Grand Traverse County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Grand Traverse Bay. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Grand Traverse County Courthouse 400 Boardman Ave. Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: (231) 922-4760 Grand Traverse County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1853, divorce and court records from 1882. Townships have burial 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:

Bible Records

 * Pioneer Families of Grand Traverse County, Michigan at RootsWeb

Cemeteries

 * 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images

Census Records
 State Census
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 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 Article
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1861-1904 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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 Article

Funeral Homes
Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service Whitehall, Ludington,  Hart,  Frankfort,  Kingsley,  Elk Rapids,  Traverse City,  Hesperia, MI Life Story Funeral Home Traverse City, MI Martinson Funeral Home Sutton's Bay, MI Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home & Cremation Services

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 Article
 * 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 Article

World War I
 * 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

Newspapers

 * Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University

Obituaries

 * 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

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
 * 1853-1901 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1861-1886 (*); Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog — index & 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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1867-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 1867-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

Marriage

 * 1585-1945 Michigan, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1820-1937 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 1820-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 1868-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

Death

 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 1867-1897 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
 * 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

 * Houghton Lake Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Kalkaska Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Traverse City Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Roscommon County Genealogical Society Research & Education Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Traverse Area District Library 610 Woodmere Ave Traverse City, MI 49686 Phone: 231-932-8500 Email: [mailto:ask@tadl.org ask@tadl.org] Website Facebook
 * Traverse Area District Library (TADL) consists of a network of libraries serving Grand Traverse County through the following locations: Main Library – Traverse City, East Bay and Kingsley Branch libraries, the Fife Lake Public Library, Interlochen Public Library, and Peninsula Community Library.

Societies
Grand Traverse Area Genealogical Society 610 Woodmere Ave PO Box 2015 Traverse City, MI 49685 Email: [mailto:info@gtags.org info@gtags.org] Website Facebook Traverse Area Historical Society PO Box 7051 Traverse City, MI, 49696-7051 Phone: 231-995-0313 Email: [mailto:traversehistory@gmail.com traversehistory@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Grand Traverse County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Grand Traverse 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.