If you go to the FamilySearch record collections page, https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list, and type "california" in the "Filter by collection name" box in the upper left-hand corner, you can see the list of the 40 California databases currently available on FamilySearch:
Some of the collections are indexed (if there is a number in the "Records" column, they are indexed), and some of the indexed collections have record images, but not all of them do. Some of the collections are not indexed, and are denoted by the "Browse Images link in the "Records" column. The "Browse Images" collections are "waypointed," meaning that they are separated into logical sections, like counties, or surname initials, or surname ranges, etc.
Here is a clickable list of the California-specific collections on FamilySearch:
- California Birth Index, 1905-1995; 524,596,223 indexed records, last updated 01 Mar 2012
- California Births and Christenings, 1812-1988; 34,399 indexed records, last updated 08 Mar 2012
- California Cemetery Transcriptions, 1850-196; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 07 Feb 2013
- California County Naturalizations, 1849-1949; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 15 May 2015
- California Death Index, 1905-1939; 2,086,638 indexed records, last updated 05 Jun 2015
- California Death Index, 1940-1997; 9,366,543 indexed records, last updated 07 Mar 2012
- California Divorce Index, 1966-1984; 3,518,815 indexed records, last updated 07 Mar 2012
- California Great Registers, 1866-1910; 3,310,884 indexed records, last updated 26 Jul 2013
- California Immigration Registers of Japanese, Filipinos, and Hawaiians at San Francisco, 1928-1942; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 28 Jan 2015
- California Marriage Index, 1960-1985; 4,879,251 indexed records, last updated 06 Dec 2011
- California Marriages, 1850-1945; 43,491 indexed records, last updated 08 Mar 2012
- California Probate Estate Files, 1833-1991; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 15 Jan 2013
- California State Census, 1852; 188,578 indexed records, last updated 28 Oct 2011
- California, Airplane Passenger Lists from Honolulu, Hawaii, 1947-1948; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 04 Feb 2015
- California, Butte County, Obituaries, 1866-1992; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 18 Sep 2014
- California, Chinese Partnerships and Departures from San Francisco, 1912-1943; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 04 Feb 2015
- California, Collections of the California Genealogical Society, 1700-1942; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 22 Jul 2011
- California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994; 106,375 indexed records, last updated 12 Nov 2014
- California, County Marriages, 1850-1952; 1,911,081 indexed records, last updated 12 May 2014
- California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948; 439,368 indexed records, last updated 07 Nov 2012
- California, Northern U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989; 544,192 indexed records, last updated 11 Dec 2012
- California, Oakland, Alameda County, Newspaper Record Collection, 1985-2011; 46,907 indexed records, last updated 09 Jan 2015
- California, San Diego Naturalization Index, 1868-1958; 22,506 indexed records, last updated 04 Mar 2011
- California, San Diego Passenger Lists, 1904-1952; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 10 Feb 2015
- California, San Diego, Airplane Passenger and Crew Lists, 1929-1954; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 20 Mar 2015
- California, San Diego, Chinese Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1923; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 09 Mar 2015
- California, San Francisco Airplane Arrival Card Index, 1936-1949; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 30 Jan 2015
- California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1979; 93,871 indexed records, last updated 07 Jan 2014
- California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 16 Dec 2011
- California, San Francisco Passenger Lists, 1893-1953; 1,188,641 indexed records, last updated 09 Apr 2015
- California, San Francisco Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving, 1954-1957; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 14 Apr 2014
- California, San Francisco, Immigration Office Special Inquiry Records, 1910-1941; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 06 Feb 2014
- California, San Francisco, World War I Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits, 1918; 6,545 indexed records, last updated 20 Dec 2012
- California, San Joaquin, County Public Library Obituary Index, 1850-1991; 98,787 indexed records, last updated 14 May 2012
- California, San Mateo County Records, 1851-1991; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 26 Apr 2013
- California, San Mateo County, Colma, Italian Cemetery Records, 1899-2011; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 03 Nov 2014
- California, San Pedro, Immigration Office Special Inquiry Records, 1930-1936; Browse Images only, no index, last updated 03 Feb 2014
- California, Southern District Court (Central) Naturalization Index, 1915-1976; 562,928 indexed records, last updated 15 Feb 2013
There is a wealth of information available for California records on FamilySearch. If you have California ancestral families, be sure to systematically search through these collections for your folks.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/07/tuesdays-tip-search-or-browse.html
Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.
Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.
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