Benzie County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Benzie County

Guide to Benzie 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: Beulah Organized: March 30, 1869 Parent County(s): Leelanau Neighboring Counties Grand Traverse  • Leelanau  • Manistee  • Wexford See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for the Betsie River. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Benzie County Courthouse
448 Court Place
Beulah, MI 49617-0377
Phone: (231) 882-9671
Benzie County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1868, marriage and court records from 1869, divorce and probate records from 1870, naturalization records from 1871, and burial records from 1934.

Benzie 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
1868	1869	1868	1969	1854	1870	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

1863--Benzie County was created 27 February 1863 from Leelanau County. It was attached to Grand Traverse County prior to organization 30 March 1869. County seat: Beulah 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
Frankfort
Villages
Benzonia Beulah	Elberta Honor	Lake Ann Thompsonville
Native American communities
Grand Traverse Indian Reservation
Census-designated places
Bendon Crystal Downs Country Club Crystal Mountain	Hardwood Acres Maple Grove	Nessen City Pilgrim
Townships
Almira Benzonia Blaine Colfax	Crystal Lake Gilmore Homestead Inland	Joyfield Lake Platte Weldon
Ghost towns
Allyn Station (Pratts) Almira Aral Cedar Run Edgewater Gilmore Grant House (Homestead)	Homestead Inland Joyfield Kentville Melva Osborn Oviat	Platte Playtte River (Melva) Pratts Stormer Success (Ransom Creek) Wallin Weldon

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Benzie 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.	%±
1870	2,184	—
1880	3,433	57.2%
1890	5,237	52.5%
1900	9,685	84.9%
1910	10,638	9.8%
1920	6,947	−34.7%
1930	6,587	−5.2%
1940	7,800	18.4%
1950	8,306	6.5%
1960	7,834	−5.7%
1970	8,593	9.7%
1980	11,205	30.4%
1990	12,200	8.9%
2000	15,998	31.1%
2010	17,525	9.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1894 Michigan State Census, 1894 at FamilySearch - How to Use this CollectionThis is one of 17 counties that have a full, searchable census with links to images.
• 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
• 1850-1880 - Michigan Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection

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
  

Directories

• 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust, images – includes business directories for towns across the state
  

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 Benzie County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Benzie 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)
• 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust, images – includes business directories for towns across the state
  
• 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

Newspapers

• Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University

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 Probate Indexes and Records

• 1784-1980 Michigan Wills and Probate Records 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com($)
• 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

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 Benzie County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• 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.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

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

Museums

Benzie Area Historical Society
PO Box 185/ 6941 Traverse Avenue
Benzonia MI 49616
Phone: 231-882-5539
Facebook website

Societies

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

Benzie Area Historical Society
PO Box 185/ 6941 Traverse Avenue
Benzonia MI 49616
Phone: 231-882-5539
Facebook website

Websites

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

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

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.