Arenac County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Arenac County

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

Arenac County, Michigan
Map
Location of Michigan in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	April 21, 1883
County Seat	Hettinger
Courthouse
Address	Arenac County Courthouse 120 N Grove Street PO Box 747 Standish, MI 48658 Phone: 989-846-4626 Arenac County Website

County Information

Description

The County was named for “A sandy place for a good footing." The County has Standish as its seat and the County was created 1883. The County is located in the east area of the state.

Arenac County, Michigan Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1883	1883	1883	1883	1882	1883	1820
Statewide registration started in 1867 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1915.

County Courthouse

County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1883 and burial records from 1952.

History

• Arenac County,Michigan (Wikipedia)
• Arenac County (epodunk)
• A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. 3 Volumes. By Perry Francis Powers, Harry Gardner Cutler. 1912. Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Online at: Hathitrust; Vol. 2 - Google Books

Parent County

1883--Arenac County was created 21 April 1883 from Bay County. County seat: Standish

Boundary Changes

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

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

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:

• AuGres
• Omer
• Standish

Villages:

• Sterling
• Turner
• Twining

Townships:

• Adams Township
• Arenac Township
• AuGres Township
• Clayton Township
• Deep River Township
• Lincoln Township
• Mason Township
• Moffat Township
• Sims Township
• Standish Township
• Turner Township
• Whitney Township

Communities:

• Alger
• Maple Ridge
• Pine River

Neighboring Counties

Bay  • Gladwin  • Iosco  • Ogemaw

Resources

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
USGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
MIGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Project
EPodunk
Billion Graves
See Michigan Cemeteries for more information.

Census

• Census Online
  

1870 - Arenac County did not exist in 1870, but was part of Bay Co.

State Census

• 1894 - Michigan State Census, 1894 at FamilySearch — index

Church

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

Families

• BOURASSA - (includes Arenac branches, see attachment)
  
• LALON(D)E - (see attachment)
  
• STANDISH Family Ancestors - (see attachment)
  

Emigration and Immigration

• 1929 - 1966 Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

Land

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.

• Bureau of Land Management
  

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Arenac 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.

• Books available at the Library of Michigan (Lansing) regarding Arenac Co.
  

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
• Standard atlas of Arenac County, Michigan 
• PDF of the Standard Atlas of Arenac County, Michigan in the US Archive

Military

Civil War

Civil War service men from Arenac County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Arenac County.

Online Records

• Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch — index

World War I

• 1917-1919 - Michigan, Census of World War I Veterans with Card Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
• Draft Cards
  

Newspapers

• Arenac County Independent
• Arenac Independent Facebook Page

Finding More Michigan Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Arenac County, Michigan Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• The Saginaw News
• Do a Arenac 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

• 1820-2006 - Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate

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, Arenac 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

Queries: Message Boards and Mailing Lists

• Roots Web
  
• Roots Web Mailing List
  
• Genealogy.com Forum
  

Taxation

Vital Records

State vital records started in 1867, however marriage records started at the county level earlier. Check both.

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.

See also How to order Michigan Vital Records

Birth

• 1867-1917 - Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1867-1902 - Michigan Births, 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

• 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 Marriages, 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

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1867-1897 - Michigan Deaths, 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.
• Pre-1897 (not complete) - Michigan State Department of Community Health Genealogical Death Indexing System
  
• State death records - Seeking Michigan
  

Societies and Libraries

• Arenac County Historical Society
  PO Box 272
  304 E. Michigan Ave.
  Au Gres, MI 48703
  Telephone: 517-876-6399
  Website
  Facebook

State wide or ethnic groups

AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society
c/o Burton Historical Collection, DPL
5201 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202-4007
Publication is Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society News published twice a year
Located in Wayne County
MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

Lansing Area African American Genealogical Society
Post Office Box 22203
Lansing, MI 48909-2203
Publication is Newsletter published quarterly
Member of Michigan Genealogical Council

CORNISH

Keweenaw Houghton Cornish Society of the Copper Country
Cornish Connection Of Lower Michigan
8494 Wesley Drive
Flushing, MI 48433

DUTCH

Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College

FINNISH

Finnish American Heritage Center

FLEMISH

Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans
Facebook Page

FRENCH-CANADIAN (includes Acadian, Cajun and Metis)

French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
PO Box 1900
Royal Oak, MI 48068-1900
Publication is Michigan's Habitat Heritage published quarterly
Located in Oakland County
MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council
Facebook Page

IRISH

Irish Genealogical Society of Michigan
c/o Gaelic League/Irish American Club
2068 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216-1303
Publication is Irish Tree published nine times a year
Located in Wayne County
MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council
Facebook Page

Wayne County Irish Society
31975 Cowan
Westland, MI 48185

ITALIAN

Americans Of Italian Origin Society
18336 Lister E.
Detroit, MI 48021

JEWISH

Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan
PO Box 251693
West Bloomfield, MI 48325-1693
Publication is Generations published quarterly
Located in Oakland County
MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council
Facebook Page

POLISH

Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan
c/o Burton Collection
5201 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202-4007
Publication is The Polish Eaglet published three times a year
Located in Wayne County
MGC Member of Michigan Genealogical Council
Facebook Page

Polish Heritage Society
P.O. Box 1844
Grand Rapids, MI 49501

SCOTTISH

The St. Andrew's Society of Detroit
2360 Rochester Ct
Troy, Mi 48083
Phone: 248-526-1849
Fax: 248-528-1477
Contact: kilgour@detroitscots.com

Family History Centers

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

• Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

• Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• FamilySearch Catalog
• The Arenac County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• Family History and Genealogy Linkpendium
• Cyndi's List
  
• Michigan Family History Network
• Arenac County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

References