Clinton County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Clinton 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 DeWitt Clinton. The County has St. Johns as its seat and the County was created 1831. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1839, divorce records from early 1800’s and court records.

History
Named for DeWitt Clinton, U.S. Senator and Governor of New York

Parent County
1831--Clinton County was created 2 March 1831 from unoganized territory. It was attached to Kent and Shiawassee Counties prior to organization 12 March 1869. County seat St. Johns

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.

See also 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.

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
Eaton County •  Gratiot County  •  Ingham County  •  Ionia County  •  Montcalm] County  •  Saginaw County  •  Shiawasse County MIClinton County, Michigan Clickable Neighbors

Cemeteries
USGS Geographic listing DeWitt area

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * Immigration &amp; Naturalization Records

Land
Article on Deeds.

Local Histories

 * History of Shiawassee and Clinton Counties, Michigan, by Franklin Ellis. 1880. Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co. Online at: Hathitrust; Google Books; Ancestry ($)
 * Past and Present of Clinton County, Michigan. By Judge S. B. Daboll. 1906. Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Online at: Google Books

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1895 County
 * Land Atlas &amp; Plat Book, Clinton County, Michigan, by Rockford Map Publishers.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Clinton 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 Clinton County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Company D

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

 * Clinton County 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.

Archives

 * Clinton County Historical Society Archives 16101 Brook Road DeWitt Township Community Building Lansing, MI Phone: 517-482-5117 Website

Societies and Libraries

 * Clinton County Historical Society 100 E. State Street St. Johns, MI 48879 Phone: 989-224-5100 Website Facebook
 * Genealogists of the Clinton Co. Historical Society PO Box 174 St. Johns, MI 48879 Website
 * Grand Ledge Area Historical Society PO Box 203 Grand Ledge, MI 48837 Website
 * DeWitt District Library 13101 Schavey Rd, #9008 Dewitt, MI 48820 Phone: 517-669-3156 Website
 * Briggs District Library 108 E Railroad Street St. Johns, MI 48879 Phone: 989-224-4702 Website
 * Elsie Public Library 145 W Main Street Elsie, MI 48831 Phone: 989-862-4633 Website Facebook
 * Maple Rapids Public Library PO Box 140 130 S Maple Avenue Maple Rapids, MI 48853 Phone: 989-682-4464 Website Facebook
 * Ovid Public Library 206 N Main Street Ovid, MI 48866 Phone: 989-834-5800 Website Facebook
 * Elsie Historical Society Website

State wide or ethnic groups
AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society c/o Burton Historical Collection, DPL 5201 Woodward Avenue Detroit MI 48202-4007 Publication is Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society News published twice a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Lansing Area African American Genealogical Society Post Office Box 22203 Lansing MI 48909-2203 Publication is Newsletter published quarterly Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

CORNISH

Keweenaw Houghton Cornish Society of the Copper Country Cornish Connection Of Lower Michigan 8494 Wesley Drive Flushing, MI 48433

DUTCH

Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College

FINNISH

Finnish American Heritage Center

FLEMISH

Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans, Facebook Page

FRENCH-CANADIAN (includes Acadian, Cajun and Metis)

French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan PO Box 1900 Royal Oak, MI 48068-1900 Publication is Michigan's Habitat Heritage published quarterly Located in Oakland County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council Facebook Page

IRISH

Irish Genealogical Society of Michigan c/o Gaelic League/Irish American Club 2068 Michigan Avenue Detroit, MI 48216-1303 Publication is Irish Tree published nine times a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council Facebook Page

Wayne County Irish Society 31975 Cowan Westland, MI 48185

ITALIAN

Americans Of Italian Origin Society 18336 Lister E. Detroit, MI 48021

JEWISH

Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan PO Box 251693 West Bloomfield, MI 48325-1693 Publication is Generations published quarterly Located in Oakland County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council Facebook Page

POLISH

Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan c/o Burton Collection 5201 Woodward Avenue Detroit, MI 48202-4007 Publication is The Polish Eaglet published three times a year Located in Wayne County MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council Facebook Page

Polish Heritage Society P.O. Box 1844 Grand Rapids, MI 49501

SCOTTISH

The St. Andrew's Society of Detroit 2360 Rochester Ct Troy, Mi 48083 Phone: 248-526-1849 Fax: 248-528-1477 Contact: kilgour@detroitscots.com


 * ANISHNAWBE (Chippewa / Ojibwe, Ottawa / Odawa, Potawatomi Indians)

RootsWeb NISHNAWBE Mailing List Ottawa_Indians A starting point for doing Ottawa/Odawa Indian genealogy research Nokomis Learning Center Nokomis Learning Center Facebook Page

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Lansing Michigan Family History Center

Websites

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