Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights
Winter 2006
Volume 8, Number 1
Vital records are the cornerstones of genealogy research. The events of birth, marriage and death function as anchors in the lives of ancestors. Determining the events of a person's life between birth and death helps to tell the story of that person and, in part, the story of the America in which that person lived or traveled during the course of their lifespan. For example, a young person dying in the Civil War tells a tale of that era or a Depression Era marriage in Arizona may illuminate the life of an Illinois farm family who had relocated.
Even though these events are so important to genealogical and historical research, they can often be difficult to track down. For the most part, three different institutions take a vested interest in tracking vital records: religious organizations, governments and families. When these traditional institutions fail to collect or maintain the information, it can be difficult to recover the documents. Among the three groups, hints to the vital records in question can often be gleaned from at least one of the sources. If a county courthouse burned in Virginia during the Civil War, maybe the local church survived. If there was no church in the area, perhaps a family member recorded events in a journal or Bible.
Between the colonial settlement and the 20th century, one major problem recurred over time between the East Coast and the western states. On a rolling basis, there were no governments or churches to record the information, as people were often settling in advance of those institutions. If there were territorial governments in place, they were often not obligating local authorities to track the births, deaths or marriages of area residents. This being the case, the first step is to determine in what state or territory your ancestors lived. For example, someone living in Virginia in 1780 may have truly been located in what is now Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania or Maryland. Likewise, someone listed as living in the Indiana Territory may have been in Detroit. As these governmental units developed and solidified their boundaries, the county lines were still evolving. County-level histories and Web sites can help to determine the exact boundaries encircling the family being researched.
At times there will be no other option but to look for vital information in unexpected places. Marriage records have been found placed amongst land records. A court case may prove a person living at a given time. The will of a distant relative may provide the information needed or at least prove a relationship. Tax records may indicate the age of an individual.
This bibliography will provide methods and ideas to help find American vital records at the Library of Michigan. Many of the samples were included as they correspond with the major migration patterns from the East Coast to Michigan and then west towards the Mississippi valley, which was heavily settled after the Civil War. It is in no way complete, but the research methods may be helpful when applied to any vital record search. The following are just some sample Subject search strings that may assist you in finding vital records on our catalog, ANSWER, www.answercat.org
Alabama Center for Health Statistics. Death Index, 1908-1958. 6 reels. Montgomery, AL: Center for Health Statistics, 1993.
Genealogy Microfilm F 325 .D43 1993
Allamakee County Courthouse. Allamakee County, Iowa; Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1845-1946. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1986.
Genealogy Microfilm F 627 .A5 A45 1986
Hillsdale County Genealogical Society. Hillsdale County Marriage Index. 2 Vols. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale County Genealogical Society, 2001.
Michigan F 572 .H6 H553 2001
Hodges, Nadine. Marriage Records of Platte County, Missouri, 1839-1855. [S.I.]: N.Hodges, 1966.
Genealogy Microfiche LH 12880
Indiana State Library. Works Progress Administration Indexes to Indiana County Vital Records. 68 reels. North Salt Lake, UT: Heritage Quest from Proquest, 2002.
Genealogy Microfilm F 525 .W67 2002
Library of Michigan. Michigan Vital Records Research: Records at the Library of Michigan from the Michigan Department of Community Health. Lansing: Library of Michigan, 2000.
Michigan Documents HA 445 .M533 2000
Linn, John B. and William H. Egle, Eds. Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1790. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1984.
Genealogy F 148 .P453 1984
Massachusetts Death Index, 1841-1895. 310 microfiche. Oxford, MA: Holbrook Research Institute, 1988.
Genealogy Microfiche F 63 .M373 1988
State of Georgia Divorce Register. 177 microfiche. Atlanta: Vital Records Service, 1965-1994.
Genealogy Microfiche F 285 .S73
Top of Page
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Family History Department. Parish and Vital Records List. 21 microfiche. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1998.
Genealogy Microfiche CS 25 .C47 1998
Finnell, Arthur Louis, Ed. National Huguenot Society Bible Records: Abstracted from the Files of the Society. Baltimore: Clearfield Company, 1995.
