There is nothing more helpful that a handy reference book with information specific to the area you are researching. I've listed below those that I know about.
(find in a library) will give you a link to help you find the book in the library closest to you. Most will show libraries near Ann Arbor... to change the location, type in your zip code and you can find libraries near you.
All of the three books listed below have a small section covering each state that includes maps, historical information, vital records coverage and a bibliography of resources for that state.
- Handybook for Genealogists ( 11th edition) (find in a library) (note: some libraries may have earleir editions; those are perfectly usable)
- Ancestry's Redbook (you'll want the 3rd edition) (find in a library)
- The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogical Research (find in a library)
Here are some books specific to Michigan research:
Ancestry's Michigan Fact Sheet
* Anderson. Genealolgy in Michigan: What, When, Where (1982)
* Browne. Guide to the State Archives of Michigan
* McGinnis. Michigan Genealogy Sources and Resources (2nd ed.) This is the most useful guide to researching Michigan ancestors.
* Michigan Cemetery Atlas and Michigan Cemetery Sourcebook (out of print)( data now available online)
* Guide to the Michigan Genealogical and Historical Collections at the Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan
* Quigley. Index to Michigan Research in Genealogical Periodicals.
* Romig, Walter. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986.
There is no periodical that covers material from all Michigan coutnies equally, but two include multi-county data: The DSGR Magazine (find in a library) published by the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research and Michigana, (find in a library) put out by the Western Michigan Genealogical Society --both available with society membership. A defunct magazine that included information on several counties is Family Trails (find in a library) , which was published from 1967-1972.
Audio-tapes of lectured given at genealogy conferences :
* Hansen. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin: Research in the States of the Old Northwest Territory
* Dearborn. New Englanders to Michigan and Other Great Lake States
* Anderson. Michigan Research (notice this is quite old)
* Hodges. Migration to Michigan
* Riley. Using Michigan Manuscripts for Genealogy Research
* Riley. Treasures in the Library of Michigan's Abrams Foundation Historical Collection and the State Archives of Michigan
* Harvey. Michgan's 30,000,000 Vital Records and their Uses
* Callard. Genealogical Resources at the Library of Michigan (notice this quite old)
* Wiskerman. An overview of Michigan Genealogy (notice this quite old)
* Joslyn. Finding Your Michigan Ancestors in Upstate New York
* Griffin. Ontario Sources for Michigan Genealogists
* Callard. North to Michigan from Virginia and West Virginia
* Thomas. African Americans to Rural Michigan.
* Hodges. Ethnic Migration to Michigan
* Thomas. Michigan Land Records: A New Resourcs Source
* Eichholz. South to Michigan from Vermont, Ontario, New York
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First, bookmark or print out these FHL documents:
Use the catalog at the FHL to find out what has been filmed covering the state Michigan ; Click View Related Places in the upper right to find sources that have been filmed for the county you are researching and once there click View Related Places in the upper right to find sources that have been filmed for the township or city. You will want to check for resources in all three jurisdictions, although most people check the county holdings first, township next and state last.
Bookmark or print out this map of Michigan counties. For maps of each county, view the appropriate pages of the 1895 Michigan Atlas.
See what's available at the
This last site also houses a complete listing of Michigan Volunteers: Spanish American War 1898 and Michigan Place Names.
Visit the websites of these libraries , archives and societies:
Library of Michigan -- see especially their
Genealogy page and read their Genealogy Newsletter. To locate cemeteries and identify cemetery resources available at the Library of Michigan, check their Michigan Cemetery Sources (links are on the bar at the top of the page) See also their list of the 50 Best Michigan Genealogical Resources --one of several Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights.
Michigan State Archives -- see epecially their State Circulars page, which offers PDF handouts that describes the various records available at the Archives.
Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. --see especially their Guides to Genealogical Records in the Burton Historical Collection. Staff there will search Detroit newspapers for an obituary; see this handout for charges and conditions.
The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan houses the Michigan Historical Collection of manuscript material, as well as the University of Michigan Archives and Records .
There is no statewide genealolgical society, except the Michigan Genealogical Council, which is comprised of delegates from member societies.To find local genealogy societies, see the Michigan Genealogy Society Directory . The Western Michigan Genealogical Society covers several western counties and has several searchable datatabases. WMGS also has a list of the publications of the various Michigan societies.
The Historical Society of Michigan does not have a genealogy component, although some of their member societies may combine genealogy with local history.
County Histories
A searchable library of Michigan County Histories is available on line. Once you have a view of the page you want, choose image, pdf or text to view. (The advantage of choosing text is that you can cut and paste.)
Newspapers
Find out about newspapers at the website of the Michigan Newspaper Project . The Library of Michigan site has a chart showing the genealogies of newspapers by town ( you may have to click the little orange symbol to expand the screen) and a list of Library of Michigan newspaper holdings by county.
Census
In addition to federal census records, there are state census schedules for Michigan. The Library of Michigan offers a summary of what is available at the Library of Michigan. If the LDS Library has film copies, they will be found under the county. Images and index of the federal census for 1870 is available online (free) and the 1880 can be searched for free at Familysearch.org Find other online census records and more census information at censusfinder.com's Mighigan links.
Vital Records
To get information about vital records, check the Michigan Vital Records (official page) or the Vitalrec Michigan Page.The Library of Michigan maintains a Michigan County Clerks Directory.
Death records 1867-1897 are indexed online and death records 1897-1920 are available at the Library of Michigan. A guide to Michigan vital record research lists all records available at the Library of Michigan. The Dibean Michigan Marriage Index includes a massive number of marriages in Michigan. (the link titled "Search the New Marriages" is really a search of all marriages) .
Cemeteries:
Interment.net: Michigan Cemeteries
CemSearch: Michigan Cemeteries
Naturalizations
Michigan Naturalizations have been indexed by the Library of Michigan
Finally, check out Michigan Black Sheep Ancestors
Queries and Volunteer Help
Leave a query on a Michigan county message board or see if one of the volunteers at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness: Michigan can help you. If you need an obituary, see if there is a volunteer for your area at Obituary Lookup Volunteers: Michigan.
More Michigan links:
* Genealogy Today's State Gen Site: Michigan
* Rootsweb: U.S. Resources: Michigan
* Genealink's Michigan Page
* Access Genealogy's List of Michigan Links
* Cyndi's List Michigan Page
* Linkpendium's Michigan Page
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