Kalamazoo County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for "the mirage or reflecting river" and the original Indian name was "Kikalamazoo". The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Kalamazoo County Courthouse 201 W Kalamazoo Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Phone: 269-383-8840 Kalamazoo County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1831, divorce and court records from 1800’s. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

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:

Census Records
 State Census


 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1894 at FamilySearch. This is one of 16 counties that have a full, searchable census with links to images.  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1894 Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1819-1991 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1831-1944 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Directories

 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images
 * Kalamazoo County Directory : With a History of the County from its Earliest Settlement. By Thomas, James M. Kalamazoo, Michigan : James M. Thomas, 1869. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929-1966 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection

Funeral Homes

 * Avink McCowen Secord Funeral Homes and Cremation Society in Portage, Schoolcraft and Vicksburg.
 * Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes in Kalamazoo.
 * Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home and Cremation Care in Augusta and Richland.
 * Harper Funeral Home, Inc. in Kalamazoo.
 * Joldersma and Klein Funeral Home in Kalamazoo.
 * Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial and Cremation Services in Climax, Kalamazoo and Portage.
 * Redmond Funeral Homes in Kalamazoo and Parchment.
 * Whitley Memorial Funeral Home, Inc. in Kalamazoo.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Thomas, James. Kalamazoo County Directory: With a History of the County from Its Earliest Settlement Stone Brothers Book and Job Printers, 1869. Internet Archive.


 * Fisher, David; Little, Frank. Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. AW Bowen and Co. Publishers, Chicago, IL. It is available digitally at FamilySearch Digital Library

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust, images – includes business directories for towns across the state
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War Civil War service men from Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Companies I and M
 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies F, H, and Unassigned
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies D, I, and K


 * 1861-1865 Record of Service of the Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War 1861-1865 at Michiganology — images, multiple volumes organized alphabetically by surname
 * 1876-1945 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1894 Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War I
 * 1917-1919 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917-1919 Michigan, U.S., Honor Roll of Kalamazoo County, 1917-1919 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University
 * Kalamazoo Gazette (various incarnations 1837-present).The Kalamazoo Public Library is indexing the newspaper which is searchable online through their Website. The continually updated index can be searched by going to Research-&gt; Genealogy -&gt; Local Information Databases -&gt; Search Local Newspapers (select "subject" from the drop down box).Obituaries are available for a small fee.
 * Kalamazoo Telegraph (various incarnations 1845-1916).The Kalamazoo Public Library is digitizing this paper.It is currently searchable (1868-1899) from their website.

Obituaries

 * Southwest Michigan Obituary Index from the earliest date to 2000.
 * 1820-2006 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1784-1980 Michigan, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com ($) — index & images
 * 1797-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1832-1845 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1833-1940 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1867-1917 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1902 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1585-1945 Michigan, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1820-1937 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1820-1940 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1868-1925 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1897 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1952 Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1897-1952 Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index and images, organized by county and then last name.

Divorce

 * 1897-1952 Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Battle Creek Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Kalamazoo Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Kalamazoo Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Hartford Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Comstock Township Library Local History Room 6130 King Highway Comstock, MI 49041 Phone: 269-345-0136 Email: [mailto:info@comstocklibrary.org info@comstocklibrary.org] Website Facebook

Societies
Kalamazoo County Historical Society 315 S Rose St PO Box 49005-1623 Kalamazoo MI 49005 Website Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society PO Box 3236 Kalamazoo, MI 49003-8335 Email: [mailto:info@mikvgs.org info@mikvgs.org] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Kalamazoo County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Kalamazo County Genealogical Records has many local records (digitized and searchable) including vital records, city directories, maps, yearbooks and more.
 * Bushwhacking Genealogy: Kalamazoo and Beyond describes Kalamazoo genealogy resources and articles on local history.
 * Kalamazoo County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.