Contra Costa County Library - Genealogy Resources

Tracing your family history can be challenging, but very rewarding. The Library has many resources to help you with your search:

Basic Genealogy "how to" books and eBooks
Local Obituaries
Heritage Collection of specialized materials
Research assistance provided by Docents
Family Tree Maker CD-ROM and software
Census Microfilm and California Death Index
School Yearbooks
For more information, try these Genealogy Web sites.

Obituary Requests

The Library will assist in searching its holdings of local Contra Costa County newspapers for obituaries of persons who lived or died in Contra Costa County. Obituaries may be requested by email or by phone: (925) 646-6434. Walk-in assistance is provided at the Periodicals Desk of the Pleasant Hill Library.

Please provide the decedent's full name, date of death, place of death in Contra Costa County, and any other information that will be helpful to the research. Information for deaths between 1940 and 1997 must be verified in the California Death Records. Please provide your postal address if you wish to have printed copies of the obituaries mailed to you.

Current year death notices and service information for Contra Costa are available in the Contra Costa Times' Obituaries page. For death notices outside Contra Costa County, please refer to Obituaries.com and Obituaries 101. The Contra Costa County History Center has an historical collection of local obituaries.

The Heritage Collection

The Heritage Collection is made up of genealogical resources donated to the Pleasant Hill Library’s Genealogy Section. All Heritage Collection materials are included in the Library Catalog. The emphasis is on American genealogy. Materials include:

General genealogical reference (e.g. “how to” source books, atlases, gazetteers)
State genealogical reference (e.g. vital records directories, census)
Family histories
War and pension lists for participants of wars
Immigration and migration (e.g. passenger lists, etc.)
Patriotic and heritage organizations (e.g. Mayflower descendants)
Church records, cemeteries, mortuaries
Records of wills and abstracts of records of wills, marriages, etc.
Ethnic and cultural genealogy (e.g. England, Scotland, Ireland, Europe, Germany, Native American, African American, Canada, Huguenot, Heraldry)
California 1890 Great Register of Voters Index - 3 volume set compiled by the California State Genealogical Alliance. Names, birthplace, age, residence, county, registration date, and naturalization information for those registered to vote in 1890. Available in the Contra Costa County Genealogy Collection at the Pleasant Hill Library

Research Assistance

Volunteers from the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society are available to help interested persons use the Heritage Collection. Regularly scheduled hours are:

Monday, Tuesday*, and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (* except 3rd Tuesday when schedule is 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
Wednesday* and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (* except 4th Wednesday when schedule is 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

No appointment is necessary, but you may call the Information Desk (925-646-6434) to verify that a docent is available.

The Contra Costa County Genealogical Society and the Contra Costa County Historical Society also offer fee-based genealogical research services.

Census Microfilm and California Death Index

The Pleasant Hill Library has Census microfilm for California. The Library also carries the California Death Index, 1905-1929, 1930-1939, and 1940-1990 (microform). Microform reader printers are available for your convenience. Printing is $0.15 per page, nickels and dimes only.

Family Tree Maker CD-ROM Collection

The Family Tree Maker CD-ROM Collection is located at the Clayton Community Library and the Danville Library. This extensive collection of over 250 CD-ROMs includes U.S. Census indexes and microfilm records, various state genealogies and vital records, marriage records, cemetery records, family histories and pedigrees, military records, and passenger and immigration lists. Family Tree Maker software is also available.