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The purpose of the Homestead Act, signed by President Lincoln on May 20, 1862, was to encourage settlement in the western states on unappropriated public land. Any person who was twenty-one years of age, or head of a family, or met certain military requirements was eligible to apply for a homestead. The homesteader had to live on the land continuously and cultivate it for a period of five years in order to obtain the patent. Any person who had borne arms against the U.S., or given aid and comfort to its enemies, was not eligible. This was a significant point since the Homestead Act was passed during the years of the Civil War. The patents read much like any deed. When family information such as marital status or relationship was included, it was abstracted and included along with the name of the applicant. Column headings include: Applicant and Family Information, Filing Date, and Vol.-Pg. In some cases, what was apparently the maiden name of a woman was found in the homestead application.

Local newspapers furnish a wealth of genealogical data and often help fill in the gaps in official records. The names contained in this index are primarily residents of Sonoma County, but some residents of the surrounding counties-Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake and Mendocino-can also be found within these pages. Newspapers indexed include: Cloverdale Reveille, Healdsburg Enterprise, Healdsburg Tribune, Petaluma Argus, Petaluma Daily Courier, Press Democrat, Russian River Advertiser (1910 only), Santa Rosa Republican, Sebastopol Times, Sonoma County Index (1910 only), and the Sonoma Index Tribune. This ninth volume in the series contains nearly 18,000 entries in alphabetical table format. Entries include: surname, given name, type of entry (birth, death, marriage, probate, or miscellaneous entry as gleaned from articles appearing in newspaper supplements), name of newspaper, date of article, page and column number, and comments. Surname entries often include alternative spellings. Given Name entries may include the relationship to the individual listed. Comments furnish, as available, cemetery names, locations mentioned in an article, special circumstances, and other supplemental data. A list of Sonoma County cemeteries, a map of the county, and a list of Sonoma place names enhance this valuable resource.

Local newspapers furnish a wealth of genealogical data and often help fill in the gaps in official records. The names contained in this index are primarily residents of Sonoma County, but some residents of the surrounding counties-Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake and Mendocino-can also be found within these pages. Newspapers indexed include: Cloverdale Reveille, Daily Republican, Healdsburg Enterprise, Healdsburg Tribune, Petaluma Argus, Petaluma Courier (also issued as Petaluma Daily Courier), Press Democrat, Petaluma Daily Courier, Russian River Advertiser, Sonoma County Independent, Sonoma Index Tribune, Santa Rosa Daily Republican (also issued as Daily Republican and Santa Rosa Republican), Sotoyome Scimitar, and Sotoyome Sun. This eighth volume in the series contains more than 20,000 entries in alphabetical table format. Entries include: surname, given name, type of entry (birth, death, marriage, probate, or miscellaneous entry as gleaned from articles appearing in newspaper supplements), name of newspaper, date of article, page and column number, and comments. Surname entries often include alternative spellings. Given Name entries may include the relationship to the individual listed. Comments furnish, as available, cemetery names, locations mentioned in an article, special circumstances, and other supplemental data. A list of Sonoma County cemeteries, a map of the county, and a list of Sonoma place names enhance this valuable resource.

Many gaps exist in Sonoma County records. Although Sonoma County was formed in 1850, some records, such as marriage records, date back to 1847; whereas births and deaths were not recorded until 1871. Local newspapers furnish a wealth of genealogical data and often help fill in the gaps in official records. The names, with genealogical data, contained in this index are primarily residents of Sonoma County, but residents of the surrounding counties-Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake and Mendocino-can also be found within these pages. On June 12, 1852 the Sonoma Bulletin published the first newspaper of Sonoma County. Other newspapers indexed include: Democratic Standard, Petaluma Argus, Petaluma Crescent, Petaluma Evening Argus, Petaluma Journal and Argus, Petaluma Morning Argus, Petaluma Weekly Argus, Petaluma Weekly Journal and Sonoma County Advertiser, Russian River Flag, Santa Rosa Press, Sonoma Bulletin, Sonoma County Journal, and Sonoma Democrat. Microfilm copies of these newspapers may be found in several libraries, and are listed to help researchers locate original articles. This first volume in the series contains more than 17,000 entries in a table format. Entries include: surname, given name, type of entry (birth, death, marriage, probate, miscellaneous-entries such as divorce records; and entries gleaned from articles appearing in supplements to the newspaper), name of newspaper, date of article, page and column number, and comments. Surname entries often include alternative spellings. Given Name entries may include the relationship to the individual listed. A list of Sonoma County cemeteries, a map of the county, and a list of Sonoma place names enhance this valuable resource.