SJLibrary.org, a collaboration of San Jose State University and San Jose Public Library system.

California Room Vital Records

Note: In addition to the resources listed on this page, you may also get information about Santa Clara County vital records from the County's Office of the Clerk-Recorder website

Birth Records

Santa Clara County Birth Index - 1905-1995 -- http://www.mariposaresearch.net/php/ (external website)

California Birth Records -- http://vitalsearch-ca.com (external website)

Note: You need to register for a Guest Pass at vitalsearch-ca.com for access to the California Birth Records.
 

Online California Death Index - 1940 through 1997 (external website)
Database of all individuals who died in California from 1940 through 1997. 

California Death Index - 1940 through 1994
Available on microfiche in the California Room. 

California Death Index - 1905 through 1939
This item is not owned by the California Room.  It can be found in California at many Family History Center Genealogical Libraries operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To search by location for a nearby Family History Center and its operating hours, select Find a Family History Center Near You (external website).

Social Security Death Index (external website)
This database contains information provided by the Social Security Administration through recent months and contains over 60 million records of people who have died in the U.S. Search Tips are available at Social Security Death Index (SSDI): Getting Started.
 

Obituary Searches

• How To Research San José Area Obituaries
   
• The System Reference Center (SRC) (external website) will search for obituaries appearing in the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle. This is a fee-based service.
   
• Selected obituaries are indexed by name in the California Room Database.
  

Obituary Indexes

San José Newspapers Obituary Index - 1879 through 1912
This index is not available in the California Room. It can be found in the Research Library at History San José (external website).

Mountain View Obituary Index (external website)

Palo Alto Historical Association Obituary Index (external website)
 

California Marriage Index - 1960 through 1986

Description of the Index:

• The California Marriage Index is available on microfiche in the California Room. It contains a listing of all individuals who were married in California from 1960 through 1985.
• It is possible to look up the name of either the bride or the groom and find out the name of the spouse, the date of the marriage, and the county in which the marriage took place. The ages of the bride and groom are also given.
• This is a master index to the marriage licenses on file in the Office of Vital Records in Sacramento, CA. The index does not contain copies of marriage licenses. The index is not accessible online.