Feel free to request a look-up from the following books. Please limit your request to one name per request. Please put STANISLAUS COUNTY LOOKUP in the subject line of your request to insure the message is not overlooked or accidentally 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. 

RECOGNIZE ANY OF THESE FOLKS?

Johnson Elementary (or Joint Elementary) Grades 3-4-5th 1943

If you do, please contact me.

Stanislaus County Historical Museums

Central California Information Center
CSU, Stanislaus, 801 W. Monte Vista Ave., Turlock, CA 95380 209-667-3307

An archives and/or manuscript repository.

Activities: Operates under agreement with California State Office of Historic Preservation to maintain archaeological and historic site records for Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne counties. Research fee charged.

McHenry Museum,1402 I Street, Modesto, CA 05154 209-577-5366

We are an archives and/or manuscript repository and general museum.

Number of members: 1,285 Activities: Extensive local archives, changing exhibits. Publish quarterly newsletter, Stepping Stones, local history books, and re-prints of local histories. Hours: 12-4, Tue-Sun Contact: Wayne Mathes, Curator

Turlock Centennial Foundation, P.O. Box 1694, Turlock, CA 95381

We are a specialized history foundation.

Activities: Supports and encourages the study of California history and culture through grants, awards, and prizes. Awards at all levels from elementary school to post-graduate level. Publication: Streams in a Thirsty Land: A History of the Turlock Region. Contact: Catherine Julien, President

---

Stanislaus County Free Library Genealogical Resources 

---

The following was received courtesy of the Genealogy Society of Stanislaus County, Inc. and Mrs.Mileta Farr Kilroy. It is important reading for any Stanislaus county genealogy researcher.

Our county library is considered one of the finest in the San Joaquin Valley, and people from many outlying communities come here to do family history research in the Special Collections Room. This rather small room has the name of “Stanislaus” on the door, but most often it is referred to as the Special Collections Room. The room is kept locked at all times and patrons must sign in at the magazine desk before being admitted by a page. Here the books do not circulate, and may be taken from the room only to make copies at any of the five copy machines in the main room.

Specials Collections Room contains a genealogical collection of approximately 1600 titles and is being constantly expanded with additional books purchased by the library and the Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County. The society usually budgets $1000 each year for books to add to the collection. The library continues to purchase many books such as the Passenger Lists by Filby which are issued annually as well as the Periodical Source Indexes. Due to lack of shelf space, family histories are no longer accepted, but there are still about thirty volumes on the shelves as well as many books that contain more than one genealogy. Three books by Edith Bartlett Sumner which were published in the late 1940s contain many family histories, are quite well documented with both primary and secondary sources, and are fully indexed. These books are known to have incorrect information in some instances so need to be used with caution.

Kaminkow’s Genealogies in the Library of Congress, volumes 1 and 2, with supplement are on the shelf as well as the new edition which was published in 1986 and contains genealogies published through 1986. Also Schreiner-Yantis’ Genealogical and Local Histories in Print, Crowther’s Surname Index to Sixty-Five Volumes of Colonial and Revolutionary Pedigrees, and Volumes 1 through 6 of Virkus’ The American Compendium of American Genealogy.

Sharing space in the Special Collections Room is the Californiana Collection which is probably twice as large as the genealogical collection. This contains California state and county histories, statistical records of counties and cities, state legislature records and a large number of biographies of early California pioneers and other people who have achieved prominence in the state. Dominating the collection are the thirty-nine volumes of Bancroft’s Works, the monumental series done by Hubert Howe Bancroft which covers the western half of North America.

A small alcove off the special Collections Room is devoted almost entirely to Stanislaus County records, boasting over 200 titles. This number does not include the Polk city and county directories from 1867 to the present time, county telephone directories from 1952 and the many annual catalogs from our two community colleges in the area, Modesto Junior College and Columbia Junior College. Also in this section are the catalogs from our fairly new California State University Stanislaus which is in Turlock, thirteen miles south of the county seat. In this small alcove room are found many fine histories of Stanislaus County including the fine books of Tinkham, Branch and Vasche. Here, too are many locally written histories of several smaller towns in the county as well as church histories, chamber of commerce reports, real estate atlases and a few plat maps. There is a section given to Public School records that records all the teachers and superintendents for the years between the 1940s and the present.

