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San Francisco Public Library, Main Library

DIRECTORY

Internet Databases

NOTE: The following list is from January 2022.

  • America's Obituaries & Death Notices (NewsBank)
  • America’s News (NewsBank)
  • Ancestry Library Edition (ProQuest)
  • California Historical Newspapers (NewsBank), 1847 - 2017
  • FIMO (Fire Insurance Maps Online)
  • Fold3 Library Edition (ProQuest)
  • HeritageQuest Online (ProQuest)
  • Los Angeles Times Historical (ProQuest)
  • New York Times Historical (ProQuest)
  • Newspaper ARCHIVE California Edition
  • Newspaper Clipping Files (SFPL)
  • San Francisco Chronicle Historical (Newsbank), 1869-present
  • San Francisco Chronicle Historical (ProQuest), 1865-1922
  • San Francisco Examiner, Historical & Recent (ProQuest), 1865-2007
  • Sanborn Maps California (ProQuest), 1867-1970
  • West Regional Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)

History Center, 6th Floor

webpage Collections Information San Francisco Main Library, History Center, December 2021

  • City Records for San Francisco
    • Alcalde's Records, 1846-1849 (microfilm)
    • Index to City Licenses, 1850 - 1856
    • Medical Examiner (Coroner) Records, 1902-1956 ( collection information )
    • Municipal Reports, 1859 to 1917 (book)
    • Police Department Records, 1879 to 1938 (book)
      • “A dozen volumes that list permit and license applications from 1879 to 1938, mostly for selling liquor, but also for peddling wares and driving various sorts of vehicles. Despite the wide overall date range, there are gaps; most of the record books concentrate around the years 1900-1906 … The restaurant license applications consist of a run of four consecutive volumes from 1900-1904.”
  • Directories
    • City Directories, 1850-1900 (most years) (microfilm)
    • Blue Books (society registers), 1888-1931
    • Reverse Address/Telephone Directories, Jun 1933, Nov 1936, and 1940 (sorted by street address)
  • Miscellaneous
    • Biographies ( collection information )
    • California Information File (microfiche) (see L NorCal Resource Center for description of this file)
    • Gleanings from the 'Alta California', Marriages & Deaths, 1846-1850 by Mary Dean Alsworth
    • California Surname Index: Biographies from Selected Histories by Barbara Ross Close
    • Index to the Argonauts of California [by] Charles Warren Haskins by Libera Martina Spinazze
    • Family Service Agency of San Francisco (aka Associated Charities) records, 1869-2004
  • Newspapers
    • Argonaut (1877 - 1958)
    • Daily Evening Picayune (16 Sep 1851 - 12 Mar 1852)
    • Elevator (Apr 1865 - 1895)
    • Fireman's Journal and Military Gazette (1855 - 1859)
    • Golden Era (11 Dec 1859 - 31 Dec 1871)
    • Hutchings California Magazine (Jul 1856 - Apr 1861)
    • Jewish Progress (15 Jan 1897 - 18 Nov 1898)
    • Jewish Times & Observer (15 Jan 1892 - 17 Feb 1911)
    • Monitor Catholic newspaper (14 Dec 1861 - 05 Jan 1878; 12 Jan 1878 - 08 Oct 1884; 15 Oct 1884 - 26 Dec 1888) (Charles H. Crookston noted that this resource may also be found at the Catholic Archives in Menlo Park, which has the Monitor on film from 1861 to 1866 and in original hard copy from 1867 to 1984. August 2000)
    • San Francisco Chronicle Index, newspaper, 1950-1980
    • San Francisco Examiner Newspaper Clippings, 1901 - 1981
    • Santa Rosa Sonoma Democrat (22 Oct 1857 - Dec 1890)
    • Weekly Gleaner (16 Jan 1857 - 18 Dec 1857)
    • San Francisco newspaper clippings, 25 Nov 1934 - 04 Aug 1965
  • Historical Photograph Collection
