Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Genealogy

United States California  Los Angeles County  Cities   Los Angeles  First settled on September 4, 1781, Los Angeles grew from a small ranch town established by Spanish missionaries to the second largest city in the United States. Spanish rule, followed by Mexican rule in 1821 and then by the United States after 1847 means that the records created and sometimes preserved are very different for each period.

When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 Los Angeles had about 650 residents. In 1841 there were about 1680. Oil discovered in 1892 added to the opportunities in the area, in addition to the agriculture and ranching that helped initial prosperity. Population in the 1900 census exceeded 102, 000 people, and the later Depression and Dust Bowl eras brought more people to LA and California. The area had phenomenal growth after the 1945 end of World War II, and by the 2010 census had a city population over 3.7 million people.

Archives and Libraries
The Los Angeles Public Library has an impressive collection of genealogical material. Click on the blue text of the library name for more information or click here to go to that same page.

The Huntington Library maintains the Early California Population Projectwith baptism, marriage, and burial information for Indians, soldiers, and settlers in Alta California until 1850. Be sure to read the Search Tips.

Biography
A collection of online biographies, from the Golden Nugget Library is available here.

Cemeteries
In the early days of the Los Angeles Pueblo (1781-1820), Angelinos took their deceased ten miles east to the San Gabriel Mission. After construction began for the Plaza Church, the first interment of a settler took place – January 1820 – and the church was completed in 1822.

Townspeople discussed moving the cemetery to a larger area, and a site was chosen in 1844 for what became Calvary Cemetery. Eventually, that, too, was insufficient, and the New Calvary Cemetery in opened in 1896. For a time, both cemeteries continued operation.

During the Mexican American War, Americans built a fort on a hill overlooking the plaza. An explosion killed four soldiers there in 1847 and it is believed that they were buried in the fort. Called the Fort Moore Cemetery, or the Hill Cemetery, or the Protestant Cemetery, its earliest recorded use is at the end of 1853.

For further information and to see lists of cemeteries click on Cemeteries in the City of Los Angeles.

Census
Padrones (periodic lists) were made of Spanish, Mexican and Indian residents. The one taken in 1790  includes the name of the head of household, his or her age, occupation, previous residence or nativity, marital status, name of spouse, names and number of children and their ages. The one taken in 1839 lists only the name, age, and occupation (FHL 979.4 H25a). There are also lists made in 1836 and 1844 (FHL film # 913156).

Los Angeles was enumerated in the U.S. Federal census starting in 1850 and included every ten years thereafter. Search the FamilySearch collection to see these; many other sites have these records as well.

California took a state census in 1852.

The City of Los Angeles took a census in 1897. These microfilmed records are available through the Family History Library (FHL film # 913157 and 913158).

Church Directories
An 1899 census of Catholic residents was made into a directory. See the following:

Reardon, Fred L. Catholic Directory and Census of Los Angeles City, and Parish Gazetteer of the Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles, September, 1899. San Bernardino, California: Diocese of San Bernardino, 1987. Print. At various libraries (World Cat) FHL 979.494 K24.

Directories
The first Los Angeles city and county directory was published in 1872. A reproduction of that is available. Ritchie, Ward. The First Los Angeles City and County Directory. Los Angeles, California: Ward Ritchie Press, 1963. Print. At various libraries (World Cat) also at FHL 979.493 E4.

The Family History Library has microfilmed LA city directories for most years between 1873 and 1935. For 1873 - 1882 see FHL film # 1376980. For later years, check the catalog on www.familysearch.org.

The 1915 directory is online [www.archive.org/details/ losangelescalifo1915losa here].

The Los Angeles Public Library has an extensive collection of directories. See their index here. Search tip: try looking for city OR county, but not both.

Emigration and Immigration
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

California, Los Angeles passenger (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Jewish History
The Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles was founded in 1854. Today it is known as the Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.

The first synagogue in Los Angeles was built by Congregation B'nai B'rith, formed in 13 July 1862 under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Abraham W. Edelman. The synagogue was completed in 1873 and used until 1896 when plans for a larger building came to completion. The old synagogue was razed in 1896 to become a business block.

Pioneer Jews of Los Angeles in the Nineteenth Century: An Anthology of Articles, Presented Over the Past 38 Years in the Western States Jewish History Journal. Los Angeles: Western States Jewish History Association, 2006. Print. At various libraries (World Cat)

This anthology includes biographies of Henry Wartenburg FHL 973 F25w, and Rabbi Edelman FHL 973 F25w.

Newspapers

 * Arcadia Bulletin - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1940
 * Arcadia Daily Tribune - Google News Archive; 1930-1936
 * Arcadia Journal - Google News Archive; 1917-1931
 * Arcadia Tribune - Google News Archive; 1923-1936

Courtesy of the Whittier Public Library:


 * Whittier Daily News, Whittier Register, Whittier News: 1888-2007
 * Historical Photograph Collection: Images of the establishment of Whittier-late 1800s to mid-20th century

Probate
To see abstracts of early Los Angeles wills click here.