Ogemaw County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for an Anglicization of the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief". The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Ogemaw County Courthouse 806 W Houghton Ave. West Branch, MI 48661 Phone: 517-345-0215 Ogemaw County Website County Clerk has birth records from 1879, marriage records from 1887, death records from 1876, divorce and court records from 1902, naturalization records from 1876 and military records from 1919. Probate Court has probate records from 1873. Register of Deeds has land records from 1860.

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 - 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

Directories

 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images

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: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War
 * 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

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University

Obituaries

 * 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
 * 1877-1912 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

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

 * 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 (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

 * Houghton Lake Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * West Branch Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Roscommon County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Ogemaw District Library 107 Main Street Rose City, MI 48654 website The library has a family research room that is open on Mondays 11:00am-7:00pm

Museums

 * Ogemaw County Genealogical and Historical Society/Museum 135 S. 2nd Street PO Box 734 West Branch, MI 48661 Phone: 989-701-2525 Website Facebook

Societies

 * Ogemaw County Genealogical and Historical Society/Museum 135 S. 2nd Street PO Box 734 West Branch, MI 48661 Phone: 989-701-2525 Email: [mailto:oghs1978@gmail.com oghs1978@gmail.com] Website Facebook


 * Rose City Area Historical Society P.O.Box 736 Rose City, MI 48654 Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Ogemaw 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.