    • “This collection includes views of San Francisco street scenes, buildings, and neighborhoods, as well as photographs of famous San Francisco personalities. The collection consists mostly of the photo morgue of the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, a daily newspaper, ranging from 1920s to 1965. The collection also contains albums, slides, postcards, cabinet cards, stereoviews, and lantern slides of San Francisco and California subjects … over 45,000 digitized images from the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection …”
  • Property Records
    • Deeds-Real Property - Index (Grantee and Grantor Index 1850 - 1913, but some volumes missing) (microfilm)
    • Magazines
      • Architect and Engineer , Feb 1906 - Dec 1923, Nov 1909 - Jun 1959, index available for 1905-1928.
      • California Architect and Building News , 1879 - 1899
      • San Francisco Real Estate Circular , 1868 - 1942
    • Research Guides (online)
      • How to Research a San Francisco Building
      • Where to Find Vital Records in San Francisco
    • San Francisco Block Book, 1868, 1890, 1894, 1901, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1910
    • Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1886 – 1893, 1899 – 1900, 1905, 1913 – 1915, 1929, 1948-1951, 1960-1991
    • Water Tap Records, 1861 - 1937 (microfilm)
  • School Records
  • Vital Records
    • Cemetery records
      • Croatian cemetery records of San Francisco, 1849-1930
      • Epitaphs. Mission San Francisco de Asis Cemetery (Mission Dolores)
      • Halsted N. Gray, Carew and English Mortuary records
      • Jugoslav cemetery records of San Francisco, 1849-1930
      • Masonic Cemetery, alphabetic list of individuals transferred from Masonic Cemetery
      • Oddfellows Cemetery, Register of Removals (LDS 975836)
      • Records from tombstones in Laurel Hill Cemetery, 1853-1927
      • San Francisco Cemetery Records, 1848-1863
      • San Francisco, I.O.O.F. crematory records, Barbara Ross Close.
      • Lone mountain, the most revered of San Francisco's hills; annals of the pioneers copied from headstones and other old records, Ann Clark Hart.
  • Census : 1860 California Federal Census Index (microfiche)
  • Collateral Inheritance Tax , 18 Nov 1893- 13 Aug 1895, Aug 1905 - 23 May 1906
  • Deaths
    • 1906 Deaths (card index)
    • California Death Index, 1940-1987 (see L NorCal Resource Center for description)
    • Death Certificates , 01 July 1904 - 01 Dec 1904
    • Probate Court Receipts , 12 Oct 1874 - 13 Apr 1894 (arranged by receipt number)
    • Record of Deaths, 1865-1905 (aka Mortuary Record of the City and County of San Francisco and Register of Deaths of the City and County of San Francisco ).
  • Marriages
  • Index to Marriage Certificates , 01 Jul 1904 - 17 Apr 1906
  • Applications for Marriage Licenses , 16 Dec 1912 - 14 Jun 1915
  • Index to Marriage Applications, Males, 01 Jan 1913 - 30 Jun 1915
  • Re-Recorded Marriage Index 1860-1973 (index of marriage information that was “re-recorded” by the San Francisco Assessor's Office)
  • Miscellaneous
    • Public Welfare Department. Record of Orphans, Half-Orphans, Inc., etc. on State Aid (1903-1910)
  • Mortuary
    • Halsted & Co., N. Gray & Co., Gantner-Felder-Kenny, Godeau, and H.F. Suhr, pre-1920 ( Collection information )
    • J. C. O'Connor undertaker, registers , 09 Nov 1882 - 10 Mar 1918; datebooks , 01 Jan 1907 - 31 Dec 1919
  • Naturalization
    • #47 Supplemental Naturalization Data to and Including June 1, 1923 (Includes only registered voters up to 1923.) (book)
    • Restoration of Naturalization (microfilm)
  • Voter Registration
    • L Great Registers
    • Record of Naturalized Voters, 1898 (microfilm)
    • Record of Naturalized Voters, 19 Oct 1985 (microfiche)

