Ogemaw County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Ogemaw County

Guide to Ogemaw 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: West Branch Organized: 27 April 1875 Parent County(s): Unorganized Territory Neighboring Counties Alcona  • Arenac  • Crawford  • Gladwin  • Iosco  • Oscoda  • Roscommon See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for an Anglicization of the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief". The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse

Ogemaw County Courthouse
806 W Houghton Ave.
West Branch, MI 48661
Phone: 517-345-0215
Ogemaw County Website

County Clerk has birth records from 1879, marriage records from 1887, death records from 1876, divorce and court records from 1902, naturalization records from 1876 and military records from 1919.
Probate Court has probate records from 1873.
Register of Deeds has land records from 1860.

Ogemaw 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	1887	1876	1902	1860	1873	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--Ogemaw County was created 1 April 1840 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Mackinac, Cheyboygan, and Iosco Counties prior to organization. Absorbed 7 March 1867 into Iosco, and recreated 28 March 1873 from Iosco and organized 27 April 1875. County seat: West Branch 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
Rose City	West Branch
Villages
Prescott
Census-designated places
Lupton	Skidway Lake
Townships
Churchill Cumming Edwards Foster Goodar	Hill Horton Klacking Logan Mills	Ogemaw Richland Rose West Branch

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Ogemaw 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.	%±
1870	12	—
1880	1,914	15850.0%
1890	5,583	191.7%
1900	7,765	39.1%
1910	8,907	14.7%
1920	7,786	−12.6%
1930	6,595	−15.3%
1940	8,720	32.2%
1950	9,345	7.2%
1960	9,680	3.6%
1970	11,903	23.0%
1980	16,436	38.1%
1990	18,681	13.7%
2000	21,645	15.9%
2010	21,699	0.2%
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

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 Ogemaw County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Ogemaw 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

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

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

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

• 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 Ogemaw 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

• West Branch Michigan Family History Center
  315 N Fairview Rd
  West Branch, MI 48661
  Phone: 989-345-5484
  Email: MI_WestBranch@familyhistorymail.org
  Website

Libraries

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

• Ogemaw District Library
  107 Main Street
  Rose City, MI 48654
  website
  The library has a family research room that is open on Mondays 11:00am-7:00pm

Museums

• Ogemaw County Genealogical and Historical Society/Museum
  135 S. 2nd Street
  PO Box 734
  West Branch, MI 48661
  Phone: 989-701-2525
  Website
  Facebook
  

Societies

Listed below are societies in Ogemaw County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.

• Rose City Area Historical Society
  P.O.Box 736
  Rose City, MI 48654
  Facebook
  
• Ogemaw County Genealogical and Historical Society/Museum
  135 S. 2nd Street
  PO Box 734
  West Branch, MI 48661
  Phone: 989-701-2525
  Website
  Facebook
  

Websites

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

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Ogemaw 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.