The state of Michigan has copies of the counties' vital statistics records. You can write to:

Office of the State Registrar & Center for Health
Michigan Department of Public Health
3423 North Logan Street
P.O. Box 30035
Lansing, MI 48909
Telephone: 517-335-8000; 517-335-8666;
517-335-8655

Where to Write for Vital Records: Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces. Hyattsville, Md.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 1993.

Copies of this booklet are at the Family History Library and the Family History Centers. You can also write to the Michigan Department of Public Health (address above) for current information.

Statewide indexes to births from 1867 to 1915 and deaths from 1867 to 1914 are at the Library of Michigan. Countywide indexes are listed in:

Callard, Carole, ed. Sourcebook of Michigan Census, County Histories, and Vital Records. Lansing, Mich.: Library of Michigan, 1986. (FHL book 977.4 A3sm; fiche 6101261; computer number 476755.)

Marriage and Divorce Records

An 1805 law required registration of marriages with the clerk of the local district court. Most counties kept marriage records from the date the county was created. You can obtain copies from the county clerk's office.

An 1867 law required the counties to send copies of the records to the Office of the State Registrar (see address above). Licenses were not required until 1887. The Family History Library has marriage records for most counties, from county creation to 1920 or later, and some indexes to the 1950s or later.

The earliest records of divorce were recorded in the supreme court. Later divorce papers are usually kept by the clerk of the circuit, chancery, or county court. The Family History Library has few divorce records for Michigan. Many divorce and other vital records have been abstracted and published in genealogical periodicals.

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