Index to Vital Data in Local Newspapers of Sonoma County, California, Volume 1, 1855-1875

Many gaps exist in Sonoma County records. Although Sonoma County was formed in 1850, some records, such as marriage records, date back to 1847; whereas births and deaths were not recorded until 1871. Local newspapers furnish a wealth of genealogical data and often help fill in the gaps in official records. The names, with genealogical data, contained in this index are primarily residents of Sonoma County, but residents of the surrounding counties-Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake and Mendocino-can also be found within these pages. On June 12, 1852 the Sonoma Bulletin published the first newspaper of Sonoma County. Other newspapers indexed include: Democratic Standard, Petaluma Argus, Petaluma Crescent, Petaluma Evening Argus, Petaluma Journal and Argus, Petaluma Morning Argus, Petaluma Weekly Argus, Petaluma Weekly Journal and Sonoma County Advertiser, Russian River Flag, Santa Rosa Press, Sonoma Bulletin, Sonoma County Journal, and Sonoma Democrat. Microfilm copies of these newspapers may be found in several libraries, and are listed to help researchers locate original articles. This first volume in the series contains more than 17,000 entries in a table format. Entries include: surname, given name, type of entry (birth, death, marriage, probate, miscellaneous-entries such as divorce records; and entries gleaned from articles appearing in supplements to the newspaper), name of newspaper, date of article, page and column number, and comments. Surname entries often include alternative spellings. Given Name entries may include the relationship to the individual listed. A list of Sonoma County cemeteries, a map of the county, and a list of Sonoma place names enhance this valuable resource.