Berrien County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Berrien County

Guide to Berrien County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Michigan Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: St.Joseph Organized: September 1, 1831 Parent County(s): Unorganized territory Neighboring Counties Cass  • La Porte (IN)  • St. Joseph (IN)  • Van Buren See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for John M. Berrien. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Berrien County Courthouse
811 Port Street
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Phone: 269-983-7111
Berrien County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1831, naturalization records 1835-1985 and military records from 1918.
Probate Court has probate records from 1832.
Register of Deeds has land records from 1831.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1835.

Berrien County, Michigan Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1831	1867	1835	1831	1832	1820
*Statewide registration started in 1867 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1829--Berrien County was created 29 October 1829 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Cass County prior to organization 1 September 1831. County seat: St.Joseph Interactive Map of Michigan County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes County Evolution In Michigan, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state. Michigan Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

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:

Cities
Benton Harbor Bridgman Buchanan	Coloma New Buffalo Niles	St. Joseph Watervliet
Villages
Baroda Berrien Springs Eau Claire	Galien Grand Beach Michiana	Shoreham Stevensville Three Oaks
Unincorporated communities
Berrien Center Bethany Beach Birchwood Dayton Glendora Harbert	Hazelhurst Hinchman Hollywood Lakeside Millburg Riverside	Sawyer Scottdale Shorewood Hills Tower Hill Shorelands Union Pier
Native American communities
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Census-designated places
Benton Heights Fair Plain	Lake Michigan Beach New Troy	Paw Paw Lake Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert
Townships
Bainbridge Baroda Benton Charter Berrien Bertrand Buchanan Chikaming Coloma Charter	Galien Hagar Township Lake Charter Lincoln Charter New Buffalo Niles Charter Oronoko Charte	Pipestone Royalton Sodus St. Joseph Charter Three Oaks Watervliet Charter Weesaw

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Berrien County, Michigan online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave USGenWeb MIGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com FamilySearch Places
See Michigan Cemeteries for more information

 

• 1799-1999 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Cemetery Index, 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, Michigan has a Name Searchable Database.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	3,475	—
1870	4,518	30.0%
1880	6,619	46.5%
1890	10,694	61.6%
1900	19,440	81.8%
1910	22,722	16.9%
1920	15,573	−31.5%
1930	14,646	−6.0%
1940	15,370	4.9%
1950	13,966	−9.1%
1960	12,038	−13.8%
1970	11,556	−4.0%
1980	13,525	17.0%
1990	14,153	4.6%
2000	16,235	14.7%
2010	19,286	18.8%
Source: [3]

State Census

• 1894 Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Church Records

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 - How to Use this Collection

Lutheran

• Records of the American Lutheran Church, Baroda, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Emigration and Immigration

• 1929-1966 Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Land and Property Records

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 Berrien County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Berrien County. 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 and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War
Civil War service men from Berrien 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 Berrien County.

- 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies B, C, E, I, and K

- 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company B

Online Indexes and Records

• 1876-1945 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1876-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1894 Michigan Department of State. Census of the State of Michigan, 1894. Vol 3. Lansing, MI: R. Smith & co., state printers, 1896. (Civil War veterans only) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
• Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War I

• 1917-1919 - Michigan, Census of World War I Veterans with Card Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1837-1993 - Michigan, Eastern and Western Districts, Naturalization Records, 1837-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Obituaries

• 1820-2006 Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• Southwest Michigan Obituary Index from the earliest date to 2000.

Probate Records

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.

Online Indexes and Records

• 1784-1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry($)

• 1797-1973 Michigan Probate Records 1797-1973 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Michigan tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the Wiki page, Michigan Taxation.

Vital Records

• Birth Records and Death Records from 1867 can be obtained from the Michigan Department of Community Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.
• Marriage Records from 1867 and Divorce Records from 1897 can be obtained from the County Clerk.
  

Birth

• 1867-1917 - Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1867-1902 - Michigan Births, 1867-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection.

Marriage

• 1585-1945 - Michigan, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
• 1820-1937 - Michigan, County Marriages Index, 1820-1937 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1820-1940 - Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1868-1925 - Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection.

Death

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1867-1897 - Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection.
• 1897-1952 - Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index and images, organized by county and then last name.

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Berrien County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

• St Joseph Michigan Family History Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Berrien County. For state-wide library facilities, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

Museums

North Berrien Historical Museum
300 Coloma Ave
PO Box 207
Coloma, MI 49038
Phone: 269-468-3330
Email: info@northberrienhistory.org
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Berrien County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.
Berrien County Genealogical Society
PO Box 8808
Benton Harbor, MI 49023-8808
Website

Berrien County Historical Association
313 North Cass Street
PO Box 261
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Phone: 269-471-1202
Fax: 269-471-7412
E-mail:Info@berrienhistory.org
Facebook Website

Four Flags Area Genealogical Society
PO Box 414
Niles, MI 49120-0414

The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center
601 Main Street
St. Joseph MI 49085
Phone: 269-983-1191
website

Galien Woods Historical Society
305 Kiley Drive
Galien, MI 49113
Phone: 269-545-8143
website

North Berrien Historical Society
300 Coloma Ave
PO Box 207
Coloma, MI 49038
Phone: 269-468-3330
Website

Websites

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• Berrien County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
• The Berrien County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• Berrien County MI Genealogy LDS Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

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