RESEARCH AND RESOURCES
As a Society, we are dedicated to assisting you with your research. Below you will find resources we hope will be useful.
SAN RAFAEL FAMILYSearch CENTER AND MCGS Library
The San Rafael Family Search Center and MCGS Library is open two days per week. Click on the link below to see details.
FamilySearch Center and Library information
HANDOUTS From MEETINGS
Meeting Handouts Archive - An archive of handouts from our past General Meetings, often provided by the speaker.
DNA Handouts Archive - An archive of handouts from our past DNA Meetings, including tips and tricks for using your results.
Writing Group Handouts - Assignments for our Members Only meetings. (Login required.)
Computer Group Handouts - A archive of our former Computer Group Meeting documents
RESEARCH SERVICES
MCGS requests a donation of $15.00 for the first hour and then $10.00 for each additional hour for time spent.
Research charges do not include copy costs or the cost of official documents.
Marin County charges for each document. Their fees are:
| Document Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Birth Certificates | $25 each |
| Marriage Certificates | $15 each |
| Death Certificates | $21 each |
| Deeds | $4 for first page, $2 each additional page |
| Other Documents | $4 for first page, $2 each additional page |
The items above can be ordered from Cathy Gowdy via e-mail to research@maringensoc.org or by mail.
Please list the document/s you would like to order.
Mail your request and/or check, payable to MCGS to:
P. O. Box 1511, Novato, CA 94948-1511
You may also use PayPal for Research Services; please contact Cathy to confirm availability and expenses prior to sending money.
Please see our Publications page for additional items available for order.
Records available on our website:
Members have indexed various Marin County vital records, military records, probate files, wills and other documents; these indexes are searchable by all. Some of the corresponding records are available to the public as a series of files and others are available to members only. We generally offer the indexes for free to the public, and the records to our members only. Records can also be ordered individually by non-members via email to our Research Services staff. If you do not see what you are seeking, please email us with your inquiry.
The indexes and some of the records are pdf files. You can choose to allow your browser to display these or you can download the file and open it with an application such as Adobe Reader.
Marin County Military Records
All material below was transcribed by Catherine L. Gowdy.
WWI Draft Registration List of Names from the Marin County Tocsin Newspaper. This is an index to the WWI Draft Registration Cards available below.
To access the WWI Draft Cards available in the Members Only area of our website, click below on the initial letter of the surname:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W Y Z (Login Required.)
Records related to the Veterans of the Spanish American War are available in the Members Only area of our website; click on the initial letter of the surname:
A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z (Login Required.)
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Marin County Marriages and Divorces
Index of Marriages Performed at St. Raphael's Church, 1884 -1904
Search the Index by typing "CTRL F", or "CMD F" for Mac, and then type in the name of interest. This will provide the page number in the Marriage document below.
The St Raphael's Marriage documents are available in the the Members Only section of the website. (Login required.)
Marin County Divorce records are available in the the Members Only section of the website. (Login required.)
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Marin County Naturalizations
Index of Naturalized Citizens 1856 - 1934 Marin County is available to Members Only. (Login Required.)
These records were copied from the original index book, now in the possession of the National Archives, Pacific Branch, San Bruno, California; for ease in researching, Catherine L. Gowdy sorted them in alphabetical order rather than the original chronological order. To get a copy of a naturalization record, or a petition for naturalization, please visit the National Archives, Pacific Branch, San Bruno, California (http://www.archives.gov/pacific/san-francisco/index.html). Scroll down to "Contact Us" and click on "Archives".
Non-members: the index can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Marin County Fraternal Insurance Society: UPEC
U.P.E.C. Records for Sausalito are available to Members Only. (Login required.)
The União Portuguesa do Estado da California or the Portuguese Union of the State of California, founded on August 1, 1880 in San Leandro, was established as a Fraternal Insurance Society and is now one of the oldest domestic fraternal benefit societies in California.
Non-members: this record can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Obituaries from the Marin Independent Journal, 1982-2010
Search it by typing "CTRL F", or "CMD F" for Mac, for the name of interest. Note the date given, including month and day, and then click on the link below to these obituaries, and select the volume for that year. You will have to scroll through the volume to find the month and day.
