When requesting a lookup please put Calaveras COUNTY LOOKUP in the subject line of your request to insure the message is not overlooked or accidently deleted. In the first line of the message please put the name of the book you are requesting the lookup in.

If you request a lookup, don't forget to thank your volunteer for their time. 

At some point in the past, the people at Calaveras County decided to deposit their old government records in one central archives and appoint an archivist to look after them and do research for anyone requesting information from these documents. Considering the size of Calaveras County compared with other counties in California, I am amazed at what a wonderful job they have done. Population wise this is one of the smaller counties in our state, but they have managed to put to shame most other California counties.

Mrs. Kennedy answers all requests and does all research. By using this method, the records are protected from vandalism and a complete and efficient search is made by this lady who is familiar with the documents. It may take several months for your research request to reach the top of her stack, but it is definitely worth the wait. Here is a list of some of the records she will search:

U. S. Census, 1850-1910 Homesteads Birth Records Mining Claims Marriage Records Patents Cemetery Records Newspapers Great Registers Assessment Rolls Probates Mortgages Inquests Declaration of Intention Abstracts of Judgment Naturalization Co-Partnerships Frances Bishop Research Cards Attachments-Lis Pendens Las Calaveras Criminal Cases Mechanic's Leans District Court Cases Bonds, Letters & Wills Articles of Incorporation Agreements/Powers of Attorney Deeds Execution Cases Bills of Sale

In addition to those records listed above, Mrs. Kennedy discovered, in 1995, a cache of early Calaveras County records dating back to the early 1860s. These included marriage licenses, naturalization papers, divorce records, court cases, etc. She is now in the process of filing these records with those already in the Archives. Some extremely important records included in this cache were original Applications for Naturalization Papers. These are not Declarations of Intention, but applications made for naturalization and included the place of birth of the applicant and the year he arrived in this country. This information was not always included on Declarations of Intention in California until after 1900. This might be one of the only counties in California where these applications still exist.

You can see by the above list that it would be possible to retrieve a tremendous amount of information about one individual or family. I ordered two searches and a typical response included the following information:

1. A cover letter from Mrs. Kennedy outlining her findings.
2. Five typed pages abstracted from original records that could not easily be photocopied. They included information on naturalization, census records, deeds, tax assessment rolls, marriages, divorces, and much more.
3. Approximately 60 photocopies of original documents.

All this was done at a very reasonable cost and in a far more efficient manner than I could have done it, had I had access to the records.

Other California counties should take note of what Calaveras has done. Unfortunately, important historical records in other areas of our state are being destroyed or, using the guise of "protecting" these documents, they are being locked up in or relocated to depositories where access if difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. There they sit to gather dust and benefit no one.

Calaveras County, the Calaveras County Archives, and Mrs. Lorrayne Kennedy are to be commended. Rather than tie up their records in bureaucratic red tape, they have had the courage and determination to preserve and make available those records that are rich with valuable historical information about an exciting and colorful period of California history.

The piece above written by KenTessendorff is a tribute to her quiet and steady effort.

On Monday, August 19, 2002, Calaveras County lost one of its greatest history and genealogical resources. Mrs. Lorrayne Kennedy, Archivist, at the Calaveras County Archives passed away after suffering a stroke.  Rest in peace lovely lady.

Neighboring Amador County was once part of Calaveras County. If you can not find your family member in here, check Amador County

Calaveras Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 184
Angels Camp, CA 95222-184

Publications:
Their only publication is the Froghorn newsletter which is printed 4 times per year and is included with membership.

Research:
This is a small society and they don't have an official policy on queries, but they will try to answer questions, if time permits. There is no charge.

Library:
They have a genealogy collection at the:

Calaveras County Central Library
891 Mountain Ranch Rd.
San Andreas, CA 95249 

They are a historical society and museum.

Activities: Society members serve to keep the county museum open 7 days a week from 10-4.
Hours: Office: 9-4, Monday-Friday
Contact: Jill Gray, Office manager

List of Research Materials  Downloadable list

"ALL" research is done by the Archivist and assistants.  You can "NOT" do your own research at this facility.
This is probably the best place in Calaveras County to order research, since almost all old county records are located here.

Fees:  Research at $10 per hour, with a one hour minimum, 8 1/2" x 11" and 11" x 17" copies at $.025 each with an additional cost
for oversize (ledger size) copies.

The following is a partial list of records and items held at the Calaveras Archives.

U.S. Census, 1850-1910
Birth Records
Marriage Records
Cemetery Records
Great Registers
Probates
Inquests
Co-Partnerships
Criminal Cases
Attachments- -Lis Pendens
Execution Cases
Deeds
Abstracts of Judgment
District Court Cases
Bills of Sale
Articles of Incorporation
Homesteads
Mining Claims
Patents
Newspapers
Assessment Rolls
Declaration of Intention
Naturalizations
Mortgages
Mechanics Liens
Bonds, Letters & Wills
Agreements/Powers of Attorney
Frances Bishop Research Cards
Las Calaveras

COUNTY RECORDERS OFFICE:

Marriage Books
Death Certificates
Births

See Notice at top of this page

Mokolumne Hill Historical Society
8367 Center Street
Mokolumne Hill, CA
209-286-1770

They are a historical society and house museum which seeks to preserve records.

