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Sonoma County Libraries - Open Libraries

The Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library is a community resource of immense value. The local history and genealogy collection was first established in the Santa Rosa Central Library’s California Room. In 1993, the collection was moved to a separate building located adjacent to the Central Library and commonly referred to as the “Annex.” In 2002, the Sonoma County Library Commission, governing board of the county-wide library system, adopted a new mission statement for the local history and genealogy division and renamed it the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library. Services, resources, and technologies continue to grow to meet the demands of those we serve.

Some of the resources available include: 
  • Personalized one-on-one instruction in historical and genealogical research
  • Over 40,000 photographs, many of which are available online as part of the Sonoma Heritage Collections
  • A comprehensive collection of Sonoma County historical works, county, family, and property histories
  • Access to the Sonoma County Archives which hold many of Sonoma County’s earliest court, naturalization and tax records
  • The Sonoma County History Index which has thousands of references to County events, places and people
  • Santa Rosa newspapers on microfilm from 1857 through 1969, as well as other county newspapers for various locations and dates
  • Wide ranging newspaper clipping files
  • The California Indian Library Collection
  • On-line subscriptions to HeritageQuest, Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank and the San Francisco Chronicle 1865-1922
  • Select California city directories and voter registrations
  • Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
  • Indexes to local cemetery, marriage, birth, death and militia records
Contact Information:

History & Genealogy
Sonoma County Library
211 E Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 308-3212
Email: Katherine J. Rinehart, M.A., Manager, at krinehart@sonomalibrary.org
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Vol 13: Handbook of the North American Indians
May 25, 2019
texts
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favorite 2
comment 1
volumes : 29 cm
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: Indiens -- Amérique du Nord, Grupos Etnicos (Em Geral), Native Americans, Inuits, Esquimales,...
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Vol 13: Handbook of the North American Indians
May 25, 2019
texts
eye 58
favorite 1
comment 1
volumes : 29 cm
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: Indiens -- Amérique du Nord, Grupos Etnicos (Em Geral), Native Americans, Inuits, Esquimales,...
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The book of Ulster surnames
Jan 10, 2019 Bell, Robert, 1953-
texts
eye 242
favorite 3
comment 1
Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-259) and index
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Names, Personal, Names, Irish, Names, Irish, Names, Personal, Familienname, Wörterbuch, Northern...
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Uniforms of the American Revolution, 1775-1781
Sep 7, 2018 Mollo, John; McGregor, Malcolm
texts
eye 83
favorite 4
comment 1
Originally published in 1975 as: Uniforms of the American Revolution in colour
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: United States. Army, Great Britain. Army, Great Britain. Army, United States. Army, American...
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Vol v.2: Directory of Scottish settlers in North America, 1625-1825
Sep 4, 2018 Dobson, David
texts
eye 159
favorite 3
comment 1
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: Scottish Americans, Scots, Scots-Irish, Scots-Irish
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The surnames of Scotland, their origin meaning and history
Mar 26, 2018 Black, George Fraser, 1866-1948; New York Public Library
texts
eye 206
favorite 2
comment 1
"Glossary of obsolete or uncommon Scots words": p. 835-838
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Reference, Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy, Etymology, Europe - Western, Genealogy, History,...
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Interviews with Tom Smith and Maria Copa : Isabel Kelly's ethnographic notes on the coast Miwok Indians of Marin and southern Sonoma counties, California ; edited by Mary E.T. Collier and Sylvia Barker Thalman
Jan 25, 2018 Kelly, Isabel T. (Isabel Truesdell), b. 1906; Collier, Mary E. T. (Mary E. Trumbull); Thalman, Sylvia Barker, 1927-; Smith, Tom, b. 1838; Copa, Maria
texts
eye 137
favorite 0
comment 1
Includes bibliographical references and index
favoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topic: Miwok Indians
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Passenger arrivals at the Port of New York, 1820-1829 : from customs passenger lists
Nov 5, 2017 Bentley, Elizabeth Petty
texts
eye 217
favorite 1
comment 1
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Registers of births, etc, Registers of births, etc, Ships
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Hanna Boys Center : haven of hope
- Byrne, William A
texts
eye 34
favorite 0
comment 0
Published to celebrate the home's 50th anniversary, December 5, 1999
Topics: Hanna Boys Center (Sonoma, Calif.), Children
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North of San Francisco
- Matson, Robert W. (Robert William); Gibson, Larry
texts
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
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Making the most of Sonoma county : a California guide
- Edwards, Don, 1948-
texts
eye 10
favorite 0
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Includes index
Topics: General, Travel, Travel - General
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Making the most of Sonoma : a California guide
- Edwards, Don, 1948-
texts
eye 35
favorite 0
comment 0
Includes index
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The Bodega War : and other stories from western lore
- Lee, Hector, 1908-
texts
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
Topics: California, Western stories
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Building an American pedigree; a study in genealogy
- Wright, Norman Edgar
texts
eye 1
favorite 0
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xvi, 639 pages 28 cm
Topics: History -- Sources, Genealogy, United States -- Genealogy, United States -- History -- Sources --...
