Sign up for Genealogy Pointers »

Michigan Genealogy is one of the finest statewide sourcebooks ever published, a remarkable compilation of sources and resources that are available to help researchers find their Michigan ancestors. It identifies records on the state and regional level and then the county level, providing details of vital records, court and land records, military records, newspapers, and census records, as well as the holdings of the various societies and institutions whose resources and facilities support the special needs of the genealogist. County-by-county, it lists the names, addresses, websites, e-mail addresses, and hours of business of libraries, archives, genealogical and historical societies, courthouses, and other record repositories; describes their manuscripts and record collections; highlights their special holdings; and provides details regarding queries, searches, and restrictions on the use of their records.

Since Michigan Genealogy was first published in 1987, a massive amount of genealogical information has become available on the Internet. Keeping this in mind, the thoroughly revised and expanded Second Edition devotes an entire chapter to Internet resources for Michigan family history research.

Other new chapters explore the reasons why people settled in Michigan; territorial and state laws that governed the recording of vital records in Michigan; and non-traditional sources for research, such as prison and poorhouse records. Many other chapters, including those dealing with military, court, and land records, have been substantially expanded for the new edition of this encyclopedic work.

Much of the information for this book was collected through written surveys addressed to county courthouses, historical and genealogical societies, and libraries. Seventy-two of Michigan's eighty-three county clerks responded, as did 120 librarians and archivists. Missing information was compiled from Michigan Historical Records Survey inventories and from county inventories published elsewhere. It hardly needs saying that the author left no stone unturned in her research. If the focus of your family history research is Michigan, this compilation of genealogical sources and resources gives enough information to get you off to a first-class start in your research in the Wolverine state and to keep you pointed in the right direction.

"This is a well-organized handbook, which would be valuable to anyone researching in Michigan...."--The American Genealogist, v. 62 #3.

"The author has gathered a tremendous amount of information, and presented it in an easy to use format."--American Reference Books Annual, 1988.