Number of members: 125
Hours: Winter: 11-3, Sat and Sun; Summer: 1-5, Fri-Sun
Contact: Doris Tyrrell, President (209-286-1510)

CALAVERAS COUNTY

CH Cal 1885 Facs. Calaveras County illustrated and described, showing its advantages for homes. Oakland: W. W. Elliott and Company, 1885; Fresno: Valley Publishers, 1976. Facsimile ed.

A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Merced, Stanislaus, 
Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa, California 
The Lewis Publishing Company - 1892 

If anyone has this text in either version and is willing to do look ups please contact me so that I can list you as a resource.

CALAVERAS COUNTY GHOST TOWNS or PLACE NAMES

Found in current Amador County
 

Lancha Plana Camp Union French Camp Camp O'pera  Townerville Middle Bar Big Bar Quincy Muletown Live Oak Carbondale Ranlett

Copper Hill Musicdale Butte City Doschville Irishtown Irish Hill Upper Rancheria American Flat Lower Rancheria  Summit City Forest Home Fort John

Misery Flat Enterprise Spanish Gulch Aquaduct Jackass Gulch Santa Maria Gulch  Columbia Bar China Gulch Union Bar Put's Bar Fort Ann Arkansas Ferry

Contreras Slabtown Pokerville Jacalito Chaparral Hill Winters Bar Poverty Bar Copper Center  Blood Gulch Yeomet Button Willow Quien Sabe?

Found in Calaveras County
 

Abbeys Ferry Alabama: Gulch, Hill Albany Flat Altaville Alto Mining District Angelo Angels: Camp, Creek Angier House Antione Average Bakers Claim Balaklava Hill Bald Hill Bayecito Bear: Mountains,   Creek Biacete Big Bar Big Flat Black Creek Blue Mountain: City District Boston Companys Bar Boston Mine Bostwick Bar Brownsville Brushville Buckeye: Flat, Hill, Gulch Buena Vista Hill Buntys Gulch Butte Flat Byrnes Ferry Calaveritas: Creek, Hill Camanche Camp Catarrh Camp Flores Campo de los Muertos Campo Seco Camp Senorita Camp Spirito Capulope Carson: Creek, Hill, Flat, town Cat Camp Catts Camp Cave City Cayote or Cayute Central Hill: Central Hill Channel Chaparral Hill Chaparral Tunnel Cherokee: House, Creek, Flat Chichi Chilean Gulch Chili Camp Chili Gulch China Bar Cisna Hill Clays Bar Colburg Collierville District Comanche Copperopolis Corons Corral Flat Coyote: Gulch, Creek Dead Mans Hill Diamond Bar Dogtown Double Springs Douglass Flat Dry Diggings Duck Bar Dunning Claim Dutchmans Gulch El Dorado El Dorado: Bar, Flat

Ella Mine Esmeralda Esperanza Eutaw Camp Fashville Felix Filibuster Bar Foremans Forks of the Road Fosteria Fourth Crossing French Camp French Gulch French Hill Frogtown German Ridge Glencoe Gold Cliff Golden Gate Hill Gold Hill Gospel: Flat, Gulch, Swamp Grand Bar Grape Vine District Greasertown Grub Hill Gwin Mines Haightsville Hanselman Hill Happy Valley Hawk Eye Hicks Hodson District Hog Hill Hubbardville Huntsville Independence Indian Creek Indian Flat Indian Gulch Iowa Cabins Iron Mountain Irvine James Bar Jenks Ranch Jenny Bar Jenny Lind Jesus Maria Joe Wallace Gulch John Bull Diggings Jones Flat Kentucky House Kohlbergs Humbug Latimers Lemmons Les Fourcades Licking Forks Lightner Mine Limerick Long: Gulch, Canyon Los Muertos Lost City Lower Bar Lower Calaveritas Lower Rich Gulch McKinneys Humbug McLeans: Bar, Ferry Madison Mine Maloneys; Meloneys Mansanita Marble Springs Martins Bar Meloncitos Melones

