Wayne County, Michigan Genealogy

United States Michigan  Wayne County

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage and death records. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796).

Wayne County is the oldest county in the area known now as the State of Michigan and originally included areas that are counties in their own right. It includes the City of Detroit which was founded by the French on 24 July 1701 and which is now the state's largest.

Parent County
1815--Wayne County was created 21 November 1815 as an original county. County seat: Detroit

Populated Places
See the list of places on Wikipedia: Places in Wayne County, Michigan

Neighboring Counties

 * Macomb
 * Monroe
 * Oakland
 * Washtenaw

Cemeteries

 * Evergreen Cemetery, Detroit BillionGraves
 * Maple Grove Cemetery, Westland BillionGraves
 * Michigan Memorial Park, New Boston BillionGraves
 * Mount Olivet Cemetery, Detroit BillionGraves
 * Old Baptist Cemetery, Plymouth
 * Presbyterian Cemetery, Plymouth
 * Riverside Cemetery, Plymouth
 * Sacred Heart Cemetery, Detroit BillionGraves
 * Saint Hedwig Cemetery, Dearborn Heights BillionGraves
 * Shearer Cemetery, Plymouth

Census

 * 1796 Stuart, Donna Valley. "Detroit 1796 Census," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 69 (1981):185-194. Digital version at National Genealogical Society website ($);.

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Detroit Dist
 * Detroit
 * Detroit E.
 * Detroit S.
 * Detroit W.
 * Mack

Directories
Fold3.com ($) has Detroit City Directories 1861-1923 available online.

Maps
City maps are often found in city directories.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Wayne 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 Wayne County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Companies A, C, G, H, K, and Unassigned Company
 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Unassigned Company
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company F


 * Civil War Veteran Burials, Plymouth

Newspapers

 * 1817-1830 - Detroit Gazette at Google News - free.

Vital Records

 * Michigan Birth Registrations, 1867-1902 -- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch Record Search. Records include such information as name of child, birthdate and place, if still-born, illegitimate or twin, gender, race and record number.
 * Michigan Marriage Registrations, 1868-1925 -- Free name indexes at FamilySearch Record Search. 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.
 * Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897-- Free name indexes and images atFamilySearch Record Search.  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.
 * 1934-1953 Wayne County Death Index-- An index to original records held at the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. These records do not include deaths that occurred within the City of Detroit.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Palmer Park Michigan Family History Center (Detroit)
 * Riverview Michigan Family History Center
 * Westland Michigan Family History Center

Web Sites

 * Wayne County USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Wayne County Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)