Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Isabella 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 Queen Isabella I of Castile. The County has Mount Pleasant as its seat and the County was created 1859. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1880.

History
Isabella County The county is located close to the geographic center of the lower peninsula of Michigan. While primarily rural in nature, Isabella County is also noted for it's oil and gas production and the manufacturing of machinery for industry, food service and wood products. Mt. Pleasant is the home of Central Michigan University and the Clarke Historical Library, the second largest genealogy and historical library in the state. Central Michigan University was opened in 1893 as the Central Normal School and Business Institute. The school was operated by the city of Mt. Pleasant until 1895 when it was taken over by the State of Michigan and became Central Michigan Normal School. CMU became a four year institution in 1918 and a university in 1959. The county also encompasses the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Reservation, home of the Soaring Eagle Casino. City, Town and Village Names

Parent County
1831--Isabella County was created 2 March 1831 from Mackinac County and unorganized territory. It was attached to Saginaw, Ionia, and Midland Counties prior to organization 11 February 1859. County seat: Mount Pleasant

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
Clare •  Gladwin  •  Gratiot  •  Mecosta  •  Midland  •  Montcalm  •  Osceola

Cemeteries

 * Riverside Cemetery Listings - from the City of Mt. Pleasant; database of over 9,000 burials.

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)

Civil War

 * 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 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
Isabella County, Genealogical Society Of 523 N. Fancher Mt. Pleasant 48858

Genealogical Society of Isabella County PO Box 117 Century House, 522 N Fancher Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0117 E-mail:[mailto:isagenesoc@yahoo.com isagenesoc@yahoo.com] E-mail:[mailto:info@isabellagenealogy.org info@isabellagenealogy.org] Website

Shepherd Area Genealogical Society 7859 E. Walton Rd. Shepherd 48883


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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * Mount Pleasant Michigan Family History Center 1404 S Crawford Dr, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858 United States

Websites

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