Saginaw County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Saginaw County

Guide to Saginaw 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: Saginaw Organized: February 9, 1855 Parent County(s): St. Clair Neighboring Counties Bay  • Clinton  • Genesee  • Gratiot  • Midland  • Shiawassee  • Tuscola See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for Sace-nong or Sak-e-nong (English: Sauk land), as the Sauk (French: Sac) tribe is believed by some to have once lived there. A more likely possibility is that it comes from Ojibwe words meaning "place of the outlet". The County is located in the center area of the state.

County Courthouse

Saginaw County Courthouse
111 S Michigan Ave.
Saginaw, MI 48602
Phone: 517-790-5251
Saginaw County Website

County Clerk has birth and marriage records from 1867, death records from 1868, divorce records from 1886 and court records from 1843.
Probate Court has probate records;
Equalization Department has land records.

Saginaw 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	1867	1868	1843	1836	1800	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

1822--Saginaw County was created 10 September 1822 from St. Clair County and unorganized territory. It was attached to Oakland County prior to organization 9 February 1855. County seat: Saginaw Interactive Map of Michigan County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes Michigan Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library County Evolution In Michigan, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state

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
Frankenmuth	Saginaw	Zilwaukee
Villages
Birch Run Chesaning	Merrill Oakley	St. Charles
Unincorporated communities
Alicia Blumfield Corners Brady Center Brant Chapin Clausedale Crow Island Dice Fenmore Fergus Fordney Fosters	Frankentrost Frost Galloway Garfield Gera Groveton Indiantown Iva Kochville Lakefield Lawndale Layton Corners	Luce Marion Springs Morseville Nelson Orr Paines Parshallburg Racy Roosevelt Shattuckville Swan Creek Taymouth
Census-designated places
Bridgeport Buena Vista Burt	Freeland Hemlock	Robin Glen-Indiantown Shields
Townships
Albee Birch Run Blumfield Brady Brant Bridgeport Buena Vista Carrollton Chapin	Chesaning Frankenmuth Fremont James Jonesfield Kochville Lakefield Maple Grove Marion	Richland Saginaw Spaulding St. Charles Swan Creek Taymouth Thomas Tittabawassee Zilwaukee

Resources

Biographies

• 1830-2000 - Michigan, Saginaw County, Biographical Card File, ca. 1830-2000 at FamilySearch — index and images

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Saginaw County, Michigan online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave USGenWeb MIGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MIInterment 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

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	892	—
1850	2,609	192.5%
1860	12,693	386.5%
1870	39,097	208.0%
1880	59,095	51.1%
1890	82,273	39.2%
1900	81,222	−1.3%
1910	89,290	9.9%
1920	100,286	12.3%
1930	120,717	20.4%
1940	130,468	8.1%
1950	153,515	17.7%
1960	190,752	24.3%
1970	219,743	15.2%
1980	228,059	3.8%
1990	211,946	−7.1%
2000	210,039	−0.9%
2010	200,169	−4.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 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

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

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Ward and Branch Records

• Saginaw

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 Saginaw County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Saginaw 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

• 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
• 1800s-Current - Public Library of Saginaw Obituary Index at Public Library of Saginaw

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 at FamilySearch

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 Saginaw 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

• Saginaw Michigan Family History Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Saginaw County. For state-wide library facilities, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.
Hoyt Library
505 Janes Avenue
Saginaw, MI 48607
Phone: 989-755-9827
Website
Butman-Fish
1716 Hancock Street
Saginaw, MI 48602
Phone: 989-799-9160
Website
Wickes
1713 Hess Street
Saginaw, MI 48601
Phone: 989-752-3821
Website
Zauel Memorial
3100 North Center Road
Saginaw, MI 48603
Phone: 989-799-2771
Website

Museums

Castle Museum of Saginaw County Historical Society
500 Fede​ral Avenue
Saginaw, MI 48607
989-752-2861
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Saginaw County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.
Saginaw Genealogical Society
PO Box 6584
Saginaw, MI 48608-6584
Website Facebook

Chesaning Genealogical Society
602 West Broad Street
Chesaning, MI 48616
Phone: 989-845-3155
Website

Cass River Genealogical Society
c/o James E. Wickson Memorial Library
359 South Franklin Street
Frankenmuth, Michigan 48734-1529
Website

St. Charles Historical Society and Museum
603 Chesaning Street
Saint Charles, MI 48655
Phone: 989-865-9115

Websites

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

• Saginaw County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Saginaw County MI Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
• 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.