A fiche reader has a prominent place in the alcove and a fiche collection including the California Information File; California Death Index 1940-1995; California Marriage Index 1960-1986; early Sacramento Vital Records 1856-1905 taken from the Sacramento Bee; Salt Lake City Family History Center Library card catalog and indexes of early San Francisco newspapers, Examiner and Chronicle. At the Reference desk in the main room you can find the Sutro card catalog (to 1995) on fiche, as well as Bio-Base. To find later lists of Sutro’s books, look in the Special Collections room for two black binders which have the call number 929.3 Sut on them. These binders contain lists of all the new acquisitions since 1990. If your research includes Stanislaus County, you may want to ask at the Reference desk for the card file index of early Stanislaus County newspapers from 1908 to the 1940s. I am happy to report that volunteers from the Stanislaus County Genealogical Society are now indexing the earliest (1868) newspapers of the county and hope to complete it to the existing index of 1908.

Stanislaus County Library receives four periodicals on a regular basis:

1. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1950-1996, with a few missing issues. Also two indexes to the first fifty volumes. 2. The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 1964 to present, with some missing. Also the topical index to the first volumes. 3. DAR Magazine. The early issues of this magazine are hardboard by the year and run from 1920-1991. There are current issues to 1997 that are not bound. Found here are quite a few of the Sons of the Revolution magazine. 4. The Genealogical Helper, published by Everton has a complete run from 1980 to the present time.

These periodicals are similar in content in that they feature articles on family research, have book reviews and query sections. All are well indexed, and cover most geographic areas. Prior to 1988, the library had an extensive collection of old quarterlies and newsletters from genealogical societies all over the United States. these were donated to the Book Nook, a small circulating library which is available to members of the local genealogical society.

New in the Special Collections Room in the past few years is the new series published by the Allen County Library: Bibliography of Genealogy and Local Historical Periodicals With Union List of Major United States Collections. We now have 16 volumes on the shelf and these have proven to be very useful to the serious family historian. The following indexes listed in the NGS lesson are in the Special Collections Room: 1. Munsell’s Index to American Genealogies. 2. Jacobus’ Index to Genealogical Periodicals. 3 Russell and Towle’s Genealogical Periodical Annual Index (GPAI). 4. Periodical Source Index (PERSI) 16 volumes. 5. The Lower Norfolk County, Virginia Antiquary. 6. Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine. } Stanislaus County Library does not have a manuscript collection, but does have the U.S. National Historical Publication and Records Commission’s Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States. At the nearby California State University Stanislaus, and readily available to researchers, is the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and Index to Personal Names in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.

In the Special Collections Room are two vertical files, one for Stanislaus County and the other for the city of Modesto, which is the county seat. These files are bulging with local biographies, obituaries and newspaper clippings of early county and city events. Files such as schools, irrigation, taxes business and industry, buildings, libraries and numerous other subjects are found here. One much used file is under the heading of “Schools”. In this file are many old newspapers which feature pictures of Modesto High School and Junior College Graduating senior pictures.

The library has an extensive collection of old newspapers on microfilm starting in 1868 with the Tuolumne News and continuing with the Stanislaus County Weekly News. In 1874, the Modesto Morning Herald was started, and has been continuous since then, later becoming the Modesto Bee. On the shelf are found Gregory’s American Newspapers, 1821-1936: A Union List of Files Available in the United States and Canada; Anita Cheek Milner’s Newspaper Indexes: A Location and Subject Guide for Researchers and two volumes of Karen Mauer Green’s Pioneer Newspapers 1793-1818.

At the present time, our library has seven microfilm readers, two of them photo copiers. there are eight fiche readers, one a copier. In the microfilm collection are 135 rolls of Stanislaus County records: probates from 1854 to 1920, grantee/grantor indexes, coroner’s reports, homesteads, marriage applications, burial permits and many other public records. For Indian research, there are many rolls of film including the Dawes Roll. Also on microfilm is the genealogical index to the Newberry Library, the Greenlaw Index and the complete United States Federal Censuses of 1790 and 1810.

The federal Census Indexes have not been mentioned as yet and there is a fine collection of over 250 volumes in the Special Collections Room. These are all in one section and are coded with blue and yellow tape and shelved together regardless of a different call number on some of the books. The collection is being added to as funds become available.

