June 29, 2004

The Michigan Department of Community Health’s genealogy web site has been named one of the best annual family history sites by Family Tree Magazine. An honorary notification has been included in their August 2004 issue, which was mailed to subscribers and made available at newsstands on June 22nd, 2004.

According to Janet Olszewski, MDCH Director, “Michigan is pleased and honored to be recognized by Family Tree as one of the best. By putting some of our state archival data online, we have made searching for family histories more convenient. As the collection grows and additional years are added to the database, we hope more people will invest in learning about their families’ roots.”

MDCH provides Internet access to information from archived death records through the Genealogical Death Indexing System (GENDIS). This system allows the user to search for records using key pieces of information such as the decedent's name, father's last name, and year of death. The GENDIS site can be accessed through a quicklink on the right side the home page of the MDCH Web Site at www.michigan.gov/mdch.

The MDCH site is listed in the Regional and State Sources category of honorees in Family Tree. The full list of honorees, including the MDCH site, can be found on the Family Tree Magazine Web site at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/101sites/2004.

Family Tree is America's largest-circulation genealogy magazine, helping readers discover, preserve and celebrate their family history. The magazine has a broad consumer audience, and it helps make genealogy accessible.

The State of Michigan Vital Records Office has records of births, deaths, and marriages that occurred in Michigan and were filed with the state as early as 1867, and divorce records as early as 1897. Records can be ordered online using a debit or credit card, or an application can be printed to order by mail or to change a record. Information is also online about the office’s other services.