Archival Research:
An Introduction
This Powerpoint presentation was created by Dr. Wendy Rouse, SJSU
Research Locations
• Online
• California Room San Jose Public Library,
http://www.sjpl.org/yourhouse
• Santa Clara County Archives (1875 Senter Rd., San Jose,
CA 95112)
http://www.sccgov.org/sites/ceo/County%20Archives/Pa
ges/Santa-Clara-County-Archives.aspx
• Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office – 70 W. Hedding St.
1st Floor, East Wing, San Jose, CA 95110
• Japanese American Museum?
Research Buildings & People
• Secondary Sources
• Assessor’s Parcel Maps
• Historic Real Estate Documents
• Sanborn Insurance Maps
• Building Permits
• Other Property Records
• Assessment Rolls
• Census Records
• City Directories
• Newspaper Indexes
• City and County Histories
• Historic Photographs
Secondary Sources
• General history books on the neighborhood
• http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/Historic/japantown/final_repo
rt/default/asp
• http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/Historic/japantown/final_repo
rt/Appendix%20A.pdf
• Santa Clara County Heritage Resource Inventory in CA room
– This inventory includes descriptions and photographs of historic
landmarks and buildings. Editions may include maps, historic register,
and index of architects, builders, and designers.
• Visual Inventory of Historic/Archeological Sites in San Jose
– From the early 1970’s, this inventory is of noteworthy structures. Each
structure may have an architectural and historical evaluation, owner or
tenant interview, and photograph.
Assessor’s Parcel Maps
California History Room (SJPL) has San Jose City
Directories:
• 1870-1979 in print
• 1870-1960 on microfilm
• Covering San Jose Suburban for 1968-1974
Historic Maps in CA Room
• City of San Jose Block Book
– Published in 1871 by H.H. Stevenson, this book gives dimensions and owners
of blocks in San Jose.
• Block Book of the City of San Jose
– Published in 1909 and completed by F.G. Harriman, this source gives owners,
block numbers, and subdivisions.
• Thomas Brothers’ Block Book of San Jose
– Published in the mid 1920s, this multivolume set gives dimensions and owners
for all property lots in San Jose.
• San Jose Property Maps
– Dating back to the 1930s, this map series gives dimensions and owners for all
property lots in San Jose.
• Wall Maps for San Jose and Santa Clara County 1892-1924
– Large roll-up maps give the names of major property owners. They are most
useful for tracing property ownership in areas outside the San Jose City limits.
Historic Maps at County Archives and
County Recorder’s office
• Approximately 5,900 maps recorded with the country
dating from circa 1850 to 1957. recorded documents
include subdivisions, surveys of property, cemetery plans,
and other maps. At the Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
• The Henry B. and Raymond W. Fisher Survey Collection
consists of approximately 1,700 surveys made by Henry
B. Fisher and by his son, Raymond W. Fisher, from the
1890s until the 1960s, primarily in Santa Clara County. At
County Archives.
Sanborn Insurance Maps
• http://0sanborn.uml.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/
• Available online through SJ Library
• 1884, 1891, 1915
Building Permits
City of San Jose Building Permits
• Building permits in 1940-1986 are on microfilm in
California Room. Listed by street name and
number, the permits include date issued, owner
or developer name, and remodeling done during
this time period. More recent information is at
San Jose Permits Online.
Other Property Records
• The Clerk-Recorder’s General Index indexes all
property records (deeds, mortgages, chattel
mortgages, land patents, homesteads, etc.).
This index exists from all property records
from 1850 to present. At Santa Clara County
Archives and Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
Assessment Rolls
• The California Room has tax rolls on microfilm
back to 1979. They let you find who owns a
piece of property in Santa Clara County.
Census Records
• The California Room has detailed U.S. census rolls
for Santa Clara County covering 1860-1880 and
1900-1930. fire destroyed the 1890 census rolls
for the entire county.
• In addition, the California Room has an index to
the 1860 and 1870 censuses that helps you find
the right information.
• Some records are online at
http://sfgenealogy.com/santaclara/scdata.htm
City Directories
• San Jose City Directories in California Room:
• 1870-1979 in print
• 1870-1960 on microfilm
• Covering San Jose Suburban for 1968-1974
Newspaper Indexes
• Chronicling America –
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
• Google News Archive
• San Jose Mercury News Historical Archive
(1886-1922) – FREE (through participating
libraries using NewsBank, including Santa
Clara Public Library)
City and County Histories
• Historical Atlas of Santa Clara County
• Published in 1876, this atlas names large
property owners in San Jose and Santa Clara
County. This comprehensive atlas is useful in
identifying landowners outside the 1876 San
Jose city limits. The Atlas is also online at
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
Historic Photographs
• Santa Clara County Photographers Collection
through Online Archive of California
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/
kt00002317/
• Other collections on the Online Archive
• The County Office of Planning Photograph,
Slide and Film Collection Santa Clara County
from 1906 to 1980 at Santa Clara County
Archives.
Voter Records
• Great Register of Santa Clara County in CA
room
• The Great Register lists all males in Santa Clara
County who were registered to vote.
Information includes name, age, country or
state of birth, occupation, local residence etc.
The California Room has the Great Register for
1867, 1879, 1880, 1884, 1890, and 1896.
Other Useful Sources
• California Room Index
– This online index to 75,000+ references to San Jose
and Santa Clara County history is the best place to
start looking for information on people, particularly
those active in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Genealogy resources
http://sfgenealogy.com/santaclara/scdata.htm
• Online Archive of California
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/
• Ancestry.com
• Google
Research Advice
• Make a list of key terms and people
• Make a checklist of sources to explore
• Keep a journal of what you have researched and
who you have spoken with
• Start with secondary sources
• Mine bibliographies
• Exhaust all leads
• Move to primary sources
• Be systematic
• Trust librarians & don’t trust librarians