Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy
Guide to Isabella County, Michigan ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
Isabella County, Michigan | |
Map | |
![]() Location of Michigan in the U.S. | |
Facts | |
Founded | March 2, 1831 |
---|---|
County Seat | Mount Pleasant |
Courthouse | |
Address | Isabella County Courthouse 200 N Main St. Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 Phone: (989) 772-0911 Isabella County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places/Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Queen Isabella I of Castile. The County has Mount Pleasant as its seat and the County was created 1859. The County is located in the central area of the state.[1]
Isabella County, Michigan Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1880 | 1880 | 1880 | 1880 | 1838 | 1859 | 1820 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1880. [3]
History[edit | edit source]
Isabella County
The county is located close to the geographic center of the lower peninsula of Michigan. While primarily rural in nature, Isabella County is also noted for it's oil and gas production and the manufacturing of machinery for industry, food service and wood products. Mt. Pleasant is the home of Central Michigan University and the Clarke Historical Library, the second largest genealogy and historical library in the state. Central Michigan University was opened in 1893 as the Central Normal School and Business Institute. The school was operated by the city of Mt. Pleasant until 1895 when it was taken over by the State of Michigan and became Central Michigan Normal School. CMU became a four year institution in 1918 and a university in 1959. The county also encompasses the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Reservation, home of the Soaring Eagle Casino. City, Town and Village Names
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1831--Isabella County was created 2 March 1831 from Mackinac County and unorganized territory. It was attached to Saginaw, Ionia, and Midland Counties prior to organization 11 February 1859.
County seat: Mount Pleasant [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
See COUNTY EVOLUTION IN MICHIGAN, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state. This will help you to determine place of residence of your ancestors and under whose civil jurisdiction they resided. It is also useful for when you start to read the census records.
For animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Michigan County Boundary Maps" (1790-1897) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[5]
Cities | ||
Villages | ||
Unincorporated communities | ||
Census-designated places | ||
Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Clare • Gladwin • Gratiot • Mecosta • Midland • Montcalm • Osceola
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
USGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
Tombstone Project | ||
EPodunk | ||
Billion Graves | ||
See Michigan Cemeteries for more information. |
- Riverside Cemetery Listings - from the City of Mt. Pleasant; database of over 9,000 burials.
Census[edit | edit source]
State Census
- 1894 - Michigan State Census, 1894 at FamilySearch — index
Church[edit | edit source]
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Michigan denominations, view the Michigan Church Records wiki page.
- 1819-1991 - Michigan, Church Records, 1819-1991 at FamilySearch — index
Court[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1929 - 1966 Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[edit | edit source]
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See Michigan Land and Property for additional information about early Michigan land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Michigan Local Histories.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch — index
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1917-1919 - Michigan, Census of World War I Veterans with Card Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Finding More Michigan Newspapers[edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- The Saginaw News
- Do a Isabella County, Michigan Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1820-2006 - Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images
Probate[edit | edit source]
In most counties in Michigan, probate records have been kept by the county judge. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate packets, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.
The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for Michigan, Isabella and search for Probate records in the list.
- Note: Not every county in Michigan will have Probate Records in the FamilySearch Catalog.
Online Probate Records
- 1784 – 1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1797 – 1973 Michigan Probate Records 1797-1973 at FamilySearch — images
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased as shown below:
- Birth Records and Death Records from the Michigan Department of Community Health (from 1867) or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.
- Marriage Records (from 1867) and Divorce Records (from 1897) from the County Clerk.
- Marriage Records (from 1867) and Divorce Records (from 1897) from the County Clerk.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1867-1917 - Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1867-1902 - Michigan Birth Registrations, 1867-1902-- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as name of child, birthdate and place, if still-born, illegitimate or twin, gender, race and record number.
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1585-1945 - Michigan, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1820-1937 - Michigan, County Marriages Index, 1820-1937 at FamilySearch — index
- 1820-1940 - Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1868-1925 - Michigan Marriage Registrations, 1868-1925 -- Free name indexes at FamilySearch. Records include such information as names of bride and groom, date of license, ages, race, residences, birthplaces, occupations and names of the fathers of the bride and groom.
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1867-1897 - Michigan Death Registrations, 1867-1897 -- Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as name of deceased, date and place of death, gender, color, marital status, age in years, months and days, disease or apparent cause of death, birthplace, names and occupations of parents, and the date the record was made.
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Isabella County, Genealogical Society Of
523 N. Fancher
Mt. Pleasant 48858
Genealogical Society of Isabella County
PO Box 117
Century House, 522 N Fancher
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0117
E-mail:isagenesoc@yahoo.com
E-mail:info@isabellagenealogy.org
Website
Shepherd Area Genealogical Society
7859 E. Walton Rd.
Shepherd 48883
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.
- For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map
- Mount Pleasant Michigan Family History Center 1404 S Crawford Dr, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858 United States
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Isabella County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Isabella County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Isabella County, Michigan" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_County,_Michigan."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Isabella County, Michigan . Page 343-351 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 346-349.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Isabella County, Michigan page 346, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, " Isabella County, Michigan," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_County,_Michigan, accessed 13 October 2019.
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