Genesee County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Genesee County, New York. The County is located in the southeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Genesee County Courthouse 900 S Saginaw St. Flint, MI 48502 Phone: (810) 257-3225 Genesee County Website County Clerk has birth and death from 1867, marriage and court records from 1835, and divorce records from 1890. Probate Judge holds probate records from 1954-present. Probate records from 1836-1953. Land Records are located at the County Administration Building Cemetery custodians have burial 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
Additional Information Genesee County is located northwest of the Detroit area and is north of Livingston County and Oakland County. It has a number of communities, including Grand Blanc, Burton, Mundy Township, Davison, and the county seat is Flint.

Cemeteries

 * 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images

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

 * 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
 * Flint
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1839-1841 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1839-1889 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1839-1891 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1840-1872 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1841-1870 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1847-1851 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1847-1851 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1847-1871 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1847-1878 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Volunteers at the Genesee County Court House (Clerk's Office), 1977 to 1987; Flint Genealogical Quarterly - V. 29, No. 3 (July 1987). By Flint Genealogical Society (Michigan). Flint, Michigan : Flint Genealogical Society, 1987. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

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

Funeral Homes
Brown Funeral Home

Dodds-Dumanois Funeral Home & Cremation Center

Hill Funeral Home; Dignity Memorial

Legacy Funeral Chapel

Plumb-Smith Funeral Home

Reigle Funeral Home/Sunset Chapel

Serenity Funeral Chapel

Sharp Funeral Home & Cremation Center Grand Blanc, Swartz Creek, Fenton and Linden, MI

Swartz Funeral Home

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1835-Present - Land Records housed at County Administration Building.
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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 Genesee 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 Genesee County.


 * 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
 * 1914-1918 Honor roll and complete war history of Genesee County, Michigan, in the great World War, 1914-1918. Flint, Michigan :, 1920

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
 * 2000-2016- Obituary Index at Flint Public Library--Index to obituaries found in Genesee County newspapers.

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
 * 1841-1870 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1857-1883 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Genealogical Data from Wills Over 100 Years Old (1886) : Found at Register of Deeds, Genesee County Michigan; Flint Genealogical Quarterly - V. 29, No. 2 (April 1987). By Flint Genealogical Society (Michigan). Flint, Michigan : Flint Genealogical Society, 1987. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Genealogical Data from Wills Over 100 Years Old : (Found at Register of Deeds, Genesee Co. Michigan); Flint Genealogical Quarterly - V. 27, No. 4 (Oct. 1985). By Flint Genealogical Society (Michigan). Flint, Michigan : Flint Genealogical Society, 1985. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Genealogical Data from Wills Over 100 Years Old : (From Register of Deeds, Genesee County Michigan); Flint Genealogical Quarterly - V. 28, No. 1 (Jan. 1986). By Flint Genealogical Society (Michigan). Flint, Michigan : Flint Genealogical Society, 1986. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
1797-1973 Genesee County, Michigan Tax records, 1844-1880, 1890 at FamilySearch

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
 * 1965-Present Genesee County Online Records Search

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 Certificates, 1897-1952 at Michiganology

Divorce

 * 1897-1952 Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images

Archives
Sloan Museum Archives 1221 E Kearsley St Flint, Michigan 48503 Phone: 810-237-3421 Email: [mailto:Collections@SloanLongway.org Collections@SloanLongway.org] Website Facebook
 * Written email appointments are strongly encouraged. Archive contains large newspaper collection, family journals, and funeral home records.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Flint Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Grand Blanc Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Owosso Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * St Clair County Library System - an affiliate library

Libraries
Flint Public Library 1026 E Kearsley St Flint, MI 48503 Phone: 810-232-7111 Email: [mailto:askus@fpl.info askus@fpl.info] Website Facebook
 * Flint Public Library is home to the second largest open stack genealogical collection in Michigan.

Genesee Historical Collections Center (Archives) Frances Willson Thompson Library, Room 227 University of Michigan-Flint 303 Kearsley St Flint, MI 48502 Phone: 810 762-3402 Website Facebook

Museums
Sloan Museum of Discovery 1221 E Kearsley St Flint, MI 48503 Phone: 810-237-3450 Email: [mailto:sloan@sloanlongway.org sloan@sloanlongway.org] Website Facebook

Societies
Flint Genealogical Society PO Box 1217 Flint, MI 48501-1217 E-mail:[mailto:Info@flintgenealogy.org Info@flintgenealogy.org] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Local Gov't Records by County at Library of Michigan — Browse their list; records are not online.
 * The Genesee County MIGenWeb project - regularly updated online resources for genealogical research.
 * Genesee County at Michigan USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
 * USGenWeb May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Genesee County, Michigan at Linkpendium - genealogy and family history
 * Genesee County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
 * Genesee County MI Genealogy at LDS Genealogy
 * – 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.