Clare County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Clare 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 County Clare, Ireland. The County has Harrison as its seat and the County was created 1840. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, burial, divorce, court and land records.

Parent County
1840--Clare County was created 1 April 1840 from Mackinac County. It was formerly Kaykakee County, until the name changed to Clare County 8 March 1843. It was attached to Saginaw, Midland, Isabelle, and Mecosta Counties prior to organization 13 March 1871. County seat: Harrison

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
Gladwin •  Isabella  •  Mecosta  •  Midland  •  Missaukee  •  Osceola  •  Roscommon

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Clare County is part of Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Clare 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 Clare County.

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

 * 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

Birth

 * 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.

Marriage

 * 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.

Death

 * 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.

Societies and Libraries

 * Clare County Historical Society 3062 E. Colonville Rd. Clare, MI 48617-9448 Website
 * Harrison Area Genealogy Society PO Box 796 102 N. Second Street and Main Street Harrison, MI 48625 Facebook

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

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