California Room, King Library, fifth floor

• Historical books, maps, photographs, school yearbooks, info on Spanish and Mexican California, missions, railroads, etc.
• Newspaper clippings from the last 30 to 40 years of the San José Mercury News covering notable people, places, and events in San José and Santa Clara County (but not an ndex to the San José Mercury News prior to 1986).
• San José Mercury News Clippings File, 1920-1985 (microfiche)
• "Thousands of articles from the San José Mercury News from 1920 through 1985. These articles are on microfiche in the California Room. Search the Online Subject Index to the Clippings File"
• San Francisco Chronicle Index, 1950-1980 (microfiche)
• San Francisco Newspapers Index, 1904-1959 (microfiche)

Newspapers

Genealogical / Biographical Research Form

Online Photograph collection
 

City Directories, 1870 – 1979, San José and selected parts of Santa Clara County

Photograph Catalog, 1857 – 1970s

Probate Records, 1850 – 1899 for Santa Clara County, original documents

Deeds, 1850 – 1952 (bulk dates 1850 – 1906) for Santa Clara County, original documents

Marriage Licenses, 1849 – 1946 (bulk dates 1850 – 1914) for Santa Clara County, index and? original documents

Wills, 1849 – 1912 for Santa Clara County, index and? original documents

Sole Trader Ledger for Santa Clara County, married women in business for themselves from 1854 to 1916

Great Registers, 1867 – 1904 for Santa Clara County

1867, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1880, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1904

Coroner’s Inquests, 1850 – 1930 for Santa Clara County

Cemetery Records

An index of headstones from San José’s Oakhill Cemetery and Santa Clara Mission Cemetery. The index includes name, dates and cemetery location.

Record Books from Oakhill Cemetery circa 1860 – 1910.

Obituaries Index 1879 to 1912

Newspapers on Microfilm

Daily Morning Times, July 1879 – December 1881; July – December 1884.

Morning Times, October 1906 – September 1909.

San José Daily City Item, February 1884 – March 1885.

San José Herald, September 1876 – December 1889; July 1890 – December 1896; July 1897 – December 1900.

San José Mercury, November 1861 – December 1862; August 1869 – January 1870.

San José Daily News, March 1885 – December 1886.

San José Evening News, January 1887 – December 1896; July 1897 – December 1936; March 1937 – December 1947

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, over 1,000 local maps for San José from 1847 to the present, and atlases.

Aerial photographs of Santa Clara Valley from as early as 1931.

Research databases (including San Jose Mercury News Historical Archive,  1886-1922)

Santa Clara Public Library Genealogy Page

• Santa Clara County [microform] : early births (1873-1905), marriages (1858-1905) and deaths (1873-1905)
• Cemetery Information
• Calvary Cemetery, San Jose (1882-1987)
• Gate of Heaven, Los Altos (1971-1988)
• Holy Cross Cemetery, San Jose
• Los Gatos Memorial Park (1889-1989)
• Madronia Cemetery, tombstone inscriptions, Saratoga, Santa Clara County, California / Bradley Clark Jenkins
• Madronia Cemetery, Treasurer's book, Saratoga, California, December 1880-October 1913
• Oak Hill Cemetery, inscriptions, San Jose
• Santa Clara Co. cemetery headstone inscriptions [microform] / [Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society]
• City Directories
• San Jose (1870, 1882-1883, 1889, 1911 to 1979--some gaps)
• Great Registers (1876, 1886, 1892, 1900-1930)
• Mortuary/Funeral Home
• Amos O. Williams and other Santa Clara County funeral books [microform and book]  (1902-1953 & 1957-1979)
• Monahan Mortuary (1914-1938)
• Naturalization Petitions (1914-1918)
• Newspapers
• Santa Clara News (1901-1948)
• Santa Clara Journal (1948-1965)
• Santa Clara Journal and News (1966-1970)
• Santa Clara Sun (1973-1980)
• Santa Clara American
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
• San Jose (1915 to 1939)
• Santa Clara City (1915)
• U.S. Federal Census for Santa Clara County (1852-1920)
• Early Settler Files–"information submitted to the society on people who were in Santa Clara County by 1925. They include fact sheets from patrons, news clippings, obituaries and funeral notices, books, photos, and other materials. The files are the product of an ongoing effort, spanning three decades." An index is available online.

Branches:

• Campbell
• Cupertino
• Gilroy
• Los Altos
• Milpitas
• Morgan Hill
• Saratoga

Remote Access Databases:

• HeritageQuest