Eaton County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for John Eaton. The County has Charlotte as its seat and the County was created 1837. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Eaton County Courthouse 1045 Independence Blvd. Charlotte, MI 48813 Phone: 517-543-7500 Eaton County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1838, divorce and court records from 1847 and some naturalization records. Probate Court has probate records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Populated Places

 * Michigan community names by county
 * Eaton County, Michigan Historical Post Offices

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

 * Eaton County MI Bible Records at USGenWeb Michigan Archives

Cemeteries

 * 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images

Census Records
{{Historical populations }} {{MI Census Intro|Eaton}}
 * type = USA
 * heading = Census
 * footnote = Source: [{{Historical populations
 * type = USA
 * heading = Census
 * footnote = Source: "Wikipedia.org".
 * 1840 |2379
 * 1850 |7058
 * 1860 |16476
 * 1870 |25171
 * 1880 |31225
 * 1890 |32094
 * 1900 |31668
 * 1910 |30499
 * 1920 |29377
 * 1930 |31728
 * 1940 |34124
 * 1950 |40023
 * 1960 |49684
 * 1970 |68892
 * 1980 |88337
 * 1990 |92879
 * 2000 |103655
 * 2010 |107759

 State Census
 * 1850-1880 {{RecordSearch|2632078|Michigan Mortality Schedules, 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

 * 1861-1897 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

 * 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images
 * Eaton County, Michigan, Rural Directory at Internet Archive — images

Emigration and Immigration

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

Funeral Homes

 * Burkhead-Green-Kilgo Funeral Home in Charlotte.
 * Holihan-Atkin-Barclay Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Grand Ledge.
 * Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services in Bellevue.
 * Mills Funeral Homes in Eaton Rapids and Grand Ledge.
 * Palmer Bush and Jensen Family Funeral Homes in Lansing.
 * Pray Funeral Home, Inc. in Charlotte.
 * Rosier Burial and Cremation Services in Sunfield.
 * Skinner Funeral Homes in Eaton Rapids and Lansing.

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

Local Histories

 * History of Ingham and Eaton counties
 * History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan
 * Michigan County Histories and Atlases
 * Portrait Album of Eaton County, Michigan
 * County of Eaton, Michigan Topography and Art Folio
 * Pioneer History of Eaton County, Michigan

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 Eaton 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 Eaton County.


 * 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

Other Records

 * Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan: Google Books Portrait Biographical Album of Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan.

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
 * 1838-1972 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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

 * Battle Creek Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Lansing Michigan FamilySearch Center


 * Library of Michigan - an affiliate library

Societies
Bellevue Area Historical Society 212 N Main Bellevue, MI 49021 Phone: 269-763-9676 Email: [mailto:bellevue_mi@cox.net bellevue_mi@cox.net] Website Facebook Delta Township Historical Society 7710 W Saginaw Hwy Lansing, MI 48917 Email: [mailto:Ritalamo@hotmail.com Ritalamo@hotmail.com] Website Facebook Eaton County Genealogical Society 100 E Lawrence Ave PO Box 337 Charlotte, MI 48813-0337 Phone: 517-543-8792 Email: [mailto:ecgsoc@gmail.com ecgsoc@gmail.com] Website Facebook Eaton County Historical Commission 100 E Lawrence Ave Charlotte, MI 48813 Phone: 517-543-6999 Email: [mailto:eatoncountyhistory@gmail.com eatoncountyhistory@gmail.com] Website Facebook Sunfield Historical Society Welch Museum 161 Main St PO Box 251 Sunfield, MI 48917 Phone: 517-449-4895 Email: [mailto:sunfieldhistoricalsociety@gmail.com sunfieldhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Eaton County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
 * The Eaton County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Eaton County, Michigan Genealogy Trails
 * Eaton 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.