Collection Guide
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Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner's Office records
CNTY0005
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Center for Sacramento History
Title: Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner's Office records
Identifier/Call Number: CNTY0005
Physical Description:
104.5 Linear Feet
Physical Description:
137 boxes
Physical Description:
16 volumes
Date (inclusive): 1850-2001
Abstract: The Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner's Office records contains case files, registers, indexes, death certificates, and inquests
of deaths registered in Sacramento County, California, from 1850-1977, with separate transcribed indexes available for each
of the coroner's various records. The collection also contains papers from Sacramento County's first deputy coroner, Laura
(Synhorst) Santos, and Coroner John T. Skelton. Santos' papers include crime scene notes, coroner and police reports, and
notes for identifying bodies from the 1988 Dorothea Puente serial murder investigation; photographs and other material that
document the coroner's office and staff from 1958-2001; and copies of inquests from 1850-1934. Skelton's material dates from
1899 to 1923 and primarily documents his work as coroner, with a small number of records related to his work at Miller and
Skelton funeral parlor and his efforts to improve traffic safety in Sacramento.
- Processed by:
- Sean Heyliger, Kim Hayden, Emily Mizokami
- Date Completed:
- 2024
- Encoded by:
- Kim Hayden
Collection is open for research use.
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted
in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron.
No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
[Identification of item], Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner's Office records, CNTY0005, Center for Sacramento History.
Coroner's inquest records were transferred from the Sacramento County Coroner's Office in 1982, 1985, 1987, 1987, 1990, 1999,
and 2008 (accessions 1982/091, 1982/156, 1985/014, 1987/002, 1990/079, 1999/045, and 2008/026), and from the California State
Archives in 1980 (accession 1980/132). Death certificates were transferred from the Sacramento County Clerk's Office in 1978
(accession 1978/093). Laura Santos donated her papers in 2004 (accession 2004/042). Brenda Sloan donated John Skelton's papers
in 1997 (1997/008).
Transcriptions of the coroner's inquest case files and registers were performed by members of the Root Cellar - Sacramento
Genealogical Society. Finding aid was created by archivists Sean Heyliger (2019) and Kim Hayden (2021). Inquest box numbers
were altered for the finding aid to provide for a continuous box count (boxes 1-138). Previously, boxes were numbered 1-64
and 1/72-72/72 (now 65-138). Descriptions of unknown bodies were described by the person's race by the coroner's office and
may include antiquated racial terms that may be considered offensive.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner's Office records contains case files, registers, indexes, and inquests of deaths registered
in Sacramento County, California, with separate transcribed indexes available for each of the Coroner's various records. Volumes
include registers of property description, coroner's record (chronological), coroner's record (alphabetical), record of inquisitions,
coroner's receipt of property, and indigent property burial records. The bulk of the records are inquest case file reports,
which were created when deaths were unattended by a physician or of a suspicious nature. These are arranged alphabetically
within each calendar year, and include a general report with vital statistics and a statement by reporting official, and sometimes
supplemental reports.
The collection also contains papers from Sacramento County's first deputy coroner, Laura Synhorst Santos (series 4), and Coroner
John T. Skelton (series 5).Santos' papers include crime scene notes, coroner and police reports, and notes for identifying
bodies from the 1988 Dorothea Puente serial murder investigation; photographs and other material that document the coroner's
office and staff from 1958-2001; and copies of inquests from 1850-1933. Skelton's papers date from 1899 to 1923 and primarily
document his work as coroner, with a small number of records related to his work at Miller and Skelton funeral parlor and
his efforts to improve traffic safety in Sacramento.
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
- Series 1. Inquest reports, 1850-1977
- Series 2. Death certificates, 1901-1902
- Series 3. Registers, 1850-1969
- Series 4. Deputy Coroner Laura Santos papers, 1850-2001 (bulk 1968-2001)
- Series 5. Coroner John T. Skelton papers, 1899-1923
Alternative Forms of Material Available
Inquest files are also available on microfilm (76 microfilm reels).
An 1850-1852 Sacramento City mortality register created by City Undertaker E. S. Youmans is in the City Clerk collection,
CTY0035, at CSH. It is of particular interest because it documents the 1850 cholera epidemic.
CSH holds the Superior Court case files for the Dorothea Puente serial murder case (CNTY0004).