Newaygo County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Newaygo County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Newaygo County is believed to have been named for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819 or for an Algonquian word meaning "much water." The county is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Newaygo County Courthouse 1087 Newell St. White Cloud, MI 49349-0293 Phone: 616-689-7235 Newaygo County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1851 military records. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, naturalization records. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

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:

Census Records
 State Census


 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch -How to Use this Collection
 * 1894 - Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1819-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection


 * FamilySearch Places

Directories

 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust, images – includes business directories for towns across the state
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War


 * 1861-1865 Record of Service of the Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War 1861-1865 at Michiganology — images, multiple volumes organized alphabetically by surname
 * 1876-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1894 - Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War I


 * 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University
 * The Fremont Area District Library posts on their webpage a local records database.These records include anniversaries, births, marriages, military service and obituaries.The database appears to be extracted from local newspapers since the early 20th Century.

Obituaries

 * 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1784-1980 Michigan, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com ($) — index & images
 * 1797-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1867-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1917 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1585-1945 Michigan, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1820-1937 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1820-1940 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1868-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * 1867-1897 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1952 Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1897-1952 Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index and images

Divorce

 * 1897-1952 Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images

Archives
Heritage Museum of Newaygo County and Research Center 12 Quarterline Road PO Box 361 Newaygo, MI 49337 Phone: 231-652-5003 Email: [mailto:museum@newaygocountyhistory.org museum@newaygocountyhistory.org] Website Facebook Terry Wantz Historical Research Center 30 E Main St PO Box 2 Fremont, MI 49412 Phone: 231-335-2221 Email: [mailto:whrc.info@gmail.com whrc.info@gmail.com] Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Big Rapids Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Greenville Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Hart Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Mount Pleasant Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Muskegon Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Hackley Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Fremont Area District Library Local History Room 104 E Main St Fremont, MI 49412 Phone: 231-928-3480 Email: [mailto:jroseberry@fremontlibrary.net jroseberry@fremontlibrary.net] Website Facebook Grant Area District Library Genealogy Room 122 S Elder Ave Grant, MI 49327 Phone: 231-834-5713 Email: [mailto:jhunt@grantlibrary.net jhunt@grantlibrary.net] Website Facebook Hesperia Community Library Local History and Genealogybr>80 S Division St Hesperia, MI 49421 Phone: 231-854-5125 Email: [mailto:hes@hesperialibrary.org hes@hesperialibrary.org] Website Facebook White Cloud Community Library Local History and Genealogy 1038 E Wilcox Ave PO Box 995 White Cloud, MI 49349 Phone: 231-689-6631, ext 106 Email: [mailto:localhistory@whitecloudlibrary.net localhistory@whitecloudlibrary.net] Website Facebook

Museums
Heritage Museum of Newaygo County 12 Quarterline Road PO Box 361 Newaygo, MI 49337 Phone: 231-652-5003 Email: [mailto:museum@newaygocountyhistory.org museum@newaygocountyhistory.org] Website Facebook

Societies
Heritage Museum of Newaygo County 12 Quarterline Road PO Box 361 Newaygo, MI 49337 Phone: 231-652-5003 Email: [mailto:museum@newaygocountyhistory.org museum@newaygocountyhistory.org] Website Facebook Western Michigan Genealogical Society  c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503-3268 Email: [mailto:wmgs@wmgs.org wmgs@wmgs.org] Website Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Newaygo County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.