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Michigan Local Histories, Pioneer Resources and Bibliographies

Michigan Local Histories, Pioneer Resources and Bibliographies

The Library of Michigan owns an extensive collection of Michigan resources that relate to local history and biographies both in paper and microform.  Michigan local history materials include titles on the history of counties, cities, villages, townships, and neighborhoods.  The Michigan Collection also has biographical titles on both well-known residents of Michigan and those who were prominent in their community.

This highlight is not intended to be a comprehensive list of Michigan local history, pioneer resources, and biographies; rather, it is a list of useful and notable materials available at the Library of Michigan. Searching ANSWER (www.answercat.org), is the only way to determine if the Library of Michigan holds the resources that you seek.  Keep in mind, there is much more to discover. Items can be found in ANSWER by using Keyword, Title, Author and/or Subject searches. Capitalization and punctuation are not necessary when searching ANSWER.
 

Local History Sources

County Histories of the Old Northwest. Series V: Michigan. 1973?.
LIB OF MICH MICROFILM 2S  F566 .C67 1973, reels 1-88

Reel Index to the Microform Collection of County and Regional Histories of the "Old Northwest," Series V, Michigan. 1975.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F566 .C67 Index

Welch, Richard W. County evolution in Michigan, 1790-1897. 1972.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  JS451.M55 W44 1972

Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society. Evolution of Michigan townships. 1972.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F572.A15 M53 1972

Michigan History Magazine. 1917-.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  F561 .M57

Michigan Historical Commission. Michigan Bibliography. 2 vols. 1921.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  Z1297 .M62 1921

Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for [year]. 1856/57-1931/32.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  HC107.M5 .S752z

Romig, Walter. Michigan place names: the history of the founding and the naming of more than five thousand past and present Michigan communities. 1986.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F564 .R6 1986

Michigan Genealogical Council. Guide to the Michigan genealogical & historical collections at the Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan. 1996.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F565 .M53 1996

S.W.Beal, editor. Michigan local history book review index. 1917-1960 and 1961-1985. 1994 and 1990.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  F566 .M5235 1994 and 1990

Local Histories

Benson, Clyde E. Index to Portrait and biographical album of Ingham and Livingston counties, Michigan. 1969.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F572.I5 P6 1891, Index

Burton, Clarence Monroe. History of Wayne County and the City of Detroit, Michigan. Edited by David Lee Poremba. 1930.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F572.W4 B97 1930

Detroit in Its World Setting: A Three Hundred Year Chronology. 2001.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F574.D4 D497 2001

Lankton, Larry D. Hollowed ground: copper mining and community building on Lake Superior, 1840s-1990s. 2010.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F572.K43 L36 2010

Braun-Hass, Linda. Michigan's crossroads to freedom: the underground railroad in Jackson County. Publication 2017.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  E450 .H37 2017

Leach, M. L. A history of the Grand Traverse Region. 1883, 1999?
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  LH4950

Reed, Earl H. The dune country. 1916. 
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  LH8295

Strickland, W. P. Old Mackinaw, or, The fortress of the lakes and its surroundings. 1860.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  LH4982

Smith, Dee. Treks into the past: historical sketches of Michigan's thumb. 1989.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F566 .S64 1989

Pioneer Resources

Kestenaum, Justin L. Michigan's pioneers : an anthology. 1984.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F565.5 .K4 1984

Pioneer Collections: Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan. 1877-1888.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  F561 .M62

Historical Collections: Collections and Researches made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society. 1888-1916.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S F561 .M62

Michigan pioneer and historical collections: genealogy index.  (Typed from cards at Michigan State Library). 1968.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F561 .M47 Index

Michigan State Historical Society. Classified finding list of the collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society. 1952.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F561 .M4712 1952

Michigan Historical Collections: Documents relating to Detroit and vicinity, 1805-1813. 1915-1929, 1988.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  LH5404

Library of Michigan, family history. Pioneer family collection and index. 1998.
LIB OF MICH MICROFILM 2S  F565 .L5 no. 22584

Michigan pioneer records. (38 volumes). 1961-1996.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F565 .M532

Index to pioneer families of Michigan. 1974.
LIB OF MICH MICROFILM 2S  F565 .M532 Index

Sesquicentennial pioneer files. 1994.
LIB OF MICH RARE 4N   Media F565 .M485 1994

Michigan sesquicentennial pioneer index. 1990?
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN MICROFICHE 2S  F565 .M483 1990

Biographical Sources

Loomis, Frances, comp. Michigan Biography Index. 1946-1958.
LIB OF MICH INDEX TABLES 2N  F565 .L55z

Varnum, Mina Humphrey. Noted women of Michigan. Before 1954.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F565 .V338 1900z

Michigan Biographies, Including Members of Congress, Elective State Officers, Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of the Michigan Legislature, Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, State Board of Agriculture and State Board of Education. 1924.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  F565 .M62 1924

Michigan Manual. 1836-2018.
LIB OF MICH MICH DOCS 2S  JK5830 .A32

Biographies

Ford, Gerald R. A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford. 1979.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  E 866 .F67 1979

Troester, Rosalie Riegle, Ed. Historic Women of Michigan:  A Sesquicentennial Celebration. 1987.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  CT 3260 .H5 1987

Washington, Margaret. The narrative of Sojourner Truth. 1993.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  E185.97.T8 W36 1993

Meijer, Hendrik G. Arthur Vandenberg : the man in the middle of the American century. 2017.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  E748.V18 M45 2017

Markel, Howard. The Kelloggs : the battling brothers of Battle Creek. 2017.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F574.B2 M36 2017

Vincent, Bird John. Congressman Bird J. Vincent, 1880-1931. 2016.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  F566 .V56 2016

Kelley, Frank J. The People's Lawyer: The Life and Times of Frank J. Kelley: the Nation's Longest-serving Attorney General. 2015.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  KF373.K35 A3 2015

Moore, Michael. Here comes trouble: stories from my life. 2011.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  PN1998.3.M665 A3 2011

Marable, Manning. Malcolm X: a life of reinvention. 2011.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  BP223.Z8 L57636 2011

Curcio, Vincent. Henry Ford. 2013.
LIB OF MICH MICHIGAN 2N  CT275.F68 C87 2013

Updated 01/16/2019