Kent County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Kent County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
 * This article is about a county in the state of Michigan. For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation).

Description
The County was named for James Kent, who represented the Michigan Territory in its dispute with Ohio over the Toledo Strip. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Kent County Courthouse 300 Monroe Ave. NW. Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Phone: 616-632-7590 Kent County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1845 and burial records from 1959. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1867. 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:

History Timeline

 * The earliest permanent settler in Kent County was Rix Robinson. Born in Berkshire, Massachusetts in 1789, he came to Michigan to avoid the draft during the War of 1812. Working initially at Detroit, in 1820, the American Fur Company chose Robinson to be their central fur trader in west Michigan when Madeline La Framboise retired to Mackinac Island. He took over her trading post located where the Grand River meets the Thornapple River in what is now known as Ada, Kent, Michigan. In 1821 Robinson married an Ottawa woman, Pee-miss-a-quot-oquay. They had one son, John R. Robinson born March 5, 1826. She and Rix separated, and she died of consumption in 1848. By 1827, Robinson was successfully managing twenty trading posts along the shores of Lake Michigan. Robinson was elected township supervisor when Kent County was established in 1831.
 * By the time Michigan joined the union in 1837, Robinson, who was a wealthy man, had closed all his trading posts and was appointed to the State Board of Commissioners of Internal Improvements. He was a Michigan State Senator from 1847 to 1849, representing Kent County. During that time he presented a bill to give women the right to vote. It was defeated during the drafting of the state constitution of 1850, but in a step forward in the women's rights movement, a bill allowing married women the right to control property they owned prior to marriage did pass. He was a delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1850 and a presidential elector. He was a strong contender for governor but declined the nomination because his second wife, Se-be-quay, a native American, would not have been accepted as a governor's wife. Rix Robinson died of consumption January 12, 1875. He is buried in Ada, Michigan.

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
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 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Grand Rapids
 * FamilySearch Places

Directories

 * 1856-1960 - Kent County, Michigan Online Historical Directories - identifies historical city, county, business and other directories available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust, images – includes business directories for towns across the state

Emigration and Immigration

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

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:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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


 * - 1st Regiment, Engineers and Mechanics, Michigan - Companies A, B, C, D, F, and Company unassigned
 * - 1st Regiment, New York Veteran Cavalry, Company K

Online Indexes and Records
 * 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

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * 1894-1916 - Grand Rapids Public Library Digital Collection, Grand Rapids Herald 1894-1916 Website
 * Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University

Obituaries

 * 1820-2006 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records
Online Indexes and Records


 * 1784-1980 - Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry($)
 * 1797-1973 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

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.

Birth

 * 1867-1902 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1917 - 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   and images. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1897 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1897-1952 - Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index and images, organized by county and then last name.
 * 1935-2019 - Michigan, Kent County Death Index, 1935-2019 at MyHeritage - index

Family History Centers

 * Grand Rapids Michigan Family History Center

Libraries
Grand Rapids Public Library Main Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids MI 49503 Phone: 616-988-5400 website
 * Grand Rapids Public Library Digital Collections Homepage - Website

Societies
Kent City Area Historical Society 16652 Fruit Ridge Kent City, MI 49330

Kent City Area Society of History and Genealogy P.O. Box 11 Kent, MI 49330 Phone: 616-678-7529

Byron Center Museum and Historical Society 2506 Prescott St. SW, P.O. Box 20 Byron Center, MI  49315 Phone: 616-878-0888 Website

Algoma Township Historical Society 11731 Pine Island Dr Sparta MI 49345 Phone: 616-866-1583 Website

Bowne Township Historical Society 11735 92nd Street, P. O. Box 35 Alto MI 49302 Website

Caledonia Township Historical Society 8573 84th Street, P.O. Box 110 Caledonia, MI 49316 website Facebook

Cascade Historical Society 2865 Thornhills Dr. SE Grand Rapids MI 49506 website

Websites

 * Kent 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.
 * Western Michigan* Genealogical Society, founded in 1954
 * Online Searchable Databases at the Western Michigan Genealogical Society.
 * Kent County School Census 1903-1925
 * Kent 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.