Other very useful books to the family history researcher are: Andriot’s Township Atlas of the United States Filby’s Passenger and Immigration Lists (Three volumes first published in 1981 with supplements every year since then including 1996) Smith’s Federal Land Series, 4 volumes Greenwood’s The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Everton’s The Handy Book for Genealogists, 8th edition Filby’s American and British Genealogy and Heraldry Bremer’s Compendium of Historical Sources Szucs and Luebking’s The Archives: Guide to the National Archives Field Branches Virgil White’s 4 volume set, General Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files DAR’s newest 3 volumes of the Patriot’s Index

So far we have covered most of what is in the Special Collections Room. In the main part of the library there is an extensive collection of Who’s Who books, history books, multi-volume sets of The Dictionary of American Biography, and The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. There are many histories of the different American wars, a large section devoted to the building of the west, railroad histories and many other very useful books which contain genealogical information. For anyone seeking an ancestor from this area, there is a collection of interviews of early pioneers done on cassette audio tapes.

For the past fifteen years, experienced genealogists have been on hand one day each week to help people with their family history research. These helpers are volunteers from the Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County. They also answer queries that come to the library from all over the United States and Canada as well as keep the books shelved and the room in order.

The library also participates in interlibrary loan.

Since this paper was written in 1991, there have been many changes in the Stanislaus County Free Library. Computers have been installed and there is no longer the need for card files. Patrons are able to use the CD Roms and the Internet. Some additions have been made to the lists of genealogical books.

This report by Mileta Farr Kilroy was prepared for the National Genealogical Society Home Study Course in 1991. She has updated this so it could be published in the Researcher to aid those who use this library.

Editor’s note: When you go to the library you may want to take this article with you. You will astonish other patrons and probably some library staff also. Mileta, you and your volunteers deserve the appreciation of all genealogists who use our library. Thanks, for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.

Return to Top of the page

Stanislaus County Cemetery Reference List

Note: This is only a partial list and there are many more cemeteries yet to be added

Acacia Memorial Park, 801 Scenic Dr., Modesto, CA 95350 (209) 522-0452

Denair Cemetery, E. Zeering Road, Denair, CA  95316 (209) 634-2859

Ceres Cemetery Association, 1801 E. Whitmore Ave., Ceres, CA 95307 (209) 537-9013

Hills Ferry Cemetery District, 1334 Stuhr Rd., Newman, CA 95360 (209) 862-0501

Lakewood Memorial Park, 900 S. Santa Fe Ave., Hughson, CA 95324, (209) 883-4465

Modesto Pioneer Cemetery, 905 Scenic Dr., Modesto, CA 95350, (209) 522-7736

Oakdale Citizens Cemetery, Oakdale, CA (209) 847-1127

Patterson Cemetery District, 10800 Hwy 33, Patterson, CA 95363, (209) 892-8654 or 892-6233

St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery, 1141 Scenic Dr., Modesto, CA 95350, (209) 529-3905

Turlock Memorial Park, 575 N. Soderquist Rd., Turlock, CA 95380, (209) 632-1018
     1875 to June 1, 2001 - 25,000 entries  Lookup volunteer Mrs. Carolyn Kerr

Valley Home Memorial Park Cemetery, 30705 E. Lone Tree Rd., Oakdale, CA, (209) 847-5453

Also see the Genealogy Society of Stanislaus County, Inc., for their cemetery publications

Wood Colony cemetery

Stanislaus County Recorder
1021 I Street
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 525-5265  Birth & Death Certificates
525-5260  Deeds, Liens& Property Transfers
Online lookups

The Center is a branch of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nearly all two million reels of microfilmed records and 350,000 microfiches available in Salt Lake may be used locally at the Geer Road Family History Center through an extensive, modest fee, lending program. Many of the 195,000 books from the Salt Lake Library are also in microform and may be borrowed. Books that do not exist in microform copy, however, do not circulate from Salt Lake. Research strengths of the Family History Library available through the loan program at the Center are national census schedules of the United States (1790 - 1920); Canada (1841 - 1901), England, Scotland, and Wales (1831 - 1891); and Denmark (1787 - 1911), Iceland (1762 -1901), Ireland (1901), and Norway (1664 - 1900). The 1850 - 1920 U.S. federal census schedules and the other censuses listed above include the names of the occupants of all residences.

The Libarary also has civil and/or church vital records from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century; these records exist in the library's collection from, among other countries, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Philippines and most of the countries of western Europe (including Azores) and Poland. Among the church records for Sweden are clerical surveys which can be used as a substitute for census records.

