Chippewa County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Chippewa 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 the Ojibwe people. The County has Sault Ste. Marie as its seat and the County was created December 22, 1826. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth records from 1869, marriage records from 1868, death records from 1870, divorce records from 1891 and court records. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Parent County
1827--Chippewa County was created 1 February 1827 from Mackinac County. County seat: Sault Sainte Marie

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.

See County Evolution In Michigan, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state.

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:


 * City: Sault Ste. Marie
 * Village: De Tour Village
 * Townships: Bay Mills . Bruce . Chippewa . Dafter . Detour . Drummond . Hulbert . Kinross . Pickford . Raber . Rudyard . Soo . Sugar Island . Superior . Trout Lake . Whitefish
 * Communities: Barbeau . Bay Mills . Bay Mills Indian Community . Brimley . Dafter . Drummond . Keldon . Kincheloe . Paradise . Pickford . Rudyard . Stirlingville

Neighboring Counties
Luce • Mackinac

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
Civil War service men from Chippewa 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 Chippewa County.

Online Records
 * at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers
The Sault Evening News

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

 * Chippewa County Historical Society PO Box 342 115 Ashmund Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 Telephone: 906-635-7082 Fax: 906-635-9280 E-mail: [mailto:cchs@sault.com cchs@sault.com] Website
 * Pickford Area Historical Society PO Box 572 Pickford, MI 49744 Telephone: 906-647-2045 Website
 * DeTour Passage Historical Museum PO BOx 111 De Tour, MI 49725 Telephone: 906-297-3404 Website
 * Chippewa County Genealogical Society Facebook Home
 * Bay Mills - Brimley Historical Research Society PO Box 274 Brimley, MI 49715 Telephone: 906-248-3665 E-mail: [mailto:euprussell@yahoo.com euprussell@yahoo.com] Facebook
 * Bayliss Public Library 541 Library Drive Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 Phone: 906.632.9331 Email: [mailto:bayref@baylisslibrary.org bayref@baylisslibrary.org] Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Chippewa County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Chippewa County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Chippewa County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)