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The German-Americans
- Rippley, La Vern J
texts
eye 30
favorite 0
comment 0
Bibliography: p. 259-263
Topic: German Americans
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The Encyclopedia of Jewish genealogy
- Kurzweil, Arthur; Weiner, Miriam
texts
eye 99
favorite 1
comment 0
Includes bibliographical references and index
Topic: Jews
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Pacific pinot noir
- John Winthrop Haeger
texts
eye 4
favorite 0
comment 0
Topics: Pinot noir (Wine) -- California, Pinot noir (Wine) -- Oregon, Wine and wine making -- California,...
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A history of the Irish settlers in North America, from the earliest period to the census of 1850
- McGee, Thomas D'Arcy, 1825-1868
texts
eye 2
favorite 0
comment 0
240 pages 22 cm
Topics: Irish -- United States -- History, Irish -- North America -- History, Irish, North America, United...
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Tracing your Civil War ancestor
- Groene, Bertram Hawthorne, 1923-
texts
eye 46
favorite 0
comment 0
Bibliography: p. [112]-118
Topics: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Archival resources -- Directories., United...
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Digitizing your family history : easy methods for preserving your heirloom documents, photos, home movies and more in a digital format
- McClure, Rhonda R
texts
eye 7
favorite 0
comment 0
188 pages : 28 cm
Topics: Genealogy -- Computer network resources, Digital preservation, Digital preservation, Genealogy --...
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Winter of entrapment : a new look at the Donner Party
- King, Joseph A., 1925-
texts
eye 34
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-247) and index
Topics: Biography & Autobiography, History - General History, History: American, Historical - U.S.,...
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California people
- Dunlap, Carol, 1943-
texts
eye 36
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Includes index
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Old-house dictionary : an illustrated guide to American domestic architecture, 1600-1940
- Phillips, Steven J
texts
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Bibliography: p. 201-219
Topic: Architecture, Domestic
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Tracing your Scottish ancestry
- Cory, Kathleen B
texts
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favorite 0
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Includes index
Topics: Genealogy, Scotland
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Karuk : the upriver people
- Bell, Maureen, 1962-
texts
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-143)
Topic: Karok Indians
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Encyclopedia of American wine, including Mexico and Canada
- Kaufman, William I. (William Irving), 1922-1995
texts
eye 42
favorite 0
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Topics: Wine and wine making, Wine and wine making, Wine and wine making, Vin, Vinification, Vin,...
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House histories : a guide to tracing the genealogy of your home
- Light, Sally
texts
eye 10
favorite 0
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ix, 300 p. : 23 cm
Topics: Historic buildings -- United States -- Research -- Handbooks, manuals, etc, Dwellings -- United...
Source: Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control)
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Index to the 1850 census of the State of California
- Bowman, Alan P
texts
eye 16
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Topic: California -- Census, 1850.
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Native Americans of the Pacific coast : peoples of the sea wind
- Brown, Vinson, 1912-1991; Brown, Vinson, 1912-1991. Peoples of the sea wind
texts
eye 23
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Rev. ed. of: Peoples of the sea wind. c1977
Topic: Indians of North America
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California county boundaries : a study of the division of the state into counties and the subsequent changes in their boundaries, with maps
- California Historical Survey Commission; Coy, Owen Cochran, 1884-1952
texts
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Includes bibliographical references and index
Topics: Administrative and political divisions, Boundaries
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Lime Point to Lawson's Landing
- Dick Murdock
texts
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favorite 0
comment 0
Topics: Outdoor recreation -- California -- Marin County -- Guidebooks., Marin County (Calif.) --...
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California patterns : a geographical and historical atlas
- Hornbeck, David; Fuller, David L; Kane, Phillip S
texts
eye 57
favorite 0
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Physical patterns -- Aboriginal patterns -- Hispanic patterns, 1769-1846 -- American patterns, 1846-1981 -- Appendixes
Topic: Atlas
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Genealogical resources in the New York metropolitan area
- None
texts
eye 7
favorite 0
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xii, 404 pages : 29 cm
Topic: {u'10': u'Juden', u'1': u'Archival resources -- New York Metropolitan Area -- Directories', u'0':...
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Ellis Island : tracing your family history through America's gateway
- Szucs, Loretto Dennis,Szucs, Loretto Dennis. Ellis Island
texts
eye 14
favorite 1
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Revised edition of: Ellis Island : America's gateway / Loretto Dennis Szucs. c1986
Topics: Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.), Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.),...
