Oceana County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Lake Michigan, a freshwater "ocean," which forms its western border. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Oceana County Courthouse 100 S. State Street Hart, MI 49420 Phone: 231-873-4328 Oceana County Website County Clerk has birth and marriage records from 1867 and death records from 1868. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court 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
 * List of Residents of Pentwater, Weare, Crystal, Golden, Hart and Elbridge Townships, Oceana County, Michigan. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Wilmer Atkinson Company, 1919. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Emigration and Immigration

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indian Fraderburg-Kelley, Ruth Ann. Oceana County Native American: Births, Deaths and Marriages index. WorldCat

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

Obituaries

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1784-1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry $
 * 1797-1973 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

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, organized by county and then last name.

Divorce

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Hart Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Muskegon Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Hackley Public Library - an affiliate library

Societies

 * Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society 114 Dryden St. Hart, MI 49420 Phone: 231-873-2600 E-mail: [mailto:info@oceanahistory.org info@oceanahistory.org] Website Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Oceana 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.