Michigan, United States Genealogy

United States Michigan

Guide to Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records

Welcome to the Michigan page, the Wolverine StateMost unique genealogical features:
 * Detroit Public Library has a worldwide scope genealogy collection.
 * Michigan Censuses 1710-1830 indexes 16 pre-statehood censuses.
 * Michigan's county and township governments were patterned after New England and New York.

Counties
Click on the map below to go to a county page. Hover over a county to see its name. To see a larger version of the map, click here. Extinct or Renamed Counties:  Aishcum· Anamickee· Bleeker· Brown· Cheonoquet· Des Moines· Dubuque· Forest· Iowa· Isle Royal· Kanotin· Kautawaubet· Kaykakee· Keskkauko· Manitou· Meegisee· Michilimackinac· Mikenauk· Neewago· Notipekago· Okkuddo· Omeena· Shawano· Tonedagana· Unwattin· Wabassee· Washington· Wyandot

Cemeteries:

 * Political Graveyard

Events:

 * Michigan Genealogical Council Select Family History Events

Family Histories / Genealogies:

 * Genealogies in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography, 2 Vols. -1 Supplement, ed by Marion J. Kaminkov.
 * Complement to Genealogies in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography ed. by Marion J. Kaminkov
 * Directory of Family Associations, by Elizabeth P. Bentley (out of date)
 * Directory of Family "One-Name" Periodicals, by J. Kondra (out of date)
 * Family Associations, Societies and Reunions, by J. Konrad (out of date)
 * Index to American Genealogies: and Genealogical Material Contained in All Works by Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers
 * Genealogical Periodical Annual Index, published by Heritage Books
 * Index to Genealogical Periodicals by Donald L. Jacobus
 * Bibliographia Genealogica Americana An Alphabetical Index to American Genealogies and Pedigrees by Daniel S. Dume.
 * American British Genealogy and Heraldry: A Selected List of Books by P. William Filby
 * A List of Some American Genealogies Which Have Been Printed In Book Form, comp. by Thomas A. Glenn.
 * American Genealogist: Being a Catalogue of Family Histories and Publications by William H. Whitmore.
 * See also the various who's who...(i.e. Who's Who in the Midwest)
 * Michigan's Centennial Family Farm Heritage, 1986:A Michigan Sesquicentennial History by Mary L. Wermuth.
 * PERSI (Periodical Source Index) by the Allen Co. Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN. (online through Heritage Quest)
 * Biographies memoirs

Guides
Guides geared specifically for Michigan genealogy research:.


 * Genealogist's Guide to ... Northwest Michigan ... The Capital Region of Michigan ... Southwestern Michigan ... The Thumb Area of Michigan ... The Middle of Michigan ... Northeastern Michigan and Upper Penninsula Michigan, all compiled by Victoria Wilson
 * Genealogy in Michigan: What, When, Where by Alloa Anderson &amp; Polly Bender
 * Michigan Genealogy by C. McGinnis
 * Tracing Your Ancestors in Michigan by Ethel W. Williams

Legal Materials -
Probate records such as wills often provide useful information, see: Searching American Probate Records by Fran Carter. Other records, such as various legal cases might be of use - see "How to Find Series #12: Finding Michigan Laws and Cases in the MSU Libraries ", published by MSU Libraries, 1983.

Major Repositories
Archives of Michigan· Library of Michigan· Detroit Public Library· National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago)· Newberry Library· Allen County Public Library

Medical Institutions Training Schools

 * Link

Migration Routes
Erie Canal· Lake Erie· Lake Huron· Lake Michigan· Lake Superior· Soo Locks· Detroit-Chicago Road· Detroit-Vincennes Road· Fort Gratiot Road· Grand River Road· Great Trail· Great Path· La Plaissance Bay Road· Lake Shore Path· Lake Trail· Maumee-Jonesville Road· Monroe Road· Saginaw Road· Sauk Trail· Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail· Vincennes-Indianapolis-Detroit Road· Erie-Kalamazoo Railroad

Miscellaneous

 * Michigan Yellow pages

Photos

 * Men of Michigan: A Collection of the Portraits of Men Prominent in Business and Professional Life in Michigan, pub. by Michigan Art Co., 1904


 * Listing of photographers
 * Victorian Era Death photos
 * Upper Peninsula
 * Detroit Public Library Digital Collection

Featured Content
1894 Michigan State Census This Internet site lists soldiers by name with their ward, township, and county as shown on the census of United States Soldiers of the Civil War Residing in Michigan, June 1, 1894, part of a state census. Since the 1890 federal census was partially destroyed in a fire, researchers can use this list of names as an additional tool beyond the census, to document their ancestor's whereabouts during the 1890's. There are approximately 50,000 names listed. For further details, see the Michigan Census Wiki page.