Genealogy E 184 .H9 F56 1996
Herbert, Jeffrey G. Hamilton County, Ohio, Church Burial Records, 1850-1859. Milford, OH: Little Miami Publishing, 2000.
Genealogy F 497 .H2 H472 2000
Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 7 vols. Ann Arbor, MI: Edwards Brothers, 1936.
Genealogy E 184 .F89 H5
Kelly, Arthur C. M., Ed. Reformed Congregations of Old Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, 1731-1899. Rhinebeck, NY Kinship, 1971.
Genealogy F 127 .D8 M37 1971
Top of Page
Barnes, Robert W., Ed. Inventory of Maryland Bible Records. Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1989.
Genealogy F 180 .I58 1989
Daughters of the American Revolution. Lineage Book. 165 vols. Harrisburg, PA: The Society, 1896-1921.
Genealogy E 202.5 .A15 L55
Kirkham, E. Kay. An Index to Some of the Family Records of the Southern States. Logan, UT: Everton Publishers, 1979.
Genealogy F 208 .K57 1979
Michigan State Library. Michigan Pioneer Records. 39 vols. Lansing: Library of Michigan, 1961-1996.
Michigan F 565 .M532
Norwalk, Jay. Johan Jost Zimmerman and Related Genealogies of Roth, Yaggy, Schlunegger, Bratton, Cochlin, Elliot, Campbell and McCullough. Newcastle, ME: Axion Press, 1998.
Genealogy CS 71 .Z73 1998
William, Ruth Smith. Bible Records of Early Edgecombe. Rocky Mount, NC: Dixie Letter Service, 1958.
Genealogy F 262 .E2 W514
Top of Page
Barnes, Robert William. Marriages and Deaths from the Maryland Gazette, 1727-1839. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1973.
Genealogy F 180 .B37
Coldham, Peter Wilson. King's Passengers to Maryland and Virginia. Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1997.
Genealogy F 180 .C64 1997
Mc Adams, Ednah. Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records: Abstracts of Early Wills, Deeds and Marriages. Lexington, KY: The Keystone Printery, 1929.
Genealogy F 450 .M13
Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal. Columbia, MO: Missouri State Genealogical Association, 1990-1995.
Genealogy Periodicals
Top of Page
Jackson, Ronald Vern. Federal Census Index, Maryland 1850 Slave Schedules. West Jordan, UT: Genealogical Services, 1996.
Genealogy F 180 .J3 1850b 1996
---. Iowa 1851 Census Index. North Salt Lake, UT: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1981.
Genealogy F 620 .J34 1981
---. South Dakota 1860 Mortality Schedule. Salt Lake City: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1981.
Genealogy F 656 .J332 1981
Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. Montgomery County, Virginia Tax Lists, A, B & C for the Year 1788. Springfield, VA: 1972.
Genealogy F 232 .M7 Y358 1972
Top of Page
African American Cemeteries Online
www.prairiebluff.com/aacemetery/
Bible Records Online
www.biblerecords.com/
Cyndi's List: Taxes
www.cyndislist.com/taxes.htm
Genealogical Research in the Maine State Archives
www.maine.gov/sos/arc/genealogy/
Illinois Statewide Vital Records
www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html
Native Genealogy, People of the Three Fires
www.rootsweb.com/~minatam/
Ohio Historical Society State Archives, Online Death Index, 1913-1937
www.ohiohistory.org/resource/statearc/
U.S. Vital Records By State
www.cyndislist.com/births.htm#States
Unraveling the 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules
www.webarchaeology.com/html/slavschd.htm
Washington Secretary of State, Digital Archives
www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/default.aspx
Washtenaw County Clerk/Register's Office. Search and Order Records
http://secure.ewashtenaw.org/ecommerce/vitalrecord/vrHome.do
West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Vital Research Records Search Selection
www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx
Wisconsin Historical Society, Pre-1907 Vital Records
www.wisconsinhistory.org/vitalrecords/
Top of Page
Printer Friendly
Text Version 
Email Page
