Finding Your Washtenaw County Ancestors

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 and Libraries

• GSWC Library and Family History Library
• Family History Library–Washtenaw County
• Ypsilanti District Library - Ypsilanti Heritage Room
• Genealogy Guide at the Ypsilanti District Library
• Ypsilanti Historical Society
• Ann Arbor District Library Local History Page
• Chelsea's McKune Memorial Library
• Genealogy Resources at the University of Michigan Library
• Saline District Library
• Bentley Historical Library
• List of Local and Regional Library Links
• More Library Links from MIGenWeb

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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 and 1914 Washtenaw County Maps
• 1874 Washtenaw County Map
• 1895 Washtenaw County Map
• 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  (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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Cemetery Records

• GSWC Cemetery Transcriptions Online (members-only) Over 28 cemetery transcriptions done by GSWC.
• Washtenaw County Cemeteries Includes links to online transcriptions.
• GSWC Cemetery Publications for Sale.
• Washtenaw County  cemetery transcriptions at Interment.net
• Find-a-Grave Washtenaw County cemetery transcriptions.
• Washtenaw County Cemeteries--Family History Catalog; See also Townships & Cities of Washtenaw County--Family History Catalog

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Census Records

• Michigan State Census Records, 1827-1874. SeekingMichigan (index & images)
• 1830 U.S. Census,  Washtenaw County
• 1870 U.S. Census, FamilySearch.org (all of Michigan)
• Michigan State Census Records, 1884-1894. SeekingMichigan (index & images)
• 1894 State Census, Washtenaw County.  FamilySearch.org Index.
• Facts in the Washtenaw County 1884-94 Michigan Census   The census is available at the Bentley Historical Library.
• Facts Contained in Population Schedules Facts,  Michigan Territorial and State Census
• Facts in U.S. Census, 1790-1860
• Facts in U.S. Census, 1870-1920

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Church Records

• Church record bibliography

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City Directories

• Washtenaw County, Michigan Online Historical Directories
• City directory bibliography
• Bobbie Snow's - Your Guide to Finding Your Ancestors in City Directories

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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

• Washtenaw County War Memorials  name index
• Michigan 7 the Civil War -- Seeking Michigan
• Ann Arbor Civil War Round Table
• Clements Library, University of Michigan--James S. Schoff Civil War Collection

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Newspapers & Obituaries

• Washtenaw County Obituary & News Item Index
• Washtenaw County obituaries from the MIGenWeb Archives
• Ypsilanti Historical Society Archives obituary card file
• Chelsea District Library Family History Index.
• Historic Washtenaw County newspapers on microfilm
• Michigan Online Historical Newspapers from Miriam Robbins Midkiff
• Historic Ann Arbor newspapers digitized by Google

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Queries and Look-ups

• RootsWeb, GenForum, Cousin Connect and GenCircles 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.

• mail order form for birth, marriage, or death from the Washtenaw County Clerk's office.
• Michigan Death Records 1867-1897 (GENDIS) from Michigan Department of Community Health
• Seeking Michigan  Michigan Death Certificates 1897 to 1952
• Search the Washtenaw County Clerk's Marriage Database (1959 to present)
• Search the Washtenaw County Clerk's Death Database (1959 to present)
• Washtenaw County Death Resources from MIGenWeb
• Dibean Marriage Database
• Guides to Vital Records at the Archives of Michigan 
• Michigan Vital Records Research at the Library of Michigan

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Washtenaw County Bibliography & Etc.

• Washtenaw County Genealogy and History Bibliography
• Publications available from GSWC
• Ypsilanti Historical Museum and Archives bookstore

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Washtenaw County Cities, Villages, and Townships

• Township map of Washtenaw County -- Scale map showing  townships, villages, and cities.
• Washtenaw Co. Michigan at a glance -- County and township formation.
• Current information on Washtenaw townships, villages and cities (Wikipedia.)
• Official Washtenaw County City, Village, and Township Web Sites. Current addresses, phone numbers of all local government agencies.

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Washtenaw County Sites

• Bobbie Snow's Guide to Finding Washtenaw County Ancestors
• US GenWeb Washtenaw County Web Page
• Washtenaw links at Linkpendium

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This page last updated on 5 May 2016  -jet