California County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records

American court files mirror U.S. history. Buried away in courthouses and archives everywhere are the dreams and frustrations of millions of citizens. The chances are great that your ancestors have left a detailed record of at least some aspects of their lives in court records.

Most of us don’t think of court records as the rich source of personal history that they are. But America’s English heritage established a tradition of court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively—and we always have. With relative freedom from royal supervision and with court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action.

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When a person dies, every state has laws that provide for public supervision over the estate that is left, whether or not there is a will. The term “probate records” broadly covers all the records produced by these laws, although, strictly speaking, “probate” applies only when there is a will.

Family historians use probate case files far more than any other kind of court record. Probate case files are logical sources because they tend to include so much personal data, and because Americans have depended on the courts to settle their estates since North America was colonized. According to Val Greenwood in his Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, “All records which relate to the disposition of an estate after its owner’s death are referred to as probate records. These are many and varied in both content and value, but basically, they fall into two main classes: testate and intestate” (page 255) . Probate case files generally provide names, addresses, and biographical data for the deceased, but frequently provide the same information for other relatives named in the papers. Relationships, maiden names of wives, married names of daughters, past residences, and place of origin in a native country are just a few of the details that can be discovered in probate files. And probate files can be found in courthouses and archives across the United States.

When requesting probate information from the county clerk, it is important not to limit yourself by asking for a person’s “will.” The clerk will usually take you at your word and not copy other papers in the probate file that may have equally important information if there is no will.

Even if your ancestor is not mentioned in a probate case, consider all of the other procedures which might have resulted in him or her appearing in court records:

California Court Records

See Also Research In State Court Probate - Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session. It was a civic duty-and they could be fined if they did not attend......

The California court system has four levels of jurisdiction: the municipal court, which largely took the place of the earlier justice of the peace court at the local level; the superior court, a county-wide court that handles both civil and criminal cases and cases involving minors; the six district courts of appeal, which review all cases coming from the superior courts except those involving the death penalty; and the state supreme court, which takes extraordinary writs, all appeals in death penalty cases, and may review all other appeals.

 Each of these courts has a clerk of the court, and correspondence regarding a case should be directed to the clerk of the particular court having jurisdiction over the litigation. If there is doubt as to the proper court from which to seek information, the State Attorney General's Office, 1515 "K" Street, Sacramento, California 95814, will be able to provide the information.

Some early court records from at least Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Nevada, Sonoma, and Sutter counties have been sent to the California State Archives. Besides court minutes and judgements, these records include tax lists, wills, deeds, estate inventories, and marriage bonds.

• California Court Books at Amazon.com
• Naturalization Petitions for the Southern District Of California, 1887-1940 (The National Archives): NARA M1524. Naturalization Petitions for the Southern District Of California, 1887-1949.
• Naturalization Records in the Superior Court of San Diego, CA, 1883-1958 : NARA M1613. Naturalization Records in the Superior Court of San Diego, California, 1883-1958. These records include petitions for naturalization, oaths of allegiance, and sometimes supporting documents like certificates of arrival.
• Naturalization Records of the Superior Court of Los Angeles, CA, 1876-1915 : NARA M1614. Naturalization Records of the Superior Court of Los Angeles, California, 1876-1915.
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California Probate Records

See Also Research In State Probate Records - Probate records include a variety of documents created to support court proceedings in the settlement of an individuals' estates. The number and type of probate records created may vary over time in different jurisdictions and due to the amount of real and personal property involved. The various documents generated in the probate process are rarely filed together......

The court that has jurisdiction over an estate is the superior court in the county in which the person resided at the time of his or her death. When a probate case is opened, the clerk of the court will keep a journal for that particular numbered file and maintain that file when the case is closed. Files can be searched at the office of the clerk of the superior court in which the probate occurred. Check for the file and then request the entire journal. The “Petition for Final Distribution” is ordered when all of the legal requirements have been met and the estate is to be distributed to the heirs. This is an important instrument to the researcher as it may give insights into the relationships of the heirs to the decedent. If the estate is contested, if there are minor heirs, or if other non-routine proceedings occur, all of these will generate additional materials to be researched.

The first request for information about a probate should go to the superior court clerk of the county in which the decedent died and proceed from there to other courts when necessary. When researching in San Francisco County, it is important to remember that many of the records were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. Some local and county genealogical societies in the state (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies) have published indexes to early probate records.

• California Probate Books at Amazon.com
• Military - The men and women called to serve their country in military duty are a source of pride to their families and to their nation. Now, with databases containing more than 16 million names and thousands of government records available to search, researching your veteran ancestors has become easier than ever before.

California Tax Records

See Also Researching in Tax Records - Things taxed have included carriages and watches, windows and whiskey, land and slaves. Taxes on documents and tea helped start a war. Arkansas Territory’s sudden tax on bounty lands in the 1820s was enacted and due before the news had time to reach out-of-state owners, permitting the quick seizure and sale of “delinquent” lands. As this variety suggests, name lists of such taxes must be used with a cautious understanding of who should be on the list and who should not...

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service Assessment List for California, 1862–66, is available on thirty-three microfilm rolls at the California State Library in Sacramento. The lists include names, location and description of business, and tax rate for individuals taxed.

Similar to tax records in their yearly listing of residents are the “Great Register” of California, which are miscellaneous county voting registers that exist from the mid-nineteenth century. The registers were compiled and printed about every two years. Before 1900, they show name, address, and age (but the age may remain the same after a man's first entry). From about the mid-1800s, physical descriptions are included, but after the 1898 register, only the name, address, party affiliation, and sometimes occupation are listed.

Before 1892, the lists are county-wide, but usually alphabetical only by first letter or surname. They are particularly valuable for foreign-born voters, as the date and court of naturalization are listed. Copies of the "Great Registers," (1866–1944) are at the California State Library, which also has alphabetical card file abstracts for some of the earlier registers for San Francisco. Records from 1946 are with the individual county registrars of voters.

Personal property tax records have been published for a few counties. Tax lists, along with other sources, are being used to reconstruct the lost 1890 federal population census.

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