Lenawee County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Lenawee 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 a Native American word meaning "male", from the Delaware "leno or lenno" or the Shawnee "lenawai". The County has Adrian as its seat and the County was created September 10, 1826. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage and death records from 1867, divorce and court records from 1870.

Parent County
1822--Lenawee County was created 10 September 1822 from Monroe County. It was attached to Monroe County prior to organization 31 December 1826. County seat: Adrian

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
1852 A fire on March 4, 1852 destroyed the courthouse and most of the files.

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:

Adrian

Ogden

Palmyra

Neighboring Counties
Fulton County, Ohio •  Hillsdale  •  Jackson •  Lucas County, Ohio  •  Monroe  •  Washtenaw

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories
An excellent source for early history of Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan can be found in One Hundred Years-A Country Town:The Village of Tecumseh, Michigan 1824-1924 by Clara Waldron. Published by Thomas A Riordan, 1968.

Maps

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

Civil War
Civil War service men from Lenawee County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that had many men from Lenawee County.


 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company F
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company A
 * - Engineer Regiment of the West, Missouri Volunteers (Union), Company E

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
 * 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

 * Lenawee County Historical Society 110 E. Church St. Adrian, MI 49221 Phone: 517-265-6071 Website
 * Adrian District Library 143 E. Maumee St. Adrian, MI 49221 Phone: 517-265-2265 Website
 * Bean Creek Valley Historical Society 205 So. Market Church Hudson, MI 49247
 * Blissfield Area Historical Society 105 N. Lane Street Blissfield, MI 49228
 * Onsted Community Historical Society 1145 Sand Lake Onsted, MI 49265

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * Adrian Michigan Family History Center 140 Sand Creek Hwy, Adrian, MI 49221 United States

Websites

 * 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.
 * Lenawee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Lenawee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)