Otsego County, Michigan Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for a Native American name meaning "place of the rock". However, an alternative theory is that it derives from a lake and a county in New York state, which are said to bear the name derived from a Mohawk Iroquoian word meaning either "clear water" or "meeting place". The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Otsego County Courthouse 225 W Main St. Gaylord, MI 49735-1348 Phone: 517-732-6484 Otsego County Website County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1875. County Treasurer has land records.

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 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

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

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 Otsego 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 Otsego 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
 * 1903-2013 - Otsego County Historical Local Newspaper Archive at Otsego County Library

Obituaries

 * 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

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
 * 1875-1928 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1881-1904 (*); Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog — 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

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

 * 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 [hhttps://michiganology.org/vital-records/ Michiganology] - index and images, organized by county and then last name.
 * 1898-1951 Michigan Death Certificates, 1898-1951 at Michiganology

Divorce

 * 1897-1952 Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index and images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Gaylord Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Kalkaska Michigan FamilySearch Center
 * Petoskey Michigan FamilySearch Center

Societies
Gaylord Fact Finders Genealogical Society PO Box 1524 Gaylord, MI 49734 Website Otsego Area Historical Society 218 N Farmer St Otsego, MI 49078 Phone: 269-692-3775 Email: [mailto:OtsegoAHS1831@gmail.com OtsegoAHS1831@gmail.com] Website Facebook Otsego County Historical Society 320 W Main St PO Box 1223 Gaylord, MI 49734 Phone: 989-732-4568 Email: [mailto:OCHSmuseum@gmail.com OCHSmuseum@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Otsego County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
 * Otsego County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Otsego County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – 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.