Mason County, Michigan Genealogy
Guide to Mason County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Resources
- 2.1 Bible Records
- 2.2 Biographies
- 2.3 Business, Commerce, and Occupations
- 2.4 Cemeteries
- 2.5 Census Records
- 2.6 Church Records
- 2.7 Court Records
- 2.8 Directories
- 2.9 Emigration and Immigration
- 2.10 Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
- 2.11 Funeral Homes
- 2.12 Genealogies
- 2.13 Guardianship
- 2.14 Land and Property Records
- 2.15 Local Histories
- 2.16 Maps and Gazetteers
- 2.17 Migration
- 2.18 Military Records
- 2.19 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 2.20 Newspapers
- 2.21 Obituaries
- 2.22 Other Records
- 2.23 Periodicals
- 2.24 Probate Records
- 2.25 School Records
- 2.26 Social Security Records
- 2.27 Tax Records
- 2.28 Vital Records
- 3 Research Facilities
- 4 Societies
- 5 Websites
- 6 Research Guides
- 7 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Stevens T. Mason, Governor of Michigan. The County is located in the west area of the state.[2]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Mason County Courthouse
304 E Ludington Avenue
Ludington, MI 49431
Phone: 231-843-8202
Fax: 231-843-1972
Mason County Website
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1867.
City Clerks have burial records.
Probate Court has probate records.
Register of Deeds has land records.[3]
Mason County, Michigan Record Dates[edit | edit source]
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.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1867 | 1867 | 1867 | 1867 | 1740 | 1855 | 1820 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county. |
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[6]
| Cities | ||
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
- Mason County History Companion - Database with over 25,000 residents of Mason County Cemeteries. Click "Cemetery Database" under "Navigation" on the right hand side of the page.
Census Records[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1850 | 93 | — |
| 1860 | 831 | 793.5% |
| 1870 | 3,263 | 292.7% |
| 1880 | 10,065 | 208.5% |
| 1890 | 16,385 | 62.8% |
| 1900 | 18,885 | 15.3% |
| 1910 | 21,832 | 15.6% |
| 1920 | 19,831 | −9.2% |
| 1930 | 18,756 | −5.4% |
| 1940 | 19,378 | 3.3% |
| 1950 | 20,474 | 5.7% |
| 1960 | 21,929 | 7.1% |
| 1970 | 22,612 | 3.1% |
| 1980 | 26,365 | 16.6% |
| 1990 | 25,537 | −3.1% |
| 2000 | 28,274 | 10.7% |
| 2010 | 28,705 | 1.5% |
| 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[edit | edit source]
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
- Mason County History Companion - List of Mason County Churches and Links
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Directories[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1929-1966 - Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
American Indian
- Mason County, Native American: Births, Deaths, and Marriage by Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society. FHL book 970.1 M381m WorldCat
- Mason County Indian Church Records: Registers of Baptisms and Marriages. manuscript located in the Rose Hawley Museum. FHL film 1306232WorldCat
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Guardianship[edit | