California Great Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The registers cover the years 1866 to 1910.

Record Description
The collection consists of County Clerk voting registers from most counties in California. The registers were created every other year. The time period varies by county.

Record Content


The registers are arranged in columns and give the following information:


 * Full name of each voter (only men could vote)
 * Age
 * State or country of birth
 * Occupation
 * Address
 * If naturalized, he was to declare the name of the court and the date when the naturalization took place

How to Use the Record
The electoral registers may help you determine the residence of an individual and how long that person lived there. They may also help you locate other records in which that person might appear.

To begin your search you will need to know the following:


 * Name of the ancestor
 * Residence

Compare the information in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. You may also find the following tips helpful:


 * Use the name, residence and are or birth date to locate your ancestor in church, land, and census records.
 * Use ages to determine approximate birth dates.
 * Use the naturalization information to find their immigration and naturalization court documents.
 * Information on occupations could lead you to employer's or other related records, such as business office or military records.
 * Search for records of people in the county who shared a surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries may have changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person.
 * The information in voter registrations in usually very brief so it is easy to confuse individuals with similar names.
 * Only men were allowed to vote.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for indexes.

Record History
The first voter registration records were county poll lists. In 1866, poll lists were replaced by voter registers known as the Great Registers. Each voter was required to register with the county clerk. An 1872 law required all counties to print an alphabetical list of voters every two years. Since 1895, data on voters has been more detailed.

Why the Record Was Created
Voting registers were created to determine who was eligible vote. If an individual’s name did not appear in the register, he could not vote.

Record Reliability
The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the individual voter.

Related Websites

 * California State Archives
 * RootsWeb

Related Wiki Articles

 * California
 * California Voting Registers

Citation for This Collection
The following citation explains the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records:

"California Great Registers, 1866-1910." FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org). California State Archives, Sacramento, California. FHL microfilm, 26 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Example of a Source Citation for a Record Found in This Collection
"California, Great Registers, 1866-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 27 January 2012), Theodore Burr Williams,  30 January 1886; Alameda County (California), County Clerk, Great registers, 1886, 1892-1894, 1900,  California State Archives, Sacramento, California, United States, FHL microfilm 2,502, item 1; FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.