Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy

United States Michigan  Isabella County

Guide to Isabella County Michigan ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1880.

History
Isabella County The county is located close to the geographic center of the lower peninsula of Michigan. While primarily rural in nature, Isabella County is also noted for it's oil and gas production and the manufacturing of machinery for industry, food service and wood products. Mt. Pleasant is the home of Central Michigan University and the Clarke Historical Library, the second largest genealogy and historical library in the state. Central Michigan University was opened in 1893 as the Central Normal School and Business Institute. The school was operated by the city of Mt. Pleasant until 1895 when it was taken over by the State of Michigan and became Central Michigan Normal School. CMU became a four year institution in 1918 and a university in 1959. The county also encompasses the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Reservation, home of the Soaring Eagle Casino. City, Town and Village Names

Parent County
1831--Isabella County was created 2 March 1831 from Mackinac County and unorganized territory. It was attached to Saginaw, Ionia, and Midland Counties prior to organization 11 February 1859. County seat: Mount Pleasant

Boundary Changes
See COUNTY EVOLUTION IN MICHIGAN, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state. This will help you to determine place of residence of your ancestors and under whose civil jurisdiction they resided. It is also useful for when you start to read the census records.

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
For a list of record loss in Michigan counties see: Michigan Counties with Burned Courthouses

Populated Places
The following is an alphabetical listing of cities, towns, and villages in Isabella County:

Many population places have several names that they were known by. Often, especially in Northern Michigan where the population was sparse and isolated, towns were named after places the people came from in southern Michigan, or their home state. When a post office was established another name was given to avoid mailing confusion. Places may also have been known by a prominent landmark, such as a saloon, hotel or sawmill. Towns and villages were often named after the person who first platted the land, and then later changed. In the 1870's railroad stations became local meeting places and appeared on plat maps as population centers. The railroad station served as a shipping and commerce point for the local area.

Isabella County has had 37 post offices (listing of Post Offices with postmasters) since incorporation of the county.

