Shiawassee County, Michigan Genealogy

Guide to Shiawassee 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 Shiawassee River. The County has Corunna as its seat and the County was created September 10, 1822. The County is located in the centre area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, and death records from 1867, divorce and court records from 1848. Probate Judge has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Parent County
1840--Shiawassee County was created 10 September 1822 from Oakland, and St. Clair Counties and unorganized territory. It was attached to Genesee and Oakland Counties prior to organization 18 March 1837. County seat: Corunna

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.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Clinton •  Genesee  •  Gratiot  •  Ingham  •  Livingston  •  Saginaw

Biographies

 * Shiawassee County Biographies. MiGenWeb Project, Shiawassee County

Census
 Federal Census 
 * 1840 Census - 1840 Census Index, Shiawassee County
 * 1840 Census - 1840 Census Transcriptions, Shiawassee County

State Census
 * 1894 - at FamilySearch — index

Church

 * 1819-1991 - at FamilySearch — index

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1929 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Shiawassee County and Its Townships. MiGenWeb Project

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 Shiawassee 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 Shiawassee County.

Online Records
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * Shiawassee County Regiments. MiGenWeb Project
 * 1876-1945 - at FamilySearch — index

Spanish American War

 * Michigan Volunteers in the Spanish American War. MiGenWeb Project

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

World War II

 * World War II Honor List. MiGenWeb Project
 * World War II Army Enlistment Records for Shiawassee County. MiGenWeb Project

Korean War

 * Korean War Casualties, Shiawassee County. MiGenWeb Project

Vietnam War

 * Vietnam War Casualties, Shiawassee County. MiGenWeb Project

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1837-1993 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Argus-Press - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1911-2008

Obituaries

 * Shiawassee County 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.
 * Death Cerfificate Images, Shiawassee County. MiGenWeb Project

Societies and Libraries
Shiawassee County Historical Society 224 Curwood Castle Dr. Owosso 48867 Website


 * List of Michigan Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies


 * Shiawassee County Genealogical Society - Disbanded, but their records are available at The Shiawassee District Library and The Shiawassee County Historical Society

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers


 * Owosso Michigan Family History Center 1588 N Hickory, Owosso, MI 48867 United States

Websites

 * Shiawassee County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Shiawassee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
 * Shiawassee County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)