Michigan Fast Facts and Key Resources

FAST FACTS

Statehood: 1837

First federal census: 1820

Available state censuses: Various colonial (1710-1796), territorial (1810, 1827, 1834) and state censuses (1837-1969)

Statewide birth and death records begin: 1867

Statewide marriage records begin: 1867

Public-land state

Counties: Except minor adjustments, boundaries set in 1897 at 83 counties

Contact for vital records:

Michigan Vital Records Office

333 S. Grand Ave.

1st Floor, Lansing, MI 48933

(517) 335-8666, <michigan.gov/mdch>

Websites

Cyndi’s List: Michigan

Michigan Family History Network

Michigan GenWeb Project

Seeking Michigan

Publications

• The Detroit Almanac: 300 Years of Life in the Motor City edited by Peter Gavrilovich and Bill McGraw (Detroit Free Press)
• Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State, 3rd revised edition, by Willis F. Dunbar and George S. May (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
• Michigan Genealogy: Sources and Resources, 2nd edition, by Carol McGinnis (Genealogical Publishing Co.)
• Michigan Place Names by Walter Romig (Wayne State University Press)
• Sourcebook of Michigan Census, County Histories, and Vital Records edited by Carole Callard (Library of Michigan)

Archives & Organizations

Archives of Michigan – 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Box 30740, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 373-1408

Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan – 1150 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (734) 764-3482

Detroit Public Library – 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202, (313) 481-1300

French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan – Box 1900, Royal Oak, MI 48068

Historical Society of Michigan – 5815 Executive Dr., Lansing, MI 48911, (517) 324-1828

Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan – Box 251693, West Bloomfield, MI 48235

Library of Michigan – 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Box 30007, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 373-1580

Michigan Genealogical Council Box – 80953, Lansing, MI 48908

National Archives at Chicago  –  7358 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60629, (773) 948-9001

For more information about the Great Lake State, head over to our Michigan State Research Guide.