Albany - Post Office1857 to 1861 Alembic - Post Office 1874 to 1905 Beal City - Post Office 1892 to 1910 Blanchard - Post Office 1878 to the present Boyden - also called Deerfield Center, there was a Post Office there in 1893,closed in 1902, located 7 miles west of Mt. Pleasant; in 1905 there were two general stores, a lath factory and cooper shop. Blunt - Post Office1863 to 1865 Boyden - Post Office 1892 to 1906; Deerfield Township Brinton - Coal City or Coal Town, Post Office 1888 to 1906; Coldwater Township Bristol - Post Office 1872 to 1873; across the river from the Horr P.O.; Wm. K. Gibbs, Post Master; Sherman Township Broomfield - Post Office 1871 to 1907 Bundy - Post Office 1894 to 1898; Broomfield Township Burnham Station or Burnham Crossing - situated in Vernon Township, 2 miles to the south of Clare; Post Office official name was Russell; mill and depot were closed in 1896 after a fire destroyed the mill; Post Office was also closed at this time Cahoon - Post Office 1891 to 1892; Coe Township Caldwell - also called Two Rivers; Shingle mill operation; Post Office 1884 to 1906; Deerfield Township Calkinsville - see Rosebush - Post Office 1873 to 1903; Isabella Township Coe - Post Office in Coe Township in 1891 to 1904 Coomer - Post Office in 1892 to 1906; 8.5 miles southwest of Mt. Pleasant in Deerfield Township Crawford - Post Office 1883 to 1904 Delwin - on the P.M. (Pere Marquette) Railroad 7 miles south of Coleman; Post Office established in 1880 to 1906 Denver - Drew - Post Office 1899 to 1904; Sherman Township, Edward W. Benn, Post Master Dushville - later renamed Winn in 1895; platted by Wm. Wiley Dush on 26 October, 1876. Part of Dushville was called by the name Hardscrabble; listed as a Post Office in 1890 in Fremont Township Ellaville - Post Office 1878 to 1879 Floyd - Post Office 1891 to 1905 Gilmore - Post Office 1891 to 1906 Gough - Post Office 1882 to 1882; Deerfield Township Herrick - village three miles east of Clare near US-10 in Wise Township, original settlement about 1875 named Lansingville; when the Post Office was established in 1895 (through 1908) the name was changed to Herrick. There was a saw mill, charcoal kilns and a blacksmith shop. Horr - Section 16, Sherman Township, Corner of Weidman and Wyman Roads; Post Office 1884 through 1904 Indian Mills- also known as Isabella City and Longwood; Isabella - Post Office 1865 through 1869 Isabella Centre - Post Office 1860 through 1863 Isabella City - also known as Indian Mills, name changed to Longwood in 1877; Post Office 1861 through 1871 Jerseyville - in 1897 it was a Post Office 8 miles south of Mt. Pleasant, by 1910 the P.O. was closed and mail was to RFD Shepherd; Post Office 1892 through 1906 Jordan - in 1910 it was a station on the P.M. (Pere Marquette) Railroad, located 10 miles southwest of Coleman Leaton - Post Office 1880 through 1915 Letson - Post Office 1886 through 1888; Coldwater Township Loomis - also known as Buchtel; Post Office 1871 through 1915 Longwood - also known as Indian Mills and Isabella City; Post Office 1871 through 1878 Mansfield Matlock - Isabella County Enterprise, April 1, 1898. (front page). "A new postoffice is being established near the dam east of the county line in Midland county. It will be supplied from Mt. Pleasant and is named Matlock". From the January 6, 1899 issue of the Isabella County Enterprise. "The post office recently established at Matlock, east of Alembic, has been discontinued." contributed by Joyce McClain. Mount Pleasant - Post Office 1869 through the present Nero - Martin Ryerson Post Master; 1 mile south and 1/2 mile east of Brinton; Post Office 18771 through 1877 Rand - on the P.M. (Pere Marquette) Railroad; 1910 the postal address was RFD Wyman (Montcalm County) Remick - Post Office 1879 through 1887; Rolland Township Rosebush - also called Calkinsville; Post Office 1889 through the present Rowland - Saw mill settlement given a P.O., February 26, 1868. Name is derived from the township of Rolland; 1st Postmaster was William Patterson. The Post office operated until April 29, 1905. Russell - Post Office 1890 through 1902 Shepherd - also called Salt River or Salt River Corners; platted in 1866; became a village in 1887 and destroyed by fire in December of 1887; named after I. N. Shepherd. Sherman City - Post Office 1871 through 1913 Stone Outlots Strickland - Post Office 1870 through 1904 Summerton - Post Office 1882 through 1905 Tonkinsville Vandecar - Post Office 1880 through 1905 Vernon City - Weidman- lumbering town organized by John Sylvester Weidman; incorporated 4 July 1894; Post Office 1894 through the present Whiteville - Post Office 1884 through 1902; Isabella Township Winn - also called Dushville; first post office established 19 December 1867; Wiota - Post Office 1857 through 1871 Wise - Denver Township, 11 miles northeast of Mt. Pleasant on the P.M. Railroad, 4 miles from Coleman; Post Office 1884 through 1906 Woodin's Mill - Post Office 1886 through 1890

Neighboring Counties
Clare • Gladwin • Gratiot • Mecosta • Midland • Montcalm • Osceola

Cemeteries

 * Riverside Cemetery Listings - from the City of Mt. Pleasant; database of over 9,000 burials.
 * Isabella County Cemetery Listings at Find-A-Grave - volunteer submitted entries
 * Isabella County, MIGenWeb listings - volunteer submitted entries

Individual cemeteries:


 * Coe Cemetery, Shepherd BillionGraves

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)

Vital Records

 * How to order Michigan Vital Records
 * Michigan Birth Registrations, 1867-1902 -- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch Record Search. Records include such information as name of child, birthdate and place, if still-born, illegitimate or twin, gender, race and record number.
 * Michigan Marriage Registrations, 1868-1925 -- Free name indexes at FamilySearch Record Search. 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.
 * Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897-- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch Record Search.  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

 * List of Michigan Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Mount Pleasant Michigan Family History Center 1404 S Crawford Dr, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858 United States

Web Sites

 * Isabella County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.