The following Vital Records for California are now online for the years 1905 - 1995: Birth: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/birth/search.cgi Death: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi For Texas the following records are online: Birth - 1926 - 1995; Marriages - 1966 - 1997; Divorces: 1968 - 1997; Deaths: 1964 - 1998: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/graphics/texas.html There are search engines for both so one can look up all of a particular surname or whatever other criteria you may wish to use.