The boundaries of Washtenaw County were established in 1822 from parent counties of Wayne and Oakland. The first settlements were established in 1823-24. Washtenaw County was officially established on January 1, 1827. The county seat is Ann Arbor.

ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES	CHURCH RECORDS	LAND RECORDS	RESEARCH ASSISTANCE & WHERE TO WRITE
ATLASES & MAPS	CITY DIRECTORIES	LOCAL HISTORIES	VITAL RECORDS
BIBLE RECORDS	COURTHOUSE RECORDS	MILITARY RECORDS	WASHTENAW COUNTY BIOGRAPHY
CEMETERY RECORDS	FAMILIES OF WASHTENAW COUNTY	NEWSPAPERS & OBITUARIES	WASHTENAW COUNTY CITIES, TOWNSHIPS & VILLAGES
CENSUS RECORDS	GENEALOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETIES	QUERIES & LOOKUPS	WASHTENAW COUNTY SITES

Archives and Libraries

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Atlases and Maps

1856 and 1864 Plat Maps (find in a library) All-name index available in members only section.
1873 Washtenaw County Maps
1874 Washtenaw County Map
1895 Washtenaw County Map (Library of Congress)
1874 Combination Atlas Map of Washtenaw County
1895 Standard Atlas of Washtenaw County
1915 Standard Atlas of Washtenaw County
Peck's Landsmen of Washtenaw Co (find in a library)
Family Maps of Washtenaw County, Michigan - Arphax (find in a library)

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Bible Records

GSWC Family Bible Registry Over 2,000 surnames and 9,500 individual names

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Courthouse Records

Birth, marriage, and death records (see Vital Records) are found in the Clerk's office. Wills and estates are at the Probate Court office. Records begin in 1827. Deeds and mortgages (see Land Records) are found in the Register of Deeds office.

Official Washtenaw County Clerk web site

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Families of Washtenaw County

Washtenaw County Family Group Sheets from MIGenWeb

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Genealogy and Historical Societies

Washtenaw County Historical Consortium -- 30+ local museums, societies, and libraries

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Land Records

Washtenaw County deeds and mortgages begin in 1827 and are found in the Register of Deeds office.The GSWC Library has microfilm copies of grantor/grantee indexes 1827-1905.

Washtenaw County Register of Deeds database (1969 to present) (register for free index search, copies $$ )
Washtenaw County town plat and sub-division maps database.
Washtenaw County deeds (1827-1923) and grantor/grantee index (1827-1905) at FHL
Government Land Office (GLO) land patent database

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Local Histories

Family History Capers name index Search over 110,000 names appearing in the GSWC Capers journal from 1978 to present.
Family History Capers Archive Online archive with name index from 1978 to present (members only)
Index to Headlight (Headlight was a publication of the Michigan Central Railroad (vol 2, no. 15, 1896)
Index to Early Ann Arbor and its People
Index to Old Ann Arbor Town by Hazel Proctor (1st Ed.)
Index to Old Ann Arbor Town by Hazel Proctor 2nd Ed)
Comparison of 1st and 2nd editions of Old Ann Arbor Town
Index to Old West Side, Ann Arbor, Michigan by Richard G. Wilson, Edward J. Vaughn, Mrs. George E. Downing for the Old West Side Association
Index to Old Dexter Village photograph album of Dexter history by Hazel Proctor
Index to Old Manchester Village From Original Photographs by Hazel Proctor
Manchester Calendars--Table of Contents,
Manchester Calendars--Name Index
Manchester Calendars--A Historical Timeline
Collection of old Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County postcards MIGenWeb
University of Michigan Archives -- Bentley Historical Library
Genealogy at the Bentley Historical Library
Digital Histories and Publications -- Bentley Historical Library
Image Bank at the Bentley Historical Library.
Saline historical photographs at the Saline Historical Society

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Military Records

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Newspapers & Obituaries

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Queries and Look-ups

RootsWeb and GenForum Read or post Washtenaw County related queries.
Search the WASHTE-L mailing list
GSWC queries in Family History Capers.
Free volunteer Look-Ups from MIGenWeb

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Research Assistance & Where to Write

Submit a Research Request to the GSWC Research Committee
Nancy Krohn's Short List of Articles in Family History Capers - Interesting and educational articles to help your research.
Books We Own: Michigan--list of resources for look-up requests
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) - Michigan
Obituary Lookup Volunteers - Michigan
Washtenaw County MIGenWeb Archives.
Washtenaw County Research Addresses

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Vital Records

Birth, marriage and death records are recorded at the Washtenaw County courthouse. Birth and death records begin in 1867, marriage records begin in 1833.