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via emailThe Marin IJ Obituaries are available in the Members Only section of the website (Login required.)
Obituaries from Point Reyes Light, Coastal Post & West Marin Citizen, 2001 - 2010
Search it by typing "CTRL F", or "CMD F" for Mac, for the name of interest. Note the date given, including month and day, and then click on the link below to these obituaries, and select the volume for that year. You will have to scroll through the volume to find the month and day.
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via emailThe West Marin Obituaries are available in the Members Only section of the website (Login required.)
Marin County Coroner's Records
These records for the years 1941–62 and 1964–67 were copied by Cathy Gowdy from the original registers and contain information such as place of birth, date of death, place of death, age, residence, cause of death, marital status, disposition, and a few notes. Searching for the name of the individual will indicate which file contains the record of interest.
The Coroner's Records are available as a series of files in the Members-Only section of the website. (Login required.)
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Coroner's Records from 1857-1910 are also available in book form and may be purchased in the Publications section of the website.
Marin County Will Records
These records for the years 1856-1908 were transcribed by Carolyn Schwab from microfilms provided by Cathy Gowdy, and contain information about which Will book and page contain the Will record, and give the date of death.
Search the Index by typing "CTRL F", or "CMD F" for Mac, and then type in the name of interest. This will indicate which file contains the record of interest.
The transcribed Will records from Books A-D are available in the Members Only section of the website. (Login required.)
Non-members: these can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Marin County Probate Records
The Probate Records for the years 1850-1940 were transcribed by Carolyn Schwab from microfilms and contain information about the book and file number for the record, the date of death, type of case, the name(s) of the Executor/Guardian and whether a Will exists.
Search the Index by typing "CTRL F", or "CMD F" for Mac, and then type in the name of interest. The index will indicate which book and file contains the record of interest. Only Will Files up to #1140 have so far been transcribed, and these can be requested from our Research Services via email. More of the files beyond #1140 may be transcribed in due course, so check back from time to time to see if this has been updated.
Daphne Fernwood - Sausalito Cemetery Maps
Click the link below to access 8 maps showing the plots for this cemetery.
The MCGS Kin Tracer Publications and Indexes
The Kin Tracer was a quarterly publication of the Marin County Genealogical Society between the Winter of 1977 and the Fall of 2011.
Complete issues of the Kin Tracers appear in the Members Only section of the MCGS website. (Login required.)
All of these issues have been indexed, and the indexes are free and open to the public:
For Volumes 1 - 25 (1977 - 2002) we offer a single Name Index, and a single Table of Contents with Separate Subject Headings.
For Volumes 26 - 34 (2003 - 2011) we offer a list of Contents for each issue, and a Name Index for each Volume separately.
PDF copies are available to non-members for $10.00 per issue, tax included. Please include the volume number, issue, and date when ordering; these can be requested from our Research Services via email.
Marin Genealogical Articles
Below is a series of articles pertaining to Marin County Families written by various contributors that reflect different Marin family experiences and histories. If you are interested in contributing an article, please contact Cathy Gowdy.
Article #1 - Robert J. Kehoe Summary: A biography
Article #2 - The Muscio Family of Marin Summary: A story of a Marin County Family.
Article #3 - Death of Poor Old Deaf Manuel Summary: A story of an average Marin County man.
Article #4 - Stephen Hamnet Shakespeare Summary: A story of a man held in high esteem by the Mt. Tamalpais Military Academy.
Article #5 - Dufficy Family of Marin Summary: A story of a Marin County Family.
Article #6 - Eleanor Gerhardt of Mill Valley Summary: A Genealogical Case Study
Article #7 - Rudy Bettoli Summary: From Wine Maker to Toy Maker
Article #8 - Civil War Veterans Summary: Compilation of Civil War Veterans associated with Marin County. Call the California Room at 415-473-7419 to view one or more of the Veteran's articles mentioned in Cathy Gowdy's summary.
Article #9 - Guiseppe Angellotti Summary: A San Rafael Pioneer Businessman
Article #10 - Austin Ramon Pohli Summary: Mountain Play's first Manager
Article #11 - Spotlight on the John Shephard Eells Scrapbook
MARIN county RECORDS elsewhere on the internet