Mesquite District Milton Moaning Cave Mokelumne: Diggings, Gulch Mekolumne Hill Morgan: Ground, Slope Mosquito Gulch Mountain King Mine Mountain Ranch Mugginsville Murphys Murrays Creek Musquito Negro Hill New Boston Company Bar New York Bar Nigger Gulch Nigger Hill North Branch North Hill Nyes Ferry O'Byrne Ferry Old Channel Old Gulch Old Womans Gulch OnEils: Creek, Bar Otter Bar Owlsburg, Owlburrow Flat Paloma Pennsylvania Gulch Petersburg Petticoat Mine Phoenix Company Bar Picaune Gulch Pine Log Pleasant Springs Pomfrets Hill Poverty Bar Prussian Hill Quail Hill Quaker City Mine Ragged Breeches Bar Ragtown: Ragtown Hill Rail Road Flat Red Flat Hill Red Hill Regans Reynolds Ferry Rich Gulch Rio Rico Mines Rio Saco Mines Robinsons Ferry Rock Creek Royal Mine Sailor Gulch Salt Spring Valley San Andreas San Antonio San Bruno San Domingo Sandy Bar Sandy Gulch San Jacinto San Pascal Scollans Camp Scorpion Gulch Second Crossing Sheep Ranch Shorts Bar Skull Flat Slab Rock Slumgullion Smith Flat District

Snake Gulch Soher & Parrish's Bridge Solomons Hole South Carolina Mine Spanish Bar Spring Gulch Squaw Hollow Stanislaus Diggings Steep Gulch Steubenville Stockton Hill Stone Cabin Gulch Stone: City, House, Creek, Settlement Stoutenberg Stuarts: Hill, Flat Sweet Vengeance Swiss Bar Talbots Hill Taylors Bar Telegraph City Texas House Third Crossing Tunnel Hill Turnersville Twists Ranch Two Mile Bar Two Springs Union Bar Upper: Bar, Ferry Upper Calaveritas Upper Rich Gulch Utica Mine Valentine Hill Vallecito Valley Springs Vermont Bar Wades Flat Wallace Wards Diggings Washington: Flat, Ranch Waynes Bar West Point Wet Gulch Whale Boat Ferry Whales Bar Whiskey: Gulch, Flat, Hill Whiskey Slide Whit's Bar Willow Bar Willow Springs Wilson Creek Winters Bar Winterton Woodhouse Yaqui Camp

Link to Cemetery Web page "California's Calaveras County Cemeteries".

Births
Thomas J. Reese was born Oct 8th 1807
Ann wife of the above was born March 29th 1810
Mary Reese Daughter of the above was born October 22nd 1828
Cathrine Reese was born July 29th 1830
Jane Reese was born March 16th 1832
Eli Reese was born June 4th 1834
Thomas and Fredrk were born March 22nd 1836
John Reese was born October 19th 1838
David Reese was born Feb 1st 1841
Jacob Reese was born March 22nd 1844
Samuel Reese was born Dec 7th 1846
Margret Ann Reese born March 19th 1850
Angeline Reese born April 13th 1852 Died July 30 1933

Deaths
Thomas Reese Son of Thomas and Ann Reese died May 20th 1836
Margret Ann Reese, Daughter of Thomas and Ann Reese, died March 22nd 1850
Mrs. Jane Price died December 14th 1850
David Reese Son of Thomas and Ann Reese was wounded August 20th and died Dec 20th 1864 at Andersonville Georgia
Mrs. Ann Reese wife of Thos J. Reese Died Dec 9th 1880 Age 70 yr 8 mo. 9 days
Mr. Thomas J. Reese died Oct 15th 1881 Age 74 yrs 8 days
Eli, son of Thos & Ann Reese died April 19(blurred) 1885
Mrs. Cathren Batten died Oct 28th 1899. Age 69 yrs
Mrs. Jane Price died Oct 15th 1901 age 69 years
Fredrk Reese died Dec 11th 1901 age 66 years
Mrs. Mary James Died May 19th 1905 age 76 yr
John H. Smith Died July 2nd 1906 Age 58 yr
Claude K. Smith (Son of John H. and Angeline Smith) died Jan 23 1932 Age 41 yrs 9 mo. 5 days
Angeline Reese Smith (daughter of Thos J. and Ann Reese) died July 30 1933 Age 81 yrs. 3 mo. 17 days

Marriages
Mary Reese to Wm P James December 23rd Dec 1844
Jane Reese to Wm Price Dec 1849
Cathrine Reese to John Batten 1850
John Reese to Sarah Connag [or Connaq?] June 1863
Samuel Reese to Mary Weaklin [or Weaklim?] Feb 2nd 1866 Friday 8:40 p.m.
Jacob Reese to Annie Richards Feb 22nd 1866
Eli Reese to Belinda Seligman August 8th 1866
John H. Smith to Angie Reese May 11th 1881

R. A. Bagley e-mail: myfamilyroots@comcast.net

Arnold
Sierra Sentinel News
PO Box A,   Arnold, CA  95223

Jackson
Calaveras Ledger Dispatch
PO Box 1328,   Jackson, CA  95642

San Andreas
Calaveras Enterprise
Box 1197,  San Andreas, CA   95249

San Andreas area
Calaveras County Archives
30 N. Main Box 1281,  San  Andreas, CA  95249
Newspapers: Calaveras Weekly Chronicle Oct 18-Nov 8,1851.