September-October 1999 Volume 1, Number 5

Michigan Vital Records

Prior to 5 April 1867 Michigan counties only recorded marriages and divorces. A Michigan Public Act in 1867 established the first statewide registration of marriages in Michigan. It also provided that Michigan townships and cities begin taking an "annual assessment" of birth and deaths in Michigan. A large percentage of births and deaths went unrecorded. In 1897 actual death certificates were issued and divorces were recorded statewide; birth records were created in 1905.

Michigan Department of Community Health records at the Library of Michigan

Index (Microfilm F 565 .I5 1960) 1867 - 1915

Marriages

Index (Microfilm F 565 .I54 1960) 1867 - 1921
Index (Microfilm F 565 .I54 1950) 1950 - 1969
Returns (Microfilm F 565 .I54) 1867 - 1925

Divorces

Index (Microfilm F 565 .D58 1960) 1897 - 1969
Summary (Microfilm F 565 .D57 1897 1897 - 1922

Deaths

Index (Microfilm F 565 .I53 1960) 1867 - 1914
Index (available on Ancestry.com) 1971 - 1996
Returns (Microfilm F565 .I53 1868) 1867 - 1897
Certificates (Microfilm F565 .I53 1960z) 1897 - 1920

To obtain other Michigan records:

Contact the Department of Comunity Health, Vital Records Office, 201 Townsend St., Capitol View Building, 3rd Floor, Lansing MI 48913 or telephone (517) 335-8666 for a recorded message. Forms for ordering records by mail and online are on the Department of Comunity Health's Web site.

MORE MICHIGAN RESOURCES

Michigan Death Index. Lansing: Michigan Dept. of Public Health and
Michigan Genealogical Council, 1991 -.
Genealogy F 565 .M534
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

Guide to the Michigan Genealogical and Historical Collections at the
Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan.
Lansing: Michigan Genealogical Council, 1996.
Michigan F 565 .M53 1996
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

OTHER STATES

Connecticut:
Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records. Salt Lake City:
Genealogical Society, 1949.
Microfilm F 93 .B356 1949

Georgia:
State of Georgia Marriage Register. Atlanta: Vital Records Service, 1992-.
Microfiche F 285 .S733

State of Georgia Divorce Register. Atlanta: Vital Records Service, 1992-.
Microfiche F 285 .S73

Death Index Register. Atlanta: Vital Records Service, 1992-.
Microfiche F 285 .D433

Illinois:
Illinois Marriage Record Index. Springfield: Illinois State Genealogical
Society, 1996.
Microfiche F 540 .I45 1996

Kentucky:
Death Certificate Index, 1911-1986. Frankfort: Commonwealth of
Kentucky, 1988.
Microfiche F 450 .D43 1988

Wisconsin:
Wisconsin Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces. Madison: Division of Health, Wisconsin Dept. of Health and Social Services, 1995.
Microfiche F 580 .W57 1900

CANADIAN VITAL RECORDS

Index Books. Births, Stillbirths and Delayed Registrations, 1869-. Salt
Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1992.
Microfilm F 1058.6 .O57

Index Books. Deaths and Delayed Registrations, 1869-. Salt Lake City:
Genealogical Society, 1992.
Microfilm F 1058.6 .O59

Index Books. Marriage and Delayed Registrations, 1869-. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1992.
Microfilm F 1058.6 .O58

Original Index Books. Birth, Death and Marriage Registrations, 1869-. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1992.
Microfilm O 1058.6 .O55 1930z

Original Index Books. Marriage Registrations, 1869-. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1992
Microfilm F 1058.6 .O56 1930z

INTERNET RESOURCES

Ancestry.com www.ancestry.com

British Columbia Vital Event Indexes www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca

Colorado State Archives Marriage and Divorce Records www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/marr1.htm

FamilySearch.org www.familysearch.org

Ohio Death Index www.ancestry.com

Vital Records Information United States www.vitalrec.com

RESOURCE GUIDES

Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. County Courthouse Book, 2nd ed. Baltimore:
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995.
Genealogy KF 8700 .A19 B46 1995
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

The Genealogists Address Book, 4th ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998.
Genealogy CS 44 .G456 4th 1998
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

The Handy Book for Genealogists: United States of America, 9th ed.
Logan, UT: Everton Publishers, 1999.
Genealogy CS 16 .E85 1999
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

Kemp, Thomas Jay. International Vital Records Handbook, 3rd ed.
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.
Genealogy HA 38 .A1 K42 1994
Housed at the Genealogy Desk

Locating Additional Vital Records at the Library of Michigan

The Library of Michigan maintains copies of selected publications for the United States and Canada in the Michigan Collection and the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection of genealogy materials. Records may be found in books, microfilm, or microfiche. Holdings may be accessed by searching ANSWER, our online catalog. To conduct a keyword search of ANSWER, type the name of the county, the type of vital record you are searching for and the name of the state.

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