The Family History Library also has about 43,000 printed and manuscript family histories, the majority of which are in microform and may be sent to the Turlock Family History Center for use. A lot of nineteenth century land records and probates and will have been microfilmes for the majority of the United States and may be used in Turlock.

The Center has reference sources, indexes and catalogs necessary to assist researchers to obtain family history and genealogical research materials from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. An important index is the International Genealogical Index which contains 240 million names of deceased persons from 1500. Another index, the Ancestral File, contains fifteen million names, most of which are linked together in family groupings. The birth and marriage dates of living persons are not provided in these indexes until after their death. The Accelerated Indexing Systems index to the heads of households of the 1790 through 1850 U.S. federal census schedules is also available at the Center. The Family Registry provides an index to 336, 240 registrations of ancestors of individuals who are willing to share information or persons who are seeking information about indexed ancestors. The TempleReady program is also available.

The Turlock Family History Center's Director and assistants are all volunteers. Any one interested in researching their ancestors is welcome to use the Center. Use of the Center is free; however, there are small fees for genealogical forms and photo duplication, and modest fees to borrow microfilms from the Family History Library. For reservations to use the Ancestral File, and International Genealogical Index, on CD-ROM, or TempleReady, telephone 632-9640.

Stanislaus County Reference Books

History of Stanislaus County by Elliott & Moore, 1881
See: CH Stan 1881 Oversize History of Stanislaus County, California, with illustrations des criptive of its scenery, farms, residences, public buildings, factories, hotels, business houses, schools, churches and mines. From original drawings by artists of the highest ability. With biographical sketches of prominent citizens. San Francisco: Elliott and Moore, 1881.

History of Stanislaus County, California, by Tinkham, 1921
See: CH Stan 1921 TINKHAM, GEORGE HENRY. History of Stanislaus County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the County who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present. Los Angeles: Historic Record Company 1921.

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

Return to Top of the page

The following was contributed by Mildred Starr of Modesto, California

Rivers of Stanislaus County:

San Joaquin
Tuolumne
Stanislaus

Ranchos:

del Rio Estanislao
Thompson’s
Orestimba
Del Puerto
Pescadero

From various directories of the area. Each is listed only the first time it appears.

1867 Pacific Coast Business Directory

Horr’s Ranch Post Office, 16 miles south of Knight’s Ferry
Langworth Post Office, 25 miles south east of Stockton, 16 miles below Knight’s Ferry
Leitch & Kottle’s Ferry Post Office 14 miles below Knight’s Ferry
Tuolumne Post Office Langworth, 32 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Knight’s Ferry County Seat, Post Office, from Sacramento 85 miles, from Stockton 40 miles, from San Quentin 170 miles
La Grange Post Office, 18 miles south east of Knight’s Ferry

1871 Pacific Coast Business Directory 1871-1873

Adamsville Listed as being in the vicinity of Tuolumne City, not a separate listing
Bakersville Post Office Horr’s Ranch, 18 miles south of Knight’s Ferry
Berryville Post Office Burwood, San Joaquin County, 21 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Buena Vista Post Office Knight’s Ferry, 1 1/2 miles south east of Knight’s Ferry
Burneyville Post Office Langworth, 21 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Crow’s Landing Post Office, 36 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Empire City Post Office Paradise, 20 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
French Bar see La Grange
Graysonville Post Office, 40 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Hills Ferry Post Office, 40 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Huntsville Post Office La Grange, 22 miles south east of Knight’s Ferry
Knight’s Ferry

KF was listed in 1871, but it is repeated because of the description. Knight’s Ferry, Stanislaus Co. PO and County seat, is situated on the NW bank of the Stanislaus river, and on the stage-road leading from Stockton via Chinese Camp to Sonora; also to Yosemite via Coulterville, or Big Oak Flat. This place was once important as a mining camp--the river bars and the neighboring gulches being rich in gold-- but its present dependence is upon its agricultural resources and the business incident to its position as the County seat. A covered bridge of 360 feet span crosses the Stanislaus river at this point.

