Eaton County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Eaton County, Michigan ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for John Eaton. The County has Charlotte as its seat and the County was created 1837. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Eaton County Courthouse County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1838, divorce and court records from 1847 and some naturalization records. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

History

 * A brief history of Eaton County is available at Eaton County, Michigan
 * Eaton County Historical Markers
 * Archives of Michigan research guides Eaton County, Michigan
 * Eaton County Historical Commission

See THE CAPITOL REGION OF MICHIGAN compiled by Victoria Wilson for a general "how to" guide to researching in the area.

County histories - books &amp; online

 * History of Ingham and Eaton counties
 * History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan
 * Michigan County Histories and Atlases
 * Portrait Album of Eaton County, Michigan
 * County of Eaton, Michigan Topography and Art Folio
 * Pioneer History of Eaton County, Michigan

Parent County
1829--Eaton County was created 29 October 1829 from unorganized territory. It was attached to St. Joseph and Kalamazoo Counties prior to organization 29 December 1837. County seat: Charlotte

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Michigan County Boundary Maps" (1790-1897) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

See also COUNTY EVOLUTION IN MICHIGAN, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state. This will help you to determine place of residence of your ancestors and under whose civil jurisdiction they resided. It is also useful for when you start to read the census records

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

 * Michigan community names by county
 * Eaton County, Michigan Historical Post Offices

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties
Barry •  Calhoun  •  Clinton  •  Ingham  •  Ionia  •  Jackson

Resources
The Eaton County Clerk's Office has provided information about how to obtain genealogical records for their county on their portion of the County Web Site.


 * Michigan Family History Network Eaton County

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Directories

 * Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan: Google Books
 * Rural Directory of Eaton County, Michigan: Internet Archive

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Eaton County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Eaton County.

Online Records
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1945 - at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Obituaries

 * 1820-2006 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1784-1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1797-1973 at FamilySearch — images

Vital Records

 * How to order Michigan Vital Records

Birth

 * 1867-1917 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1902 - Michigan Birth Registrations, 1867-1902 — index and images

Marriage

 * 1585-1945 - Michigan, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1820-1937 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1820-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1868-1925 - Michigan Marriage Registrations, 1868-1925 — index and images

Death

 * 1850-1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1897 - Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897 — index and images

Societies and Libraries

 * Eaton County Genealogical Society 100 E Lawrence Ave Charlotte, MI 48813 Phone: 517-543-8792 Website
 * Bellevue Area Historical Society and Museum 212 North Main Bellevue, MI 49021 Email: [mailto:bellevue_mi@cox.net bellevue_mi@cox.net] Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Lansing Michigan Family History Center

Websites

 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Eaton County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Eaton County, Michigan Genealogy Trails
 * Eaton County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Eaton Co. Genealogical Society (Facebook)
 * Eaton Co. Genealogical Society (Facebook)