Michigan Obituaries - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Michigan

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images to an obituary collection for the years 1820 to 2006. It is organized by county or newspaper and then alphabetically. Extracted information as well as newspaper clippings are represented. The originals are housed in several libraries and repositories throughout Michigan. Some collections contain obituaries from other states and nearby regions.

The Van Buren County card files contain no surnames that begin with the letter G.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The records usually contain:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Age
 * Birth date and place
 * Death date and place
 * Names of parents, spouse or other relatives
 * Name of cemetery
 * Name of newspaper, date and place of publication

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a spouse or parent

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Location
 * 2) Select Name or Name Range

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found in the obituary to search for the family in census records.
 * Use the information found in the obituary to search for the family in church records.
 * Use the information found in the obituary to obtain the actual death record.
 * Use the information found in the obituary to search additional state and county records.
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral and cemetery records, which often include the names and residences of other family members.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby cemeteries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: Top of Page