Michigan Historical Societies

This directory lists 41 historical societies, museums, and archives in Michigan, from The Henry Ford in Dearborn and the statewide Historical Society of Michigan to county and township groups such as the Historical Society of Greater Lansing. Below the cards you will find a working guide to where Michigan records live, written for people tracing a family or a building rather than for a general reader.

Michigan Territory was organized in 1805 and the state joined the Union on January 26, 1837. Its 83 counties were preceded by 25 counties that were renamed or abolished, so an ancestor who never moved can appear under three county names. Public records at the Archives of Michigan reach back to 1792, and the Detroit River ribbon farms of the French period are among the oldest private land claims in the Midwest. Record loss is rarer than in the South, though Montmorency County lost most of its county documents to fires in 1943 while its birth, death, and marriage registers survived.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories in Michigan

The Archives of Michigan and the Library of Michigan share the Michigan Library and Historical Center at 702 W. Kalamazoo Street in Lansing, which makes a single trip unusually productive. The Archives of Michigan holds more than 80 million state and local government records and private papers, 10 million photographs, and 500,000 maps; its reading room is open Monday through Friday 1 to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm (517-335-2576, archives@michigan.gov). Its county guides list exactly which county clerk, treasurer, circuit court, and probate court records have been transferred to Lansing for each county.

• Michiganology: the Archives' free online portal, with a searchable death records collection, a map collection organized by county and township, and the Main Streets collection of digitized local publications.
• Library of Michigan: serving the state since 1828, with genealogy, newspaper, and law collections, county-by-county guides to its holdings, and the ANSWER catalog.
• Historical Society of Michigan: founded in 1828 and the state's oldest cultural organization, publisher of Michigan History magazine, the Chronicle, and the Michigan Historical Review, and the support network for local history organizations statewide.
• Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant: Michigan and Old Northwest history, archival finding aids, and the state's newspaper digitization program.
• The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (bentley.umich.edu) and the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library are the two largest manuscript collections for Michigan families and businesses; the Detroit library also runs a Detroit newspaper search and an obituary search service.

Vital records: births, deaths, marriages, divorces

Michigan required statewide registration of births and deaths beginning in 1867, with general compliance by about 1915. Marriage registration is older: an 1805 territorial law required marriages to be recorded with local court clerks, and county clerks have kept marriage records from the organization of each county. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records office issues certified copies and handles genealogy requests through its vital records pages; expect long waits, since the office currently quotes 12 to 16 weeks for a regular birth genealogy request. Copies of some records from the last 100 years are limited to direct relatives.

• Free first: Michiganology's death records collection covers 1897-1952 with certificate images, searchable by name, county, parents' names, and date range. Try it before paying for a state copy.
• County clerks hold the original birth, death, and marriage registers and issue copies; for an 1867-1915 event the county is usually faster than Lansing.
• Statewide indexes to births and deaths for 1867-1915 are at the Archives of Michigan.
• Divorces were granted by the county circuit court; the case file is at the county clerk unless the county guide shows it was transferred to the Archives. MDHHS issues divorce certificates for recent decades.
• The FamilySearch wiki page on Michigan Vital Records summarizes which online indexes exist for each county.

Land records and the Register of Deeds

Michigan is a public-domain state: the federal government surveyed the land into townships and ranges and sold it, so the first owner of a parcel is on the BLM General Land Office Records site, which has images of the patents. Land entry case files for those purchases are at the National Archives. The exceptions are the French and British private claims around Detroit, Monroe, and the Straits, confirmed by Congress and printed in the American State Papers, Public Lands series.

After the first sale, every deed and mortgage was recorded by the county Register of Deeds, an elected office in each of the 83 counties, from the date the county was organized. FamilySearch has microfilm of deed books for more than 50 Michigan counties to about 1900, and many Registers now offer online indexes for later years. The Archives of Michigan holds subdivision plat maps, which are the fastest way to turn a lot-and-block description into a date of platting. To follow a parcel backward, read our guide to tracing a property's deed history; the grantor-grantee indexes at a Michigan Register of Deeds work exactly as described there.

Newspapers and city directories

Michigan's digital newspaper program is run by the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University. Its Digital Michigan Newspapers portal (digmichnews.cmich.edu) is free, and the Clarke also selects and prepares the Michigan titles that appear on Chronicling America, the Library of Congress site. For titles not yet online, the Library of Michigan in Lansing holds newspapers on microfilm and publishes county guides to its holdings, and the Detroit Public Library offers a Detroit newspaper search service.