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The San Francisco century : a city rises from the ruins of the 1906 earthquake and fire
- Nolte, Carl
texts
eye 7
favorite 0
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Includes index
Topics: United States - State & Local - West, History: American, History, History - U.S., Natural...
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Jack London
- Daniel Dyer
texts
eye 34
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Topics: London, Jack, 1876-1916 -- Juvenile literature., London, Jack, 1876-1916., Authors, American --...
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Gables and fables : a portrait of San Francisco's Pacific Heights
- Bloomfield, Anne; Bloomfield, Arthur, 1931-
texts
eye 17
favorite 1
comment 0
Topic: Architecture, Domestic
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Woman of ill fame
- Erika Mailman
texts
eye 18
favorite 0
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Topics: Prostitutes -- California -- San Francisco -- Fiction, Serial murderers -- California -- San...
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Red book : American state, county & town sources
- Eichholz, Alice, 1942-; Ancestry Publishing
texts
eye 111
favorite 4
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Rev. ed. of: Ancestry's red book. Rev. ed. c1992
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Sentinels of love : rural churches of California
- Millis, Bette R., 1928-; Mord, Jeanne, 1935-
texts
eye 6
favorite 0
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Includes indexes
Topic: Rural churches
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The Nicholas effect : a boy's gift to the world
- Green, Reg, 1929-
texts
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"Here is the intimate story of the Green's fateful trip to Italy; how a botched robbery changed their lives and how Reg and Maggie's private decision to donate their son's organs thrust them into the world spotlight">
Topics: Biography: general, Health systems & services, Transplant surgery, United States, Organ...
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Vol v. 1: The Willett families of North America : being a comprehensive guide encompassing Willett, Willet, Willette, Willit, Willot, Willets, Willetts, Willits, and other variations and early spellings of the Willett surname
- Willett, Albert James, 1944-
texts
eye 167
favorite 6
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''A Willett House publication.''
Topic: Willett family
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Printed sources : a guide to published genealogical records
- Meyerink, Kory L. (Kory Leland), 1954-
texts
eye 106
favorite 3
comment 0
Includes bibliographical references and index
Topic: Genealogy
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Pioneers of California : true stories of early settlers in the Golden State
- Lewis, Donovan
texts
eye 65
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Includes bibliographical references and index
Topics: Pioneers, Kolonisten
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Vol 4: Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology
- Bergey, D. H. (David Hendricks), 1860-1937; Krieg, Noel R; Holt, John G
texts
eye 174
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Based on: Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology
Topics: exes, Bacteriology
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Getting started in Jewish genealogy
- Gary Mokotoff
texts
eye 28
favorite 1
comment 0
Topic: Jews -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
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Ethnography and folklore of the Indians of northwestern California : a literature review and annotated bibliography
- Berman, Joan
texts
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favorite 2
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Includes index
Topics: Indians of North America, Indians of North America
Source: inlibrary
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Medieval English ancestors of certain Americans : many of the English ancestral lines prior to 1300 of those colonial Americans with known royal ancestry but fully developed in all possible lines
- Boyer, Carl, 1937-
texts
eye 261
favorite 4
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-275) and indexes
Topics: Families of royal descent, Nobility, Nobility
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The Oxford guide to family history
- David Hey
texts
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favorite 1
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Topics: Genealogy, Great Britain -- Genealogy -- Methodology
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Irish passenger lists, 1847-1871 : lists of passengers sailing from Londonderry to America on ships of the J. & J. Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line
- Mitchell, Brian
texts
eye 134
favorite 1
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Includes index
Topics: J. & J. Cooke (Derry, Northern Ireland), McCorkell Line, Irish Americans, Ships, Ships
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Maps and charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789 : a guide to the collections in the Library of Congress
- Library of Congress; Sellers, John R; Van Ee, Patricia Molen
texts
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Bibliography: p. 457-461
Topic: Library of Congress. Geography and Map Division
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Descriptive cataloging of rare books
- None
texts
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xiii, 113 pages ; 28 cm
Topics: {u'11': u'Cataloging -- standards', u'10': u'Oude drukken', u'13': u'United States', u'12': u'Rare...
