The San Joaquin Genealogical Society (SJGS) serves those interested in genealogical research in San Joaquin County, which is located in the northern part of California's Central Valley.

We also seek to provide genealogical training and resources for our members and local residents who are researching their roots in other parts of California, the United States, and worldwide. SJGS volunteers are available at the Caesar Chavez Central Library in Stockton on the first and last Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Our membership is open to all.

Special Interest Groups

SJGS Special Interest Groups are meeting again - ONLINE! The British Isles, DNA, and the Writing Groups will be able to meet online using the ZOOM platform. Please email Jacqi Stevens if you would like to join any of the above groups at: president@sjgensoc.org

Want something different? New England State Research? Midwest States Research? Any other topic? Please email Jacqi Stevens and let her know. If at least three people are interested in the same topic, we will try to get a group started for you!

Our Society Needs A Home!

The San Joaquin Genealogical Society is looking for a permanent home. We hope to find a physical location for our Society: an office that can be used for meetings and events and as a place to store our various publications and records. (Currently, our meetings are held at the Troke Branch Library in Stockton, our address is simply a post office box, and records are stored at officers' homes.) We are raising funds to use toward eventual rental and utility costs. Please consider helping our dream come true! Click HERE to make a donation online, or mail a check to us at: San Joaquin Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 690243, Stockton, CA 95269-0243. All donations are tax-deductible.

About San Joaquin County

San Joaquin County is one of California's original counties, created when California became a state in 1850. It's named for the 356-mile-long San Joaquin River, the longest river in California's Central Valley. The river passes through San Joaquin County and empties into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas (North, Central, and South).

For maps showing how the boundaries of San Joaquin County and other California counties changed through the decades, visit the California State Association of Counties.

Incorporated cities currently within San Joaquin County are Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca, Mountain House, Ripon, Stockton (the county seat), and Tracy; unincorporated communities are Acampo, Clements, Collegeville, Farmington, French Camp, Linden, Lockeford, Morada, Terminous, Thornton, Victor, Waterloo, and Woodbridge.

Historic settlements and communities that no longer exist include Atlanta, Banta, Bellota, Burwood, Carnegie, Castoria, China Flat, Collierville, Cox's Ferry, Dent (now Escalon), Dogtown, Elliott, Fair Oaks, Five Corners, Henderson Village, Holt, Hope Landing, Liberty, Lincoln Village (now within Stockton), Middle River, Mokelumne City, Mormon, Peters, Poland, San Joaquin, New Jerusalem, Peters, Taison, Vernalis, and Youngstown.

For a highly detailed 1895 map of San Joaquin County showing communities and property ownership, click on this link to the Library of Congress. From this site, you can download map images with different resolutions.

There are 11 townships in San Joaquin County: Castoria, Dent, Douglass, Elkhorn, Elliott, Liberty, O'Neal, Ripon, Stockton, Tulare, and Union. See the San Joaquin County ordinance code for legal descriptions of each township.

Supporting SJGS

SJGS is a nonprofit organization incoporated in the State of California, and is not affiliated with any religious or political organization. Donations to SJGS are tax deductible as contributions under IRS code 501(c)(3). Donations can be made by check, or by specifying a donation amount when you renew your membership online. Your donations help us pay for expert speakers, sponsor our many genealogical activities, and more. Thank you!

Follow us on Social Media

We now have a public outreach platform on Facebook — click on the logo to access our membership-only page! You can use our "San Joaquin Genealogical Society" page to connect with others interested in our local history; to share historical photos and genealogy-related information; or to ask questions of our online community. Please note that becoming a free member of our Facebook page does NOT substitute for all the many other benefits you receive as a paid member of our society.

¹ Many thanks to current/former SJGS board members Sheri Fenley, Joy Ross, and Jacqi Stevens for their work on foundational website development. Much gratitude to initial webmaster Kathy Ikeda for her many design improvements and a wealth of new content.