Crawford County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Crawford County

Guide to Crawford 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: Grayling Organized: March 22, 1879 Parent County(s): Mackinac Neighboring Counties Antrim  • Kalkaska  • Missaukee  • Montmorency  • Ogemaw  • Oscoda  • Otsego  • Roscommon See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for William Crawford. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Crawford County Courthouse
200 W Michigan Ave.
Grayling, MI 49738-1746
Phone: 989-348-3200
Crawford County Website

County Clerk has birth and probate from 1879, marriage, death and divorce records from 1878, court records from 1881 and land records from 1863.

Crawford 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
1879	1878	1878	1881	1863	1879	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

1840--Crawford County was created 1 April 1840 from Mackinac County.It was formerly Shawano County, until the name was changed to Crawford County 8 March 1843. It was attached to Mackinac, Cheboygan, Iosco, Antrim and Kalkaska Counties prior to organization 22 March 1879. County seat: Grayling 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
Grayling
Townships
Beaver Creek Frederic	Grayling Lovells	Maple Forest South Branch

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Crawford 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

• 1799-1999 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Cemetery Index, 1799-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	1,159	—
1890	2,962	155.6%
1900	2,943	−0.6%
1910	3,934	33.7%
1920	4,049	2.9%
1930	3,097	−23.5%
1940	3,765	21.6%
1950	4,151	10.3%
1960	4,971	19.8%
1970	6,482	30.4%
1980	9,465	46.0%
1990	12,260	29.5%
2000	14,273	16.4%
2010	14,074	−1.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
• 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 Article

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 Article

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 Crawford County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Crawford 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 Crawford 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 Crawford County.

Online Indexes and Records

• 1876-1945 - Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1876-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
• 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 Article

World War I

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Obituaries

• 1820-2006 Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

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 Article

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 Article
• 1867-1902 - Michigan Births, 1867-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article

Marriage

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

Death

• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
• 1867-1897 - Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Article
• Pre-1897 (not complete) - Michigan State Department of Community Health Genealogical Death Indexing System
  
• 1897-1952 - Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1952 at Michiganology

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Crawford 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 Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

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

Societies

Listed below are societies in Crawford County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.
Crawford County Historical Society, Inc.
97 E. Michigan Ave
PO Box 218
Grayling, MI 49738
Phone: 989-348-4461
E-mail:cchs49738@yahoo.com
Website

Lovells Township Historical Society
8405 Twin Bridge Rd.
Lovells, MI 49738
Phone: 989-889-5580
Facebook Website

Websites

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

• The Crawford County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• Crawford County MI 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.