McKibbins Landing Post Office Knight’s Ferry
Paradise City Post Office, 30 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry
Tuolumne City Post Office, 40 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry, north bank of the river of the same name, and at the end of steamboat navigation.
Twenty Six Mile House Post Office, 13 miles west of Knight’s Ferry
Westport Post Office Paradise, 28 miles south west of Knight’s Ferry

1875 California State Business Directory

Oakdale
Turlock
Waterford

1878 Pacific State and Territories Business Directory

Grayson

1881 City and County Directory

Black Hills Post Office Milton Calaveras County
Ceres

1883 Pacific Coast Directory Stanislaus County

Delhi Post Office Turlock, Southern Pacific Station 19 miles from Merced (Delhi is now in Merced County) Junction City Post Office La Grange
Salida Central and southern pacific, 23 miles from Stockton, 6 miles from Modesto, nearest station to Paradise Valley, important grain shipping point
Tuolumne Bridge Post Office Modesto

1884-1885 City and Town Directory

Adamsville see Modesto
Bachelor Valley see 26 Mile House
Belpassi see Modesto
Bonita see Ceres and Crows Landing, also Horrs Ranch and Grayson
Booth see Oakdale Branch see La Grange
Burnett see Oakdale
Canal see Hill’s Ferry
Cole see Modesto
Corner see La Grange
Davis see Modesto, also Ceres
Dry Creek see Horr’s Ranch
Emory see Knight’s Ferry, see also Oakdale
Empire see Modesto
Farm Cottage see 26 Mile House
Garner see Modesto
Geneva see Grayson
Golden City see La Grange
Haight see Grayson
Hamilton see Grayson
Hermitage see Horr’s Ranch
Home Union see 26 Mile House
Jackson see Modesto
Jones see Modesto
Junction see Modesto
Keyes see Modesto
Lafayette see Grayson, also La Grange
Laird see Modesto
Live Oak see La Grange
McHenry see Modesto
Milnes see Modesto
Orestimba see Crows Landing, also Hill’s Ferry
Purvis see Grayson
Rising Sun see Grayson
Rinehart see Modesto
Robinson see Oakdale
Rowe see Modesto
Shiloh see Modesto
Solambo see La Grange
Stanislaus see Modesto
Tilden see Horr’s Ranch
Union see Horr’s Ranch
Washington see Oakdale
West Side see Hill’s Ferry
White Crow see Crows Landing
White Oak see Modesto, see Waterford

1893 California State Gazetteer and Business Directory

Byersville Post Office, on San Joaquin River 14 miles south of Modesto
Newman formerly Hill’s Ferry
Westley

1893 City and Town Directory Stanislaus County

Farmington San Joaquin County-- some residents in Stanislaus County
Hickman 15 miles from Modesto, 1 mile from Waterford
Montpelier 22 miles from Modesto via Waterford
28 Mile House see 26 Mile House, 26 miles from Stockton and 9 miles north west of Oakdale, on road to Milton

These towns came into being as the trains moved into new areas.

Thalheim -- Stockton and Visalia RR -- in the early 1900s-- name changed to Valley Home
Riverbank -- San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley RR -- 1896 -- The Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe had a roundhouse there.
Clauston -- SF and SJ Valley RR, Post Office 1901 name changed to Claus.
Elmdale -- Post Office 1898, named changed to Elmwood 1904 and to Denair in 1907.
Paulsell -- Sierra Railway, 1897 cattle loading point for the Gatzman Ranch.
Warnerville -- Sierra Railway, Post Office 1898
Cooperstown -- Sierra Railway 1901
Hatch -- Tidewater Southern, 1916

Some additional names of towns, areas, ferrys and crossings

Lone Star House - on the Mariposa Road, built about 1850
Patricksville - 1860s mining settlement
Mt. Brow stage stop and tavern late 1850s -Stockton and Sonora Rd at Little John Creek
Hillyer & Burnham
Sirey & Clark
Murphey
Bailey
Islip
Cotton
Holden
Cottle
Heath & Emory
Rutherford Crossing
Keeley
New Hope
Turner
South Tuolumne Landing
Bell’s Landing
Patterson Landing
Ward
Mahoney Landing
Russell
Blair
Crescent City (prima) (lower)
Ripperdan (known by this name onal a short time) see Crescent City (prima)(lower)
Crescent City (secundo) (upper) see Empire City
Dallas
Harvey Davis
Salter
Patricksville

Names of the ‘districts’ as listed in the 1860 Federal Census: Oatvale is not noted elsewhere.

Branch
Buena Vista
Emory
Empire
Oatvale
Orestimba

Names are derived from the named directories, from maps, from the Federal Census of 1860 and from I.N. Brotherton’s ‘River Towns and the Ferries’.

Millie Starr April 11, 1997

Return to Top of the page