William Stanford
William Stanford
William Townsend Stanford (1867-1964) was named Vallejo's first Chief of Police on April 4th, 1900. He was a Mare Island Naval Shipyard mechanic with no prior law enforcement experience. He continued to serve as Chief of Police until his retirement in 1936. Photo courtesy of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.

Our Projects

Over the years, GSVB members have engaged in projects to enhance our ability to collect data for our members and to the public, near and far.
  • Obituaries: A collection of current obituaries from the Vallejo Times-Herald and the Benicia Herald. 
  • Cemeteries: Surveys of local cemeteries to identify who is buried there, and when.  In some cases, no other entity is available to provide this information. 
  • Surname Index: GSVB maintains an index of the surnames being searched by our members.