Arenac County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Arenac 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 sandy place for a good footing." The County has Standish as its seat and the County was created 1883. The County is located in the east area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1883 and burial records from 1952.

History

 * Arenac County,Michigan (Wikipedia)
 * Arenac County (epodunk)
 * A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. 3 Volumes. By Perry Francis Powers, Harry Gardner Cutler. 1912. Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Online at: Hathitrust; Vol. 2 - Google Books

Parent County
1883--Arenac County was created 21 April 1883 from Bay County. County seat: Standish

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
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
Bay •  Gladwin  •  Iosco  •  Ogemaw

Census

 * Census Online

1870 - Arenac County did not exist in 1870, but was part of Bay Co.

 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Families

 * BOURASSA - (includes Arenac branches, see attachment)
 * LALON(D)E - (see attachment)
 * STANDISH Family Ancestors - (see attachment)

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Land

 * Bureau of Land Management

Local Histories

 * Books available at the Library of Michigan (Lansing) regarding Arenac Co.

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * Standard atlas of Arenac County, Michigan
 * PDF of the Standard Atlas of Arenac County, Michigan in the US Archive

Civil War
Civil War service men from Arenac 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 Arenac County.

Online Records
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1945 - at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Draft Cards

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Arenac County Independent
 * Arenac Independent Facebook Page

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

Queries: Message Boards and Mailing Lists

 * Roots Web
 * Roots Web Mailing List
 * Genealogy.com Forum

Vital Records
State vital records started in 1867, however marriage records started at the county level earlier. Check both.

See also How to order Michigan Vital Records

Birth

 * 1867-1917 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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 - -- 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 - -- 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.
 * Pre-1897 (not complete) - Michigan State Department of Community Health Genealogical Death Indexing System
 * State death records - Seeking Michigan

Societies and Libraries

 * Arenac County Historical Society PO Box 272 304 E. Michigan Ave. Au Gres, MI 48703 Telephone: 517-876-6399 Website Facebook

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Arenac County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Family History and Genealogy Linkpendium
 * Cyndi's List
 * Michigan Family History Network
 * Arenac County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * Arenac County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)