Roscommon County, Michigan Genealogy
Guide to Roscommon County, Michigan ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Roscommon County, Michigan | |
| Map | |
 Location of Michigan in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | April 1, 1840 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Roscommon |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Roscommon County Courthouse 500 Lake St. Roscommon, MI 48653 Phone: (517) 275-5923 Roscommon 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 County Roscommon, Ireland. The County has Roscommon as its seat and the County was created 1840. The County is located in the center area of the state.[1]
Roscommon County, Michigan Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1874 | 1875 | 1874 | 1875 | 1875 | 1875 | 1820 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1874, military,
divorce, probate, court and land records from 1875. [3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1840--Roscommon County was created 1 April 1840 from Mackinac County. Formerly Mikenauk county, until name changed to Roscommon 8 March 1843. It was attached to Mackinac, Cheboygan, and Midland Counties prior to organization 20 March 1875. County seat: Roscommon [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]
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Clare • Crawford • Gladwin • Kalkaska • Missaukee • Ogemaw • Oscoda
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]
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 Roscommon 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 Roscommon 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 Roscommon 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]
Finding More Michigan Newspapers[edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Roscommon County, Michigan Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- The Saginaw News
- Do a Roscommon 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, Roscommon 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
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.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1867-1917 - Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1867-1902 - Michigan Birth Registrations, 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 Marriage Registrations, 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 Death Registrations, 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]
Roscommon County Genealogical Society
2597 S. Gladwin Rd.
PO Box 983
Prudenville, Mi 48651
Telehone Number: 989-366-1774
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]
- Roscommon County, MI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Michigan Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- Michigan Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Roscommon County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Roscommon County, Michigan" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscommon_County,_Michigan."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Roscommon 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), Roscommon County, Michigan page 350, 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, "Roscommon County, Michigan," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscommon_County,_Michigan, accessed 10 November 2019.
