Montcalm County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Montcalm County

Guide to Montcalm County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Michigan Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Stanton Organized: March 20, 1850 Parent County(s): Mackinac Neighboring Counties Clinton  • Gratiot  • Ionia  • Isabella  • Kent  • Mecosta  • Newaygo See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Montcalm County Courthouse
211 W Main Street
PO Box 368
Stanton, MI 48888
Phone: 989-831-7339
Montcalm County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1858, divorce and court records from 1865.
Probate Court has probate records.
Register of Deeds has land records.

Montcalm County, Michigan Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1858	1867	1865	1838	1855	1820
*Statewide registration started in 1867 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

1905 The courthouse was destroyed by fire on 16 February; however, county records were saved. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

1831--Montcalm County was created 2 March 1831 from Mackinac County. It was attached to Ionia County prior to organization 20 March 1850. County seat: Stanton Interactive Map of Michigan County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes Michigan Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library County Evolution In Michigan, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state

Populated Places

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:

Cities
Carson City	Greenville	Stanton
Villages
Edmore Howard City	Lakeview McBride	Pierson Sheridan
Unincorporated communities
Coral Gowen	Trufant	Vestaburg
Townships
Belvidere Bloomer Bushnell Cato Crystal Day Douglass	Eureka Evergreen Fairplain Ferris Home Maple Valley Montcalm	Pierson Pine Reynolds Richland Sidney Winfield

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Montcalm County, Michigan online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave USGenWeb MIGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MIInterment Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com FamilySearch Places
See Michigan Cemeteries for more information

• Reynolds Township Cemetery

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	891	—
1860	3,968	345.3%
1870	13,629	243.5%
1880	33,148	143.2%
1890	32,754	−1.2%
1900	32,754	0.0%
1910	32,069	−2.1%
1920	30,441	−5.1%
1930	27,471	−9.8%
1940	28,581	4.0%
1950	31,013	8.5%
1960	35,795	15.4%
1970	39,660	10.8%
1980	47,555	19.9%
1990	53,059	11.6%
2000	61,226	15.4%
2010	63,342	3.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1894 Michigan State Census, 1894 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection This is one of 17 counties that have a full, searchable census with links to images.
• 1894 - Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

Church Records

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 - How to Use this Collection

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Emigration and Immigration

• 1929-1966 - Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Land and Property Records

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 Montcalm County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Montcalm County. 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.

Portrait and biographical album of Ionia and Montcalm counties, Mich. - FamilySearch Digital Library

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War

• 1876-1945 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1876-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1894 - Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
• Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War I

• 1917-1919 - Michigan, Census of World War I Veterans with Card Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1837-1993 - Michigan, Eastern and Western Districts, Naturalization Records, 1837-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Obituaries

• 1820-2006 - Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records

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.

Online Indexes and Records

• 1784-1980 - Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry $
• 1797-1973 - Michigan Probate Records 1797-1973 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Michigan tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the Wiki page, Michigan Taxation.

Vital Records

• Birth Records and Death Records from 1867 can be obtained from the Michigan Department of Community Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.
• Marriage Records from 1867 and Divorce Records from 1897 can be obtained from the County Clerk.
  

Birth

• 1867-1902 - Michigan Births, 1867-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1867-1917 - Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

• 1585-1945 - Michigan, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
• 1820-1937 - Michigan, County Marriages Index, 1820-1937 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1820-1940 - Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1868-1925 - Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1867-1897 - Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1897-1952 - Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index and images, organized by county and then last name.

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Montcalm County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

• Greenville Michigan Family History Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Montcalm County. For state-wide library facilities, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

Museums

• Oakfield Pioneer Heritage Society and Museum
  11009 Podunk Road
  Greenville, MI 48838
  Phone: 616-754-1970
  Website
  
• Flat River Genealogical Society of Greenville
  213 North Franklin Street
  Greenville, MI 48838
  Phone: 616-754-5296
  Facebook Website
  
• Belding Museum and City History
  108 Hanover Street
  Belding, MI 48809
  Phone: 616-794-1900
  Facebook Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Montcalm County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.

• Oakfield Pioneer Heritage Society and Museum
  11009 Podunk Road
  Greenville, MI 48838
  Phone: 616-754-1970
  Website
  
• Ionia County Historical Society
  251 East Main
  Ionia, MI 48846
  Phone: 616-527-6281
  Website Facebook
• Ionia County Genealogical Society
  PO Box 516
  Lake Odessa, MI 48849-0516
  Phone: 616-374-8455
  

Websites

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Montcalm County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.