|
Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights
September/October 2001
Volume 3, Number 5
What is the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection?
The Library of Michigan's genealogy collection is known as the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection. The Abrams Collection provides a variety of resources for researchers to explore their family history. The collection is on the second floor of the Library. The Library of Michigan primarily acquires genealogical materials for states east of the Mississippi River. This includes the Great Lakes, New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Top of Page
Why is the genealogy collection called the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection?
The Talbert and Leota Abrams Foundation is a nonprofit foundation in Lansing, Mich., that primarily focuses on funding library and educational science programs. The Foundation is an active supporter of the Library of Michigan's genealogy collections and programs to promote genealogy throughout the state. Since the mid-1980s, the Foundation has donated more than $2 million to the Library to assist with genealogy collection development, and to partner in the creation and publication of resources such as the Michigan 1870 Census and Michigan Cemetery Sources. In recognition of the Foundation's support of the Library and its programs, the genealogy collection was named the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection in 1994.
Top of Page
Will the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection staff conduct family history (genealogy) research for me?
The Library of Michigan is unable to provide extensive genealogical research services. Researchers using the collection should come prepared to ask for specific information. While staff members cannot provide extensive research, they are here to help you; please do not hesitate to ask for assistance. In addition, the Library maintains the Michigan Genealogy Research Network, a list of researchers who may be able to conduct research for a fee.
Top of Page
What do I need to begin using the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection for my family history research?
Begin by using family resources at home. Check with your family members for the existence of diaries, journals, letters, family Bibles, etc. Using a pedigree chart (PDF), "map" your family relationships and include possible dates and places. Reading a book on beginning genealogy research will help you get organized and give you ideas on where to look for information. The Abrams Collection does include some circulating books on how to get started.
Top of Page
Will I be able to take books home from the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection?
The Library's collection of genealogical resources is a non-circulating collection. Most books may be photocopied, except for city directories and other fragile materials. Many books also may be available in the Genealogy and Local History microfiche collection. With exact citations, many of the records and resources are available through interlibrary loan at your local library.
Top of Page
Where can I find information on my birth parents?
The genealogical information at the Library of Michigan is most useful for pre-1930 family research. The Library has limited information that may be useful for adoption research, such as how-to books and online address and phone directories.
Top of Page
What census information can be found in the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection?
The Abrams Collection has complete microfilm holdings for the federal census records for the United States (1790 to 1930) and Canada. The collection also includes some state census records for Michigan and other states. Please search ANSWER, the Library's online catalog, for a complete list of the Library's holdings.
Top of Page
What Michigan vital records are included in the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection?
The State of Michigan began to keep vital records in 1867. Library of Michigan has microfilm copies of the Michigan Department of Community Health's records, or returns, for Deaths, Divorces, and Marriages. The collection also includes certificates for deaths. Our holdings cover the following years:
Deaths: 1867-1897 (Returns); 1897-1920 (Certificates)
Divorces: 1897-1922
Marriages: 1867-1925
The Library also has the following microfilm indexes to records kept by the Michigan Department of Community Health:
Births: 1867-1915
Deaths: 1867-1914, 1971-1996
Divorces: 1897-1969
Marriages: 1867-1921, 1950-1969
For copies of records, or for information outside these time periods, you may want to contact the Michigan Department of Community Health, (517) 335-8656. For vital records prior to 1867, contact the county clerk in the county where the event took place to see if a record exists.
Top of Page
What kind of records are included in the collection for people living in or arriving from other countries?
Immigration records in the Abrams Collection for other countries vary. The International Genealogical Index microfiche collection includes some international vital records. The Abrams Collection includes Ontario vital records and all census records for Canada between 1842 and 1901. The 1911 Canadian census is available on Ancestry Library Edition. The Abrams Collection also includes a series of microfilmed passenger lists and indexes for various U.S. ports that begin as early as 1800 and go up to 1954. A series of books on passenger and immigration lists of persons arriving in the United States includes information going back to 1538. While the collection does not include public records from other countries, the Library does collect books that list sources where you may find those records.
Top of Page
Does the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection have a computerized version of my family tree?
As a complement to the Abrams Collection, the Library has several databases available for unlimited use by patrons. Ancestry Library Edition is a collection of more than 1 billion names in thousands of databases of U.S. and international records and source lists. FamilySearch is a collection of records from the Church of Latter-day Saints that is worldwide. HeritageQuest has census records, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and more. While these may not include your family tree, they are excellent sources for finding leads to aid you in your research. These three databases and more may be used at the Electronic Resources computer stations behind the Genealogy desk.
Top of Page
What does the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection include for states other than Michigan?
The Abrams Collection has county and local histories, published military records, family histories, passenger lists and genealogical periodicals for many states, particularly those east of the Mississippi River. Transcriptions or indexes to records in county courthouses also may be included. All federal census records are available for all states in the United States.
Top of Page
Will I find a copy of a family history on my family in the Abrams Collection?
The Abrams Collection contains more than 13,000 individual and collective family histories in print and on microform. Search your family name as a subject on ANSWER, the Library's online catalog, to determine if the collection contains a published history on your surname.
If you have additional questions about the Library of Michigan's services, please see Commonly Asked Questions about the Library.
Top of Page
Genealogy Resources
The following print materials and Web sites may be helpful when you use the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection. Clicking on the links in this publication will take you to the ANSWER catalog record for a particular item.
Michigan Genealogical Council. Guide to the Michigan Genealogical and Historical Collections at the Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan. Lansing: The Council, 1996.
Michigan F 565 .M53 1996
Abrams Foundation Historical Collection: Unique Collection Highlights. Lansing: Library of Michigan, [1993].
Michigan Documents Z 675 .G44 G466 1993
Federal Census Research at the Library of Michigan. [Lansing] The Library, [1999].
Michigan Documents CS 1 .A27 v.1 no.2
Immigrant and passenger lists. Lansing: Library of Michigan, [2000].
Michigan Documents CS 1 .A27 v.2 no.2
Vital Records at the Library of Michigan. [Lansing]: The Library, [1999].
Michigan Documents CS 1 .A27 v.1 no.5
Top of Page
ANSWER
The Library's online catalog.
Conducting Your Genealogy Research
Subject guides to the Abrams Collection, forms and charts useful to researchers, information for visiting the Library of Michigan and guides to beginning genealogy research.
Top of Page
Updated 08/02/2011
|
