Lenawee County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for a Native American word meaning "male", from the Delaware "leno or lenno" or the Shawnee "lenawai". The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lenawee County Courthouse 425 N Main Street Adrian, MI 49221 Phone: 517-264-4606 Lenawee County Website County Clerk has birth, marriage and death records from 1867, divorce and court records from 1870.

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
 * The Farm Journal Rural Directory of Lenawee County, Michigan (with a Complete Road Map of the County). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Wilmer Atkinson Company, 1916. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Emigration and Immigration

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

Local Histories

 * One Hundred Years-A Country Town:The Village of Tecumseh, Michigan 1824-1924, is an excellent source for early history of Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan. The book can be found in FamilySearch Catalog or WorldCat by Clara Waldron. Published by Thomas A Riordan, 1968.

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 Lenawee County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that had many men from Lenawee County.


 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company F
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company A
 * - Engineer Regiment of the West, Missouri Volunteers (Union), Company E


 * Lenawee County Historical Society. [Civil War military surname card file, 1859-1866


 * 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 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

 * 1867-1917 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

 * Adrian Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Ann Arbor Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Jonesville Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Adrian District Library - An affiliate library
 * Manchester District Library an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Adrian District Library 143 E. Maumee St. Adrian, MI 49221 517-265-2265 Website

Societies

 * Blissfield Area Historical Society 105 N. Lane Street Blissfield, MI 49228 Phone: (517) 403-2412 Facebook


 * Irish Hills Historical Society 8433 US Highway 12 Onsted, MI 49265 Phone: 517-467-5300 Email: [mailto:irishhillstowers@yahoo.com irishhillstowers@yahoo.com] Facebook


 * Lenawee County Historical Society 110 E. Church St. Adrian, MI 49221 Phone: 517-265-6071 Email: [mailto:lenaweemuseum@yahoo.com lenaweemuseum@yahoo.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Lenawee 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.
 * Lenawee 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.