Kalamazoo County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Kalamazoo 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 "the mirage or reflecting river" and the original Indian name was "Kikalamazoo". The County has Kalamazoo as its seat and the County was created May 7, 1830. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
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.

Parent County
1829--Kalamazoo County was created 29 October 1829 from unorganized territory. It was attached to St. Joseph County prior to organization 1 October 1830. County seat: Kalamazoo

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.

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

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
Allegan •  Barry  •  Branch  •  Calhoun  •  Cass  •  St. Joseph  •  Van Buren

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories
Histories of many of the villages in Kalamazoo were described in the 1869 Kalamazoo Directory which is available for free from Internet Archive.

Maps

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

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

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

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
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 — 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-- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as name of child, birthdate and place, if still-born, illegitimate or twin, gender, race and record number.

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 -- Free name indexes at FamilySearch. Records include such information as names of bride and groom, date of license, ages, race, residences, birthplaces, occupations and names of the fathers of the bride and groom.

Death

 * 1850-1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1897 - Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897 -- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch.   Records include such information as name of deceased, date and place of death, gender, color, marital status, age in years, months and days, disease or apparent cause of death, birthplace, names and occupations of parents, and the date the record was made.

Societies and Libraries
Kalamazoo County Historical Society 315 S. Rose St. Kalamazoo 49007

Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society PO Box 405 Comstock 49041 Website

Comstock Township Library Local History Room P.O. Box 25 6130 King Highway Comstock, MI 49041 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * Kalamazoo Michigan Family History Center 1112 N Drake Rd Kalamazoo, MI 49006

Genealogical Socities

 * List of Michigan Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society

Websites

 * Kalamazoo County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * 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)
 * Kalamazoo County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)