Berrien County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for John M. Berrien. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1831, naturalization records 1835-1985 and military records from 1918. Probate Court has probate records from 1832. Register of Deeds has land records from 1831. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1835.

History

 * Berrien County is in the far southwest corner of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and includes the towns of Berrien Springs, Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, and Stephensville.

Parent County
1829--Berrien County was created 29 October 1829 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Cass County prior to organization 1 September 1831. County seat: St.Joseph

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Michigan County Boundary Maps" (1790-1897) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Cass •  La Porte County, Indiana  •  St. Joseph County, Indiana  •  Van Buren

Cemeteries
Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, Michigan has a Name Searchable Database.

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Baroda, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Berrien 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 Berrien County.


 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies B, C, E, I, and K
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company B

Online Records
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1945 - at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Obituaries

 * Southwest Michigan Obituary Index from the earliest date to 2000.
 * 1820-2006 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1784 – 1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1797 – 1973 at FamilySearch — images

Vital Records

 * How to order Michigan Vital Records

Births

 * 1867-1917 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1902 - Michigan Birth Registrations, 1867-1902-- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as name of child, birthdate and place, if still-born, illegitimate or twin, gender, race and record number.

Marriages

 * 1585-1945 - Michigan, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1820-1937 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1820-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1868-1925 - Michigan Marriage Registrations, 1868-1925 -- Free name indexes at FamilySearch. 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.

Deaths

 * 1850-1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1897 - Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897 --   Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch.  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.

Museums

 * North Berrien Historical Museum 300 Coloma Ave PO Box 207 Coloma, MI 49038 Telephone: 269-468-3330 Email: [mailto:info@northberrienhistory.org info@northberrienhistory.org] Website

Societies and Libraries

 * Berrien County Genealogical Society PO Box 8808 Benton Harbor, MI 49023-8808 Website
 * Berrien County Historical Association 313 N. Cass Street PO Box 261 Berrien Springs, MI 49103 Telephone: 269-471-1202 Fax: 269-471-7412 E-mail:[mailto:Info@berrienhistory.org Info@berrienhistory.org] Website
 * Four Flags Area Genealogical Society PO Box 414 Niles, MI 49120-0414
 * Ft. Miami Heritage Society Of Michigan 708 State St. St. Joseph, MI 49085
 * Galien Woods Historical Society 708 Galien-Buchanan Rd. Galien, MI 49113
 * North Berrien Historical Society 300 Coloma Ave PO Box 207 Coloma, MI 49038 Telephone: 269-468-3330 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * St Joseph Michigan Family History Center 3653 Niles Ave, St Joseph, MI 49085 United States

Websites

 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Berrien County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Berrien County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Berrien County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)