City directories for Detroit and the other larger Michigan cities are held at the Library of Michigan, the Burton Historical Collection, and the Bentley; the Main Streets collection on Michiganology includes digitized community publications searchable by city and publisher. Our article on old city directories explains how to use the reverse (street) sections that Michigan directories often include.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

Michigan is one of the better states for census substitutes. Besides the federal census, there were territorial censuses in 1827 and 1834 and state censuses in 1845, 1854, 1864, 1874, 1884, 1894, and 1904; the surviving schedules from 1827 through 1904 are on Michiganology, and the 1894 census is also indexed on FamilySearch and Ancestry. The 1884 and 1894 state censuses are especially useful because they fill the gap left by the destroyed 1890 federal schedules.

• Naturalization: declarations and petitions were filed in county circuit courts; the Archives of Michigan county guides show which counties' naturalization records have been transferred to Lansing.
• Civil War: Michigan regimental records and related files are among the Archives' most used military holdings; check the Archives catalog and Michiganology for the current list of digitized series.
• Probate: probate court files are at the county unless the county guide shows a transfer to the Archives.
• Cemeteries: there is no single state cemetery database; county and township historical societies hold most transcriptions. See finding where someone is buried for the method.

Researching a house or building in Michigan

Michigan's State Historic Preservation Office now sits within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation at 300 N. Washington Square, Lansing, and works from the MiPlace historic preservation site. Staff work hybrid schedules and are easiest to reach by email. Two SHPO resources matter most: its online CRIS database of survey and National Register data, and its research resources page with guidance on researching a historic property and a library of survey forms. About 2,000 Michigan properties and districts are listed in the National Register.

• The Michigan Historical Marker Program, created by Public Act 10 of 1955, has placed more than 1,800 markers; it is run by the Michigan History Center with the Michigan Historical Commission, and its program page explains how a sponsor applies for a new marker.
• For a construction date, combine the Register of Deeds chain, the Archives' subdivision plat maps, county tax rolls, and newspaper building notices. Our guides to dating a house and researching an old building cover the sequence.
• Ask the Library of Michigan, the Bentley, or the Clarke whether Sanborn fire insurance maps exist for your town; the larger cities were mapped repeatedly between the 1880s and 1950s.

Working with Michigan's local historical societies

Michigan local history is organized at three levels: county societies and museums, township and village societies (often based in a one-room schoolhouse or depot), and city museums in the larger towns. Most are volunteer-run and open a few afternoons a week, so write ahead. The Historical Society of Michigan runs training workshops and the annual Mid-Michigan Local History Conference at the Library and Historical Center in Lansing, and its website is the best place to find a society by county. When a society holds the only copy of a cemetery transcription or plat book, ask whether it has been deposited with the Library of Michigan, which collects local publications statewide.

Additional Michigan History Resources

• Archives of Michigan - State archives in Lansing with county guides, 80 million records, and a public reading room
• Michiganology - Free death records 1897-1952, state censuses, maps, and digitized local publications
• Library of Michigan - State library genealogy and newspaper collections, county guides, ANSWER catalog
• MDHHS Vital Records - Official office for Michigan birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates
• Michigan State Historic Preservation Office - National Register, CRIS database, and historic property research guidance
• Michigan Historical Marker Program - Marker criteria, application process, and program history since 1955
• Clarke Historical Library - Michigan newspaper digitization and Old Northwest manuscripts at CMU
• Historical Society of Michigan - Statewide society since 1828; publications, workshops, and local organization support
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents for the first sale of Michigan land
• FamilySearch Wiki: Michigan Vital Records - Registration dates, restrictions, and online index coverage by record type

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Michigan death certificates online for free?

Yes for 1897-1952. Michiganology, the Archives of Michigan portal, has a searchable death records collection with certificate images for those years. Earlier deaths (from 1867) are in county clerk registers with a statewide index at the Archives; later deaths are ordered from MDHHS Vital Records or the county clerk.

Where do I find a Michigan marriage record?

At the county clerk of the county where the license was issued. Michigan required marriages to be recorded from an 1805 territorial law, and clerks hold registers from each county's organization. The state office, MDHHS Vital Records, also holds marriages from 1867 onward.

Did Michigan take state censuses?

Yes. Territorial censuses were taken in 1827 and 1834 and state censuses in 1845, 1854, 1864, 1874, 1884, 1894, and 1904. Surviving schedules are on Michiganology, and the 1894 census is also indexed on FamilySearch and Ancestry. They are the best substitute for the lost 1890 federal census.

Who holds property deeds in Michigan?

The Register of Deeds in each of the 83 counties, from the county's organization date. The original federal sale is on the BLM General Land Office Records site, and the Archives of Michigan holds subdivision plat maps. FamilySearch microfilmed deed books for more than 50 counties to about 1900.