Genesee County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Genesee 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 Genesee County, New York. The County has Flint as its seat and the County was created March 28, 1835. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death from 1867, marriage and court records from 1835 and divorce records from 1890. Probate Judge holds probate records from 1954-present.

Probate records from 1836-1953 are housed at the the Genesee Historical Collections Center

Land Records are located at the County Administration Building Cemetery custodians have burial records.

History
Genesee County is located northwest of the Detroit area and is north of Livingston County and Oakland County. It has a number of communities, including Grand Blanc, Burton, Mundy Township, Davison, and the county seat is Flint.

Parent County
1835--Genesee County was created 28 March 1835 from Lapeer, Saginaw and Shiawassee Counties. County seat: Flint

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
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
Lapeer •  Livingston  •  Oakland  •  Saginaw  •  Shiawassee  •  Tuscola

Census
 State Census


 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Flint

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Land

 * 1835-Present - Land Records housed at County Administration Building


 * Online Deeds Search - Index of deeds held at Genesee County Register of Deeds. Index does not include early records.

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 Genesee 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 Genesee County.

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
 * 2000-2016- Obituary Index at Flint Public Library--Index to obituaries found in Genesee County newspapers.

Probate

 * 1836-1953-Probate records are housed at the the Genesee Historical Collections Center, Room 227, Frances Willson Thompson Library, University of Michigan, Flint.
 * 1953-Present-Probate records are available from Probate Judge.

Online Probate Records


 * 1784 – 1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1797 – 1973 at FamilySearch — images

Taxation
1797 – 1973 Genesee County, Michigan Tax records, 1844-1880, 1890 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.
 * 1965-Present - Genesee County Online Records Search--Free name indexes of records housed at Genesee County Courthouse.

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.
 * 1897-1952 - Michigan Death Certificates --Free digitized death certificates at SeekingMichigan.org. Database searchable by first name, last name, death date, father's name, and county.

Societies and Libraries
Flint Genealogical Society PO Box 1217 Flint, MI 48501 Telephone: (810) 694-1445 E-mail:[mailto:Info@flintgenealogy.org Info@flintgenealogy.org] Website Flint Public Library

1026 E. Kearsley

Flint, MI 48503

Telephone: (810)232-7111

Website

Flint Public Library is home to the second largest open stack genealogical collection in Michigan.

Genesee Historical Collections Center

Room 227, Frances Willson Thompson Library

University of Michigan, Flint

Flint, MI 48502

Telephone: (810) 762-3402

Website

Perry Archives of the Sloan Museum

1221 E. Kearsley Street

Flint, Michigan 48503

Telephone: (810) 237-3440

E-mail: Collections@SloanLongway.org

Website

Written email appointments are strongly encouraged. Archive contains large newspaper collection, family journals, and funeral home records.


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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * Flint Michigan Family History Center 1225 Robert T Longway Blvd, Flint, MI 48503 United States


 * Grand Blanc Michigan Family History Center 4285 McCandish Rd, Grand Blanc, MI 48439 United States

Websites

 * Genesee County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * 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.
 * Genesee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Genesee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)