Research Tools

 * Rotating Formation Michigan County Boundary Maps and Atlases
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * How to order Michigan Vital Records
 * Researching Michigan Census Records
 * The The Michigan GenWeb Project provides county information about formation date, parent county, county seat, bibliography, cemeteries, census, churches, towns, history, look ups, obituaries, queries, repositories, surname registry, and many Internet links.
 * State of Michigan County City Government Court links
 * Family History 101 - My Michigan Genealogy contains Michigan state history, links to counties and county histories, where to find records in each county and online links.
 * Michigan, My Michigan is a new course on FamilySearch.org.
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * List of Michigan Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * History &amp; Facts of Michigan Counties
 * American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
 * The American Civil War
 * Family Tree Encyclopedia - Terminology &amp; Meanings of Genealogical Terms
 * Printable Genealogy Forms used in Research
 * Research in Michigan Military Records
 * Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Family History Network - Michigan
 * The United States Vessel Enrollments for the Great Lakes region. The transcriptions are from a project that involved an attempt to transcribe all steamboat enrollments for Great Lakes ports prior to 1861, all vessels for Detroit and Cleveland up to 1861, and Buffalo up to 1841 are included in the file. The set includes 5741 enrolments in which just under 2000 individual vessels are named, over 6000 people were identified.
 * http://genealogytrails.com/mich/

African-American

 * Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society

c/o Burton Historical Collection, DPL 5201 Woodward Avenue Detroit MI 48202-4007 Publication is Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society News published twice a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council


 * Bennie L. Phifer
 * Lansing Area African American Genealogical Society

Post Office Box 22203 Lansing MI 48909-2203 Publication is Newsletter published quarterly Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Cornish

 * Keweenaw Houghton Cornish Society of the Copper Country


 * Cornish Connection Of Lower Michigan

8494 Wesley Drive Flushing 48433

Finnish

 * Finnish American Heritage Center

Flemish

 * Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans

French-Canadian (includes Acadian, Cajun and Metis)

 * French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan

Post Office Box 1900 Royal Oak MI 48068-1900 Publication is Michigan's Habitat Heritage published quarterly Located in Oakland County

MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Facebook

Irish

 * Irish Genealogical Society of Michigan

c/o Gaelic League/Irish American Club 2068 Michigan Avenue Detroit MI 48216-1303 Publication is Irish Tree published nine times a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Wayne County Irish Society

31975 Cowan Westland 48185

Italian

 * Americans Of Italian Origin Society

18336 Lister E. Detroit 48021

Jewish

 * Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan

PO Box 251693 West Bloomfield MI 48325-1693 Publication is Generations published quarterly Located in Oakland County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Facebook

Polish

 * Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan

c/o Burton Collection 5201 Woodward Avenue Detroit MI 48202-4007 Publication is The Polish Eaglet published three times a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Facebook


 * Polish Heritage Society

P.O. Box 1844 Grand Rapids 49501


 * Detroit (West Side) Polish American Historical Society

Scottish

 * The St. Andrew's Society of Detroit

2360 Rochester Ct Troy Mi 48083 Phone:(248) 526-1849 Fax:(248) 528-1477 Contact: kilgour@detroitscots.com

Anishnawbe (Chippewa / Ojibwe, Ottawa / Odawa, Potawatomi Indians)

 * A starting point for doing Ottawa/Odawa Indian genealogy research - https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Ottawa_Indians

Michigan Oral History Association

Did You Know?

 * Michigan is comprised of an Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula, with shoreline longer than every other state except Alaska. The peninsulas are surrounded by the Great Lakes: Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, the largest freshwater lakes in the world.
 * Many famous and interesting people grew up in Michigan. Henry Ford grew up there. He was the inventor of the automobile. The first automobile was driven in Michigan. President Gerald Ford and Thomas Edison grew up in Michigan. Charles Lindburgh lived in Michigan.

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Michigan 1894 State Census (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan Birth Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan, County Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan Death Records (FamilySearch Histoical Records)
 * Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Individuals Entering Through the Port of Detroit (FamilySearch HistoricalRecords)
 * Michigan Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * [[Image:Michigan flag.png|right|180px|Michigan flag.png]]Michigan Marriage Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Michigan Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Obtain additional help

 * Call or chat with an experienced researcher
 * Join a Facebook Group
 * Consult a Professional Genealogist

Help Wanted
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