Working around Letters of No Record

[nfig1]

Hello to all.

Both my gg grandparents were immigrants from the Liguria region; they met in San Francisco and got married ca. 1886. Both the state record AND the church record do not exist thanks to the 1906 fires. How critical is the marriage document (less so than the birth document?), and what options do I have besides presenting a Letter of No Record? Can I also get a court order to regenerate the document? I have census records and death records that show they were married and living at the same address. I also have birth records of their other children, whose names also appear on the censuses, and my gg grandparents' death certificates showing the surviving spouse, etc. Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Nick F.

[jcat]

When you mentioned that there are no State records of their marriage certificate due to the fires, you are talking about the San Francisco earthquake.is it because that far back all state records were kept at the city level ? Have you tried Sacramento for their marriage certificate? The marriage certificates are a required document needed to present when applying for dual citizenship. you could try to regenerate one with the information that you do have, and be specific when requesting it as to your needing it as part of your dual citizenship in Italy.

[nfig1]

Virtually all city vital records were destroyed in the fires related to the SF earthquake. Thus, there are no records at the state level for that period.

[johnnyonthespot]

When you mentioned that there are no State records of their marriage certificate due to the fires, you are talking about the San Francisco earthquake.is it because that far back all state records were kept at the city level ?

According to this site:

On April 18, 1906 a devastating earthquake shook the San Andreas fault near San Francisco. ... The loss included nearly all of the public records held by the city/county government --- land records, vital statistics, court records, and so on.

Compounding the loss, the State of California did not require recording of vital statistics (births, marriages, and deaths) until 1 July 1905. Prior to that date, counties kept their own records. After July 1905, a standard form was used by the counties, and duplicate copies were sent to the State, thus only those events that occurred between July 1905 and April 1906 survive for San Francisco city/county.

[nfig1]

Yes, otherwise the State would have the documents, and they do not.