Allegan County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Allegan 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 the name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. The County has Allegan as its seat and the County was created 1831. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Organized 7 Sep 1835 County Clerk has birth and death records from from 1867, marriage records from 1835, divorce, court and land records from 1836 and military discharge records. Probate Court has probate records from 1836.

Parent County
1831--Allegan County was created 2 March 1831 from Barry County. It was organized 7 September 1835. County seat: Allegan

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.

Records Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places

 * Cities: Allegan . Douglas . Fennville . Holland . Otsego . Plainwell . Saugatuck . South Haven . Wayland
 * Villages: Hopkins . Martin
 * Townships: Allegan . Casco . Cheshire . Clyde . Dorr . Fillmore . Ganges . Gun Plain . Heath . Hopkins . Laketown . Lee . Leighton . Manlius . Martin . Monterey . Otsego . Overisel . Salem . Saugatuck . Trowbridge . Valley . Watson . Wayland
 * Communities: Bradley . Bravo . Burnips . Cheshire, Chicora . Dorr . Dunningville . East Saugatuck . Fillmore . Ganges . Glenn . Graafschap . Hamilton . Hilliards . Macatawa . Moline . Monterey . New Richmond . Overisel . Pearl . Pullman . Shelbyville . Watson

Neighboring Counties
Barry •  Kalamazoo  •  Kent  •  Ottawa  •  Van Buren

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

City Directories
1898 South Haven Directory This directory includes Casco Township residents and lists the township section number, whether owned or rented, and number of acres.

Court
Allegan County Courts

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

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 Allegan 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 Allegan County.


 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company E

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Obituaries

 * Southwest Michigan Obituary Index from the earliest date to 2000.
 * 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
See also 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
Allegan County Historical Society 13 Walnut St. Allegan MI 49010 Telephone Number: 616-673-4853

Saugatuck-douglas Historical Society PO Box 619 Douglas 49406 Website

Then and Now Historical and Genealogical Society of E. Allegan County 532 N. Main Wayland MI 49348-104

Wayland Area Tree Tracers 129 W. Cedar St. Wayland 49348

Western Michigan Genealogical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library Street  NE Grand Rapids MI 49503-3268 Website


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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Allegan County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Allegan County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Allegan County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Allegan County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)