Allegan County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. The County has Allegan as its seat and the County was created 1831. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from from 1867, marriage records from 1835, divorce, court and land records from 1836 and military discharge records. Probate Court has probate records from 1836.

Parent County
1831--Allegan County was created 2 March 1831 from Barry County. It was organized 7 September 1835. County seat: Allegan

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.

Records 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:

Census
 State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

City Directories
1898 South Haven Directory This directory includes Casco Township residents and lists the township section number, whether owned or rented, and number of acres.

Court
Allegan County Courts

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Allegan 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 Allegan County.


 * - 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company E

Online Records
 * 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

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

 * Allegan County Historical Society 13 Walnut Street Allegan, MI 49010 Telephone Number: 616-673-4853
 * Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society PO Box 619 Douglas, MI 49406 Website
 * Then and Now Historical and Genealogical Society of E. Allegan County 532 N. Main Wayland, MI 49348-104
 * Wayland Area Tree Tracers 129 W. Cedar Street Wayland, MI 49348
 * Western Michigan Genealogical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library Street  NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503-3268 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

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