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Gifts of age : portraits and essays of 32 remarkable women
- Painter, Charlotte; Valois, Pamela
texts
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favorite 1
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Includes index
Topics: Older women, Older women, Minority women, Minority women
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Vol 9: The Poles in America, 1608-1972; a chronology & fact book
- Renkiewicz, Frank, 1935- . cn
texts
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Chronologically traces the history and accomplishments of Poles in the United States from 1608-1972. Includes reproductions of documents pertinent to Polish-American history
Topics: Polish Americans, Polish Americans
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Vol 2: Mayflower families through five generations : descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620
- Kellogg, Lucy Mary; Townsend, Edna W. (Edna Waugh), 1908-; Wakefield, Robert S., 1925-; General Society of Mayflower Descendants
texts
eye 499
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Edited by L.M. Kellogg and others
Topic: Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony)
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Women and the law of property in early America
- Salmon, Marylynn, 1951-
texts
eye 30
favorite 2
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Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)
Topics: Married women, Women, Separate property
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The age of gold : the California Gold Rush and the new American dream
- Brands, H. W
texts
eye 106
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [509]-527) and index
Topics: Gold Rush, Goldrausch
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Afro-American history : sources for research
- National Archives Conference on Federal Archives as Sources for Research on Afro-Americans (1973 : Washington, D.C.); Clarke, Robert Lewis, 1920-; United States. National Archives and Records Service
texts
eye 12
favorite 0
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Sponsored by the National Archives and Records Service
Topics: African Americans, African Americans
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John Sutter and a wider West
- Owens, Kenneth N; Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880
texts
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Based on a series of public lectures, the Sutter lectures, presented by California State University, Sacramento, in cooperation with the Sacramento History and Science Division
Topics: Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880, Pioneers
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Old San Francisco : the biography of a city from early days to the earthquake
- Muscatine, Doris
texts
eye 27
favorite 1
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Bibliography: p. 442-465
Topic: San Francisco (Calif.) -- History.
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Native ways : California Indian stories and memories
- None
texts
eye 12
favorite 1
comment 0
127 pages : 23 cm
Topic: {u'1': u'Indians of North America -- California -- Folklore', u'0': u'Indians of North America --...
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Visions of reform : Congregation Emanu-el and the Jews of San Francisco, 1849-1999
- Rosenbaum, Fred; Rosenbaum, Fred. Architects of reform
texts
eye 25
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Revised, updated, and expanded ed. of: Architects of reform. c1980
Topics: Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco, Calif.), Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco, Calif.), San...
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A survey of American genealogical periodicals and periodical indexes
- Sperry, Kip
texts
eye 6
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xiii, 199 pages : 22 cm
Topics: United States -- Genealogy -- Periodicals -- Indexes -- Bibliography, United States -- Genealogy --...
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Library service for genealogists
- Parker, J. Carlyle
texts
eye 12
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xvii, 362 pages ; 23 cm
Topic: {u'11': u'United States -- Genealogy -- Bibliography', u'10': u'Bibliothe\u0300ques -- Fonds...
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Vol v.7: Directory of Scottish settlers in North America, 1625-1825
- Dobson, David
texts
eye 179
favorite 3
comment 0
Topics: Scottish Americans, Scots, Scots-Irish, Scots-Irish
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Vol v.1: Directory of Scottish settlers in North America, 1625-1825
- Dobson, David
texts
eye 131
favorite 2
comment 0
Topics: Scottish Americans, Scots, Scots-Irish, Scots-Irish
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Historic sites and markers along the Mormon and other great western trails
- Kimball, Stanley Buchholz
texts
eye 10
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Bibliography: p. 305-307
Topics: Trails, Historic sites, Historical markers
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The Columbia gazetteer of North America
- None
texts
eye 9
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xiv, 1157 pages, 24 pages of plates : 29 cm
Topics: Geografischer Name, Verzeichnis, North America -- Gazetteers, North America, USA, North America --...
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Uniforms of the American Revolution in color
- Mollo, John
texts
eye 29
favorite 0
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Bibliography: p. 227-228
Topic: Military uniforms
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The new communes; coming together in America
- Roberts, Ron E
texts
eye 25
favorite 1
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Includes bibliographical references
Topics: Communal living, Conflict of generations
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Family names : how our surnames came to America
- Hook, J. N. (Julius Nicholas), 1913-
texts
eye 32
favorite 1
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Bibliography: p. 363-365
Topics: Names, Personal, Ethnology, Noms de personnes, Etnnologie
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A guide to Irish parish registers
- Mitchell, Brian
texts
eye 59
favorite 1
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R156,604
Topics: Church records and registers, Church records and registers
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Crafting your own heritage album
- Braun, Bev, 1952-
texts
eye 9
favorite 1
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128 pages : 28 cm
Topics: {u'1': u'Scrapbooks', u'0': u'Genealogy -- Miscellanea', u'3': u'Genealogy'}, Genealogy --...
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The California Indians; a source book
- Heizer, Robert Fleming, 1915- , ed. dn; Whipple, Mary Anne, joint ed
texts
eye 52
favorite 1
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Includes index
Topic: Indians of North America
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California : an illustrated history updated
- Watkins, T. H. (Tom H.), 1936-
texts
eye 4
favorite 0
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543 pages : 29 cm
Topics: California -- History, California

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