Oakland County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the beautiful oak trees. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Oakland County Courthouse 1200 N Telegraph Rd. Pontiac, MI 48341 Phone: 248-858-0572 Oakland County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage and naturalization records from 1827.

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:

History Timeline
Additional Information The town of Rochester was formed at about the time Ann Arbor was formed in Washtenaw. It is north and west of Detroit. The Mack Family built the road that ran from Detroit to Pontiac and the road which split off that and went to Rochester.

Cemeteries

 * Irwin I. Cohn Michigan Jewish Cemetery Index - online index to more than 64,000 Jewish burials from the mid-1800’s to 1999.

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

 * 1819-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Ward and Branch Records List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Pontiac
 * 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

Funeral Homes

 * A. J. Desmond and Sons Funeral Directors in Royal Oak and Troy.
 * Casterline Funeral Home in Northville.
 * Coats Funeral Homes in Clarkston and Waterford.
 * Cobbs Funeral Home in Pontiac.
 * Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills.
 * Dryer Funeral Home in Holly.
 * Edward Korkoian Funeral Home in Royal Oak.
 * Edward Swanson and Son Funeral Home in Madison Heights.
 * Elton Black and Son Funeral Home in Highland.
 * Elton Black and Son Funeral Home in White Lake.
 * Generations Funeral and Cremation Services in Farmington Hills.
 * Gramer Funeral Home in Clawson.
 * Haley Funeral Directors in Southfield.
 * Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak Park.
 * Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home in Farmington.
 * Hopcroft Funeral Home in Madison Heights.
 * IRA Kaufman Chapel in Southfield.
 * Kemp Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Southfield.
 * Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home in Pontiac.
 * Lewis E. Wint and Son Funeral Home in Clarkston.
 * L.J. Griffin Funeral Home in Northville.
 * Lynch and Sons Funeral Directors in Clawson, Milford, Oxford and Walled Lake.
 * McCabe Funeral Home in Farmington Hills.
 * Mercy Funeral Home in Hazel Park.
 * Modetz Funeral Homes in Orion, Rochester and Waterford.
 * National Cremation Society in Bloomfield Hills.
 * O'Brien-Sullivan Funeral Home in Novi.
 * Phillips Funeral Home and Cremation Services in South Lyon.
 * Pixley Funeral Home in Auburn Hills.
 * Pixley Funeral Home in Rochester.
 * Sawyer-Fuller Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Berkley.
 * Simon Javizian Funeral Directors in Pleasant Ridge.
 * Simple Funerals in Bloomfield Hills and Novi.
 * Southfield Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Southfield.
 * Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home in Lake Orion and Pontiac.
 * Temrowski Family Funeral Home in Fenton.
 * Thayer-Rock Funeral Home in Farmington.
 * Village Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Ortonville.
 * Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Directors in Royal Oak.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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 Civil War service men from Oakland 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 Oakland County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Company G


 * 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

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
 * 1822-1911 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1868 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1836-1906 (*); Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

 * The Oakland County Clerk's office provides certified copies of Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates for these events that occurred in Oakland County. Birth Records prior to 1935 or Marriage/Death Records prior to 1942 are available in person or by mail only while other years can be requested online.Birth Records over 100 years old, all Marriage Records, and all Death Records are public information.Birth Records less than 100 years are available only to eligible persons.

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, organized by county and then last name.

Divorce

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bloomfield Hills Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Clarkston Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Pontiac Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Rochester Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Bloomfield Township Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Ferndale Area District Library - an affiliate library
 * Waterford Township Public Library - an affiliate library

Societies
Holly Historical Society 306 S Saginaw St Holly, MI 48442 Phone: 248-634-7946 Email: [mailto:hollyhistoricalsoc@comcast.net hollyhistoricalsoc@comcast.net] Website Facebook Oakland County Genealogical Society PO Box 1094 Birmingham, MI 48012-1094 Email: [mailto:info@ocgsmi.org info@ocgsmi.org] Website Facebook Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society 405 Cesar E Chavez Pontiac, MI 48342 Phone: 248-338-6732 Email: [mailto:office@ocphs.org office@ocphs.org] Website Oakland Township Historical Society 384 W Predmore Rd Oakland, MI 48363 Phone: 248-651-7526 Email: [mailto:Othspresident@gmail.com Othspresident@gmail.com] Website Facebook Orion Historical Society 611 N Axford St PO Box 925 Lake Orion, MI 48362 Website Facebook

Websites

 * Oakland County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Oakland 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.