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
Michigan Family History Network
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.
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