Michigan Research Tips and Strategies

Michigan Research Strategies

 * Archives of Michigan Getting Started in Genealogy

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in Michigan


 * Michigan Online Genealogy Records
 * How to find Michigan Birth Records
 * How to find Michigan Marriage Records
 * How to find Michigan Death Records

Michigan Research Tips
These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Michigan.


 * Birth information: Birth records for each county, with copies also sent to the state, began no later than January 1867, although registration of all vital records was certainly not enforced. A 1905 law required more effective record keeping and was generally complied with by 1915. A helpful substitute record to find birth information is a death record. However, date and place of birth on a death record is considered secondary information, as it was not recorded at the time of the birth event. The birth information should be corroborated with other substitute records to improve accuracy.
 * Finding Parents: Death records for each county, with copies also sent to the state, began no later than January 1867, although registration of all vital records was certainly not enforced. A 1905 law was much more effective, and was generally complied with by 1915. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Michigan death records
 * Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.

Michigan Record Finder
This Record Finder is designed to help you determine the best record to search for the type of information you are looking for. It is most helpful for post-1850 research.

Further Michigan Research
For more research on Michigan, including research at the county level, visit the Michigan page on the Research Wiki.

Search all of the Michigan record collections at FamilySearch.