Michigan genealogy records

Births and deaths

Public Act 194 of 1867 told townships and cities to record births and deaths each year. The entries went to the county clerk, who copied them into ledger books and sent them to the Secretary of State. So for an event after 1867, there are usually two places to look: the county clerk's office in the county where it happened, and the state copy. If one of them has no record, ask the other.

In 1897 Public Act 219 changed the death record from a ledger line into a certificate and asked for more information. From 1898 the certificate collected the date and place of death, age in years, months and days, marital status, cause of death, birthplace, occupation, the full names and birthplaces of both parents, and, for married people, age at first marriage and how many children they had had and how many were living. A parent's name on a death certificate is often the first written link to the next generation back.

Responsibility for state birth, marriage, and death records moved from the Secretary of State to the State Commissioner of Health in 1921, and today it sits with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Free death certificates online

The Archives of Michigan's digital collection Death Certificates, 1897 to 1952 can be searched free by the person's first and last name, county, city, date of death, age, and the father's and mother's names. The collection's description says records from 1949 to 1952 are index only, without an image, and you can also browse by year, then county, then surname range, which helps when a name was misspelled.

Search with wildcards: a question mark stands for one uncertain letter (sm?the finds Smithe and Smythe) and an asterisk at the end catches every spelling that starts the same way. If nothing turns up, browse the likely county and year and read the surnames in order. For deaths after 1952, request a certified copy from MDHHS Vital Records or the county clerk.

Who can order a Michigan record

According to the MDHHS vital records page as captured in 2022, anyone may request a certified copy of a Michigan death, marriage, or divorce record by asking in writing and prepaying the search fee (MCL 333.2882). Anyone may also receive a birth record that is more than 100 years old. A birth record less than 100 years old is limited to the person named, a parent named on it, a legal guardian, a legally licensed representative, an heir of a deceased person, who must state the relationship, or a court that supplies a court order.

The same page said the state issues only certified copies and does not issue genealogy copies, and that photo identification is required for a birth record less than 100 years old. Fees and forms change, so check the current MDHHS page or call the county clerk before you send money.

Marriages and divorces

The 1867 law also required officials who performed marriages to record each one, and the records were reported to county clerks and the Secretary of State. From 1887 (Public Act 128) couples had to obtain a civil license from the county where the bride or groom lived, so the license and certificate are at that county clerk's office, with a ledger copy sent to the state. State marriage records changed from ledgers to certificates in 1926.

Divorce was handled by the territorial Supreme Court from 1812, by a Court of Chancery from 1836, and by the county circuit courts after 1846. From 1897 circuit court clerks had to report every divorce to the state, and in 1924 the state's divorce records changed from ledgers to certificates. For the divorce case itself, ask the circuit court of the county that granted it.

Census records

Federal census schedules for Michigan are free to search on FamilySearch and other sites. As in every state, most of the 1890 federal census was destroyed after a fire in the Commerce Department building in Washington on January 10, 1921, so the 1880 and 1900 federal censuses sit twenty years apart.

Michigan's own state censuses help fill that gap, but only some survive. The Archives of Michigan's free Michigan State Census, 1827 to 1894 collection holds the counties and years that were saved, mostly 1884 and 1894, with scattered earlier years such as Washtenaw in 1827 and Eaton in 1845, 1854, 1864, and 1874. From 1827 to 1874 only male heads of household and men over 21 were named. The 1884 and 1894 schedules name everyone with age, relationship to the head, marital status, birthplace, parents' birthplaces, occupation, and years living in Michigan; 1894 adds years in the United States.

Land, naturalization, and World War I

Michigan is a public land state, so the first sale of most land went from the federal government to a private owner. Patents can be searched free on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records website, and the full land entry case files are at the National Archives. The Archives of Michigan also has surveyor field notebooks from 1815 to 1918 and surveyor maps from 1816 to 1860 online, which show the township and section lines your ancestor's deed describes.

The Archives of Michigan is putting more than 2 million naturalization records from Michigan circuit courts, created between 1821 and 1985, online free, adding counties alphabetically starting in fall 2025. Records before 1906 generally do not give a birthplace, immigration year, or birth date, while papers from 1907 on can name a spouse and children, the port of arrival, and witnesses.

A free collection of World War I bonus index cards, from 1921 to 1932, covers Michigan veterans who served between April 6, 1917 and August 1, 1919. A card may give the service number, birth date and place, induction, units, overseas service, and discharge date.