Magazines & Newspapers Center, 5th Floor

webpage

  • Newspaper Indexes (see L NorCal Resource Center for description of this file)
    • San Francisco Call Index 1894-1899 (microfilm)
    • San Francisco Newspaper Index 1904-1949 (microfiche)
    • San Francisco Call 01 Jan 1904 to 31 Aug 1913
    • San Francisco Chronicle 01 Sept 1913 to 31 Dec 1949
    • San Francisco Examiner 01 Sept 1913 to 23 Sept 1928
    • San Francisco Chronicle Index , 1950-1980
  • Other Indexes
    • California Information File (microfiche) (see L NorCal Resource Center for description of this file)
    • California Death Index, 1905-1995 (microfilm)
  • San Francisco newspapers
    • Alta California , 4 Jan 1849 to 2 June 1891
    • California Star , 9 Jan 1847 to 23 Dec 1848
    • Californian , 1846 - 1848
    • Chinese World , 1 Nov 1909 to 5 June 1940
    • Daily Pacific Builder , 1907 - 1947
    • Pacific , 1951-1956
    • San Francisco Bay Guardian , 1966 - 1983, 2012-2014
    • San Francisco Bulletin , 1 Oct 1855 to 1 Aug 1929
    • San Francisco Call Bulletin , 2 Sep 1929 to 31 Jul 1959
    • San Francisco Call Post , 1 Apr 1914 to 1 Aug 1929
    • San Francisco Chronicle , 1 Jan 1865 to present
    • San Francisco Daily Morning Call , 8 Dec 1863 to 1 Mar 1914
    • San Francisco Evergreen , 2015 to present
    • San Francisco Examiner , 1 Jun 1865 to present
    • San Francisco Independent , 1988 - 2005
    • San Francisco News , 24 Sep 1930 to 30 Jun 1958
    • San Francisco News Call Bulletin , 1 Jul 1958 to 11 Sep 1965
    • San Francisco Progress , 1949 - 1988
    • San Francisco Shipping Guide , 1 Jan 1906 to 31 Dec 1966
    • San Francisco Sun-Reporter , 1951 - present
    • San Francisco Weekly , 1989 to present
  • California newspapers
    • Los Angeles Daily Star , June 1870 to 27 May 1879
    • Los Angeles Daily Herald , 2 July 1878 to 31 Dec 1881
    • Los Angeles Evening Express , 1 Jan 1880 to 30 Jun 1880
    • Los Angeles Star , 17 May 1851 to Sep 1870 (broken)
    • Los Angeles Times , 4 Dec 1881 to present
    • Monterey California , 15 Aug 1846 to 11 Nov 1848
  • San Francisco City Directories
    • 1850 to 1861 (microfiche, in a binder at the information desk)
    • 1875 to 1982 (book)
    • 1861 to 1982 (microfilm)
    • Haines Directories (cross/reverse directories)
    • 1976 to 2001 (at the information desk)
  • San Francisco Telephone Books
    • 1921 to 2001 (book)
    • 1901 to 1992 (microfilm)
  • Federal Census records (no indexes or soundex)
    • 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930; and the state census for 1852.

Miscellaneous, 5th Floor

  • Military Registers
    • The following military registers contain information about individuals who were officers in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and National Guard (including those who were stationed at the Presidio). Besides specific military information, birth dates and places are included. All of the registers are located in one area in the 5th floor stacks of the library. The call numbers are included with each reference:
    • Army Register of the United States 1779-1879, 353.6 H17c
    • List of Officers of the Army of the United States 1779-1900, 353.b P87
    • Army Register, multiple volumes for 1908 to 1972, 353.6 UN32
    • National Guard Register, multiple volumes for 1926 to 1972, 353.6 UN31
    • Navy Register, multiple volumes for 1902 to 1985, 353.7 UN31r
    • Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps., two volumes: July 1, 1944 and January 1, 1949, 353.7 UN31r
    • Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy Reserve, multiple volumes for 1907 to 1984, 353.7 UN31r
    • U.S. Coast Guard Register, multiple volumes for 1915 to 1984, 353.2 UN34r
    • U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Register, multiple volumes for 1957 to 1980, 353.2 UN34r
  • United States Department of State Biographic Registers
    • The U.S. Department of State Biographic Registers, multiple volumes for 1924 to 1974, call no. 353.1 UN3r. These registers include biographical information about employees of the United States Department of State.
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