Cass County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Lewis Cass. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Cass County Courthouse 120 N Broadway P. O. Box 355 Cassopolis, MI 49031 Phone: (616) 445-8621 Cass County Website County Clerk Register has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1837, divorce and court records from 1831, land records from 1832 and naturalization records 1924-1941. Probate Court has probate records from 1829.

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:

Bible Records

 * Cass County Family Records, Bible Records at MIGenWeb

Cemeteries

 * 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images

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

Court Records

 * 1847-1926 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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

 * Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Niles.
 * Halbritter Wickens Funeral Services in Niles.
 * Mater-Ralston Funeral Home in Marcellus.
 * Starks Family Funeral Homes and Cremation Services in Dowagiac.
 * Wagner Family Funerals in Cassopolis.

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 Cass 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 Cass County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Company M
 * - 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies A and K
 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company B


 * 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
 * Southwest Michigan Obituary Index from the earliest date to 2000.

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
 * 1830-1904 (*); Probate Court 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

Birth

 * 1867-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1867-1902 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

 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

 * South Bend Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * St Joseph Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * St Joe County Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Van Buren District Library - an affiliate library

Societies
 Cass River Genealogy Society c/o Frankenmuth Wickson District Library 359 S Franklin St Frankenmuth, MI 48734 E-mail:[mailto:CRGS@live.com CRGS@live.com] Website

Websites

 * The Cass County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Cass County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * – 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.