Births, Deaths, and Marriages on California’s Mendocino Coast

Mendocino County occupies over 90 miles of California’s rugged North Pacific Coast. Populated only by native peoples until 1851, the region experienced a flood of immigration when its immense stands of ancient Redwood forests were discovered by entrepreneurs in 1852. Thousands of people came from the eastern United States, Canada and Europe, particularly Finland, Portugal and Italy, to work in the forests, sawmills, railroads and harbors.

In the late 19th century local newspapers began providing a record of events important to the local population. In conjunction with the upgrading of printing equipment and lines of communication shortly after the turn of the century, The Fort Bragg Advocate increased the reportage of local events as well as reprinting items from other local papers which thus provided countrywide news for coast readers.

This book is volume 2 of a collection of abstracts from The Fort Bragg Advocate covering births, deaths and marriages for the years 1910 to 1919. The newspapers birth notices at first included only the date of birth, the name of the father and the town of residence; in time they expanded to include the child’s name, the mother’s maiden name and particulars of the birth. Death notices grew from the deceased name (or deceased father’s name, in cases of children under the age of 12), the dates of death and burial, the place of residence and the age at death, to include more details of the deceased’s life, lists of survivors and their relationship, cause of death location of interment and clergy involved. Marriage notices too grew, from the date of the ceremony, the names of the groom and bride (including maiden name), residency and sometimes the name of the presiding cleric, to include mention of relatives and the location of the ceremony.

Along with such information within the birth death and marriage notices this second volume contains a major addition: records of Mendocino County men involved with military service in World War One, 1917-1918. The role of names provides a good reference of men aged 18 to 45 registered with the selective service, including their home post office, registration, certification as fit, calls to duty, failures to return questionnaires or report for duty and a listing of those considered to be ＂slackers.＂ Also included is a 1927 roll of the dead.

This volume is accompanied by an every-name index and an updated Mendocino County map. The map reflects the railroads, towns and cities in existence in the decade 1910 to 1919, which was a period of great change in this coastal county.