Are you familiar with Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps? "Fire insurance maps are detailed city plans, usually at scales of 50 or 100 feet to an inch. They show individual building "footprints," complete with construction details, such as building material (brick, adobe, frame, etc.), height (of larger buildings), number of stories, location of doors, windows, chimneys and elevators, use of structure (dwelling, hotel, church, etc.), street address, and occasionally the ethnicity of the occupants. Other features shown include lot lines, street widths, water pipes, hydrants and cisterns, and fire-fighting facilities." [Business names also shown for many locations.] -UC Berkeley <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/sanborn.html> I have used these professionally for commercial property and general historical research. But, I find them also valuable for family history research. Although you probably won't find your ancestor's name listed on the map, the information will add to your knowledge of the area and time in which they lived. (But, what if you don't know where they lived? Besides a residence often being listed on vital certificates, you can find them in a City Directory.) Anyway, ProQuest-UMI have digitized a large collection of these maps (including many areas of California) and they are available online through participating libraries. I know that the San Francisco and San Jose public libraries now have them available online for their patrons. If you know of any other NorCal library that has them available, please email me directly. Thanks! Ron Filion sfgenealogy.com p.s. We have the San Francisco maps available for 1899/1900, for free at: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/sanborn/sanborn.htm