Alger County, Michigan Genealogy
Guide to Alger County, Michigan ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Alger County, Michigan | |
| Map | |
 Location of Michigan in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 17 March, 1885 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Munising |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Alger County Courthouse 101 Court St. Munising, MI 49862 Phone: (906) 387-2076 Alger County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places/Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Russell A. Alger. The County has Munising as its seat and the County was created March 17, 1885. The County is located in the north central area of the state.[1]
Alger County, Michigan Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1884 | 1887 | 1884 | 1885 | 1884 | 1889 | 1820 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has birth, death and land records from 1884,
marriage records from 1887, divorce and court records from 1885.
Probate Court has probate records.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1885--Alger County was created 17 March 1885 from Schoolcraft County.
County seat: Munising [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Delta • Luce • Marquette • Schoolcraft
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| 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 | ||
| MIInterment | ||
| EPodunk | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Michigan Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
Available at Munising School Public Library
810 State Hwy. M-28 West, Ste. A
Munising, MI 49862
- United States Census: Schoolcraft County 1850-1910
- Alger County 1900-1920; Territory 1820-1840
- Michigan Indian Census:
- Bay Mills [Chippewa] Great Lakes 1935-1937
- Great Lakes [Chippewa & Potawatomi] 1938-1940
State Census
- 1894 - Michigan State Census, 1894 at FamilySearch — index
Church[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1929 - 1966 Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[edit | edit source]
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.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Alger 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.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men from Alger 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 Alger County.
Online Records
- Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch — index
- 1876-1945 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1876-1945 at FamilySearch — index
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1917-1919 - Michigan, Census of World War I Veterans with Card Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Available at Munising School Public Library
810 State Hwy. M-28 West, Ste. A
Munising, MI 49862
- Munising News 1896-current
- Munising Republican, 1892-1902
- Cloverland Farmer 1915-1923
- Sunday Morning Star, 1890-1891
- Weekly Tribune, June-Dec 1893
- Manistique Courier 1896-1899
- Schoolcraft County Pioneer, 1880-1896
- Semi-Weekly Pioneer, 1886-1888
- Manistique Tri-Weekly Pioneer, 1888-1892
- Tri-Weekly Pioneer 1892-1894
- Semi-weekly Pioneer, 1894-1895
- Manistique Tribune 1896-1899
- Grand Marais Pilot and Pictured Rocks Review 1971-1974
- Alger County Republican 1888-1903
- Alger County Independent, 1938-1940
- Wrights Weekly, 1924-1928
- Lake Superior Breeze, 1906-1907
- Lake Superior Pilot, 1901
- Grand Marais Gazette, 1994-2004
- Grand Marais Herald, 1895-1910
Alger County newspapers available at the Library of Michigan in Lansing include:
Au Train:
- ALGER COUNTY REPUBLICAN (1888-1896)
Grand Marais
- GRAND MARAIS GAZETTE (1994-2004)
- GRAND MARAIS HERALD (1899, 1903, 1905, 1910)
- GRAND MARAIS PILOT & PICTURED ROCKS REVIEW (1971-1994)
Munising
- ALGER COUNTY DEMOCRAT (1891-1892)
- ALGER COUNTY INDEPENDENT (1938-1940)
- CLOVERLAND FARMER (1915-1923)
- LAKE SUPERIOR BREEZE (1906-1907)
- LAKE SUPERIOR PILOT (1901-1901)
- MUNISING NEWS (1898-1899, 1901, 1904-1939, 1989-1991)
- MUNISING REPUBLICAN (1896-1906)
- WRIGHT'S ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY (1923-1928)
Finding More Michigan Newspapers[edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Alger County, Michigan Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- The Saginaw News
- Do a Alger 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[edit | edit source]
- 1820-2006 - Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images
Probate[edit | edit source]
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, Alger 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
Schools[edit | edit source]
Munising School Public Library
810 State Hwy. M-28 West, Ste. A
Munising, MI 49862
- Munising High School Yearbooks & Senior Photos
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
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.
- Marriage Records (from 1867) and Divorce Records (from 1897) from the County Clerk.
See also How to order Michigan Vital Records
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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.
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Alger County Historical Society
PO Box 201
Munising, MI 49862
Website
Grand Marais Historical Societybr>PO Box 179
Grand Marais, MI 49839
Website
Alger County Historical Society
PO 1496 Washington St.
Munising, MI 49862
Telephone: 906-387-4308
Fax:906-387-4188
E-mail:algerchs@jamadots.com
Website
Family History Centers
[edit | edit source]
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
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Alger County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- The Alger County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Alger County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Alger County, Michigan" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alger_County,_Michigan."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alger County, Michigan . Page 343-351 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 346-349.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alger County, Michigan page 343, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Alger County, Michigan," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alger_County,_Michigan, accessed 20 August 2019.
