California, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index

General collection information

This index allows you to search for your ancestor by name in California newspapers that are available on Newspapers.com™ from the 1800s to the present. Not all newspapers from the state of California are included. Links to the newspaper article in which your ancestor's name was found are included in the index.

Using this collection

The index may include the following information:

Historic newspapers can offer a wealth of information to add to your family history. Newspapers publish birth, marriage, and death announcements that can provide the vital dates of your ancestor's life.

They also reported on important events and happenings in the local community. Newspapers covered everything from local sports teams, school and community events, to local politics and the stories of everyday people in the community. Even if your ancestor's name doesn't appear in a newspaper, you could discover what life was like in their community during the time they lived there by reading newspaper articles.

Newspapers also published articles about negative events and difficult topics. You may find articles that state that your ancestor was a victim of a crime, or that they committed a crime or was involved in a political scandal.

Collection in context

The newspapers that are included in this index were produced by journalists working throughout California. Newspapers are highly valuable primary historical sources, which contain the biases of the author. They also contain the terminology of the times and may include offensive or obsolete language. They typically provide the most depth and breadth of information that can be found about the community where they are published. Articles may show up across many sources and states if they were syndicated by groups like the Associated Press.

Newspapers in the United States were often published by political parties and mercantile enterprises until the 1830s, when entrepreneurs began publishing newspapers that they sold for a penny to mass audiences in large cities. The newspaper followed as the United States population grew and the country expanded west during the late 1800s. Between the 1850 and 1880 U.S. Censuses, the number of newspapers increased 350 percent, rising to more than 11,400 publications. From the late 1800s to the early 20th century, technology impacted newspaper production with faster presses, linotype machines that mechanized typesetting, and a process that allowed photographs to be printed.

The first printing presses arrived in California in 1834 when the territory was still a part of Mexico, and Spanish-language newspapers were established soon after.

The Californian was the first newspaper published in English by white settlers. It was established in Monterey in 1846. Southern California got its first newspaper five years later when the Los Angeles Star was founded in 1851. The first newspapers in San Diego and San Jose were opened the same year. By the end of the 1850s, there were 57 newspapers in California.

The first Black-owned newspaper in California was the California Owl, which began publication in Los Angeles in 1879. The newspaper changed its name to the California Eagle in 1912.

The Los Angeles Press Club was founded in 1900 and served as a gathering place for journalists until the late 1920s. The club was disbanded during the Great Depression and World War II but reopened in 1946 as the Greater Los Angeles Press Club.

Bibliography

Breschini, Gary S. "The First Newspaper in California." Monterey County Historical Society. Accessed October 11, 2022. http://mchsmuseum.com/firstpaper.html.

Chapot, Hank. "San Francisco Newspapers." FoundSF. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=San_Francisco_Newspapers.

Fogarty, Billie Stone. "Finding & Using Historic Newspapers in Genealogical Research." Family Search. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://familysearch.brightspotcdn.com/3c/40/c9155b33c17a4e80fda5e2264765/course-handout.pdf.

Grohsgal, Leah Weinryb. "New Mexico, New Spain, Old Cultures: Historic Spanish-Language Newspapers in Chronicling America." National Endowment for the Arts. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/new-mexico-new-spain-old-cultures-historic-spanish-language-.

Los Angeles Press Club. "Mission & History." Accessed October 11, 2022. https://lapressclub.org/about/mission/.

Monteagudo, Merrie. "From the Archives: San Diego's first newspaper was published in 1851." The San Diego Union-Tribune. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/local-history/story/2020-05-29/san-diegos-first-newspaper-was-published-in-1851.

PBS. "Newspapers: The California Eagle." Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/ca_eagle.html.

The Family History Guide Blog. "Inside the Guide: Using Newspapers for Family History Research." Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.thefhguide.com/blog/inside-the-guide-using-newspapers-for-family-history-research/.

The Historical Marker Database. "Los Angeles Star." Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=125413.