 30,000 historic photographs
- A comprehensive collection of Sonoma County historical works, including county, family, and house histories
- Access to the Sonoma County Archives which hold many of Sonoma County's earliest court, naturalization, and tax records
- Sonoma County Historical Index, with thousands of references to Sonoma County events, people, and places
- Santa Rosa newspapers from 1857 to 1959
- Immense, wide-ranging newspaper clipping files
- A Pomo, Miwok, and Wappo Native American Study Center containing the California Indian Library Collection of books and cassettes
- A genealogical research center for tracing not only Sonoma County families, but all families, regardless of location
- The Library's subscription to HeritageQuest online which provides the US Federal census from 1790 to 1930, as well as 25,000 books on American genealogy and local history
- Select California city directories, starting from 1850
- Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for many California towns and cities
- Indexes to local cemetery records, marriage records, militia lists, and more
![[Sibbold-Donovan Manor]](../img/history/Sibbold.gif)
Sibbold-Donovan Manor
Santa Rosa, 1905
Presently Landmark Properties
Jack Atkin, owner
GENEALOGY RESOURCES
![[Clar Family, 1910]](../img/history/ClarFamily.jpg) The Clar Family, 1910 |
Have you always wanted to trace your family? Now's the time to get started! Beginner or expert, a trip to the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library and a consultation with our staff of seasoned researchers will familiarize you with our collections and how to use our sophisticated genealogy technologies. We also offer instruction through personalized, one-on-one tutorials. If you run into an obstacle, we will help you get through it. Learn to use our HeritageQuest online database of Federal Census information that can be accessed online at home by entering your library card number. Let us also be your instructional guide in the use of other major genealogical databases and websites, including the unparalleled Family History Library resources in Salt Lake City. |
SONOMA COUNTY ARCHIVES
It is generally true that a county's archives are held in governmental repositories or museums. Sonoma County is unique in that many of its primary historical documents are carefully catalogued, housed, and made available to the public by the Sonoma County Library. Upon request, court, tax, and probate records, as well as many historical documents, can be accessed and examined at the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library. These documents, the raw data and root documentation of Sonoma County history, can be searched for in the general Library catalog online at:
onoma
County's history is unique. Before California was a
state, the Sonoma County area was home to the indigenous
Pomo, Wappo, and Miwok peoples. Between 1812 and the
1840s, the centuries-old serenity of the region was ended
by the advent of several very dissimilar groups of people.
In 1812, on the north coast at Fort Ross, Russian merchants and soldiers, assisted by the Aleuts, founded the only permanent Russian settlement in what was to become the United States. Eleven years later in 1823, Padre Jose Altimira established the northernmost and last Spanish-Mexican mission in California at Sonoma.
Tensions between the Russians, intent on moving their sphere of influence south from Fort Ross, and the Mexicans in other parts of the county, plus increasing numbers of Americans coming "over the mountains," brought matters to a head.
The Americans led the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 with the support of Sonoma's General Vallejo. It spelled the end of Mexican rule in California and set the stage for California's entry into the United States in 1850.
The complex and many-layered history of our county is our fascinating and unique heritage. Come learn about it at the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library!
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Sonoma County Library Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library Third & E Streets |