Searching in Michigan

   I've done a lot of research in Michigan, the majority of it in Schoolcraft and Eaton counties. My mother was born in Michigan, so both sides of her family reside there.

 I thought I'd take a post to lay out some of my favorite and most useful sites that have really helped me in my Michigan searches.

If you have searched around Michigan, and have your own favorites to add to this list, feel free to add to it! I'm always looking for more places to dig up dirt. :)

• Seeking Michigan: Search for photographs, maps, spoken histories, and documents including death certificates, civil war records, naturalizations and articles. (This site has been instrumental on obtaining information on the Smith family. Death certificates have A LOT of information on them.)

• Family Search: I know this site is not specific to Michigan, but the majority of actual documents I was able to print out came from here. and there was a lot. Death returns, marriage returns, birth returns, censuses..... This is one of my all around favorites.

•  Michigan Genealogy Trails: Personally, I didn't find a whole lot of information on my own family here, but it's a site I continue to go back to. It's got a lot of photos and history of Schoolcraft. I have found myself getting lost in reading old Manistique newpapers here.....

• Fairview Cemetery, Manistique, MI: One of the main cemeteries in Manistique. This contains a list of those buried there, where they are buried, and sometimes a little extra.

• Lakeview Cemetery, Manistique, MI: This is also a main cemetery in Manistique. There is a pdf file on this site, and it contains those buried there, and also their mother's maiden names, which was VERY helpful.

• Schoolcraft County Cemeteries : This includes smaller cemeteries in the area. (Helpful for my Thompson and Hiawatha Families.)

•  Michigan GenWeb: This site is divided up by county, and was really helpful when I started getting outside Schoolcraft county to find family before they had eventually settled there.

• Find A Grave:  This is another site that isn't Michigan specific, but that I used often in locating family.

• Eaton County Genealogical Society links:   This site immediately immersed me in Eaton information. Great links found here.

• Intermet.net - Michigan Counties: Another useful cemetery site.

• Archives of Michigan: There are a whoooolllle lot of places to go from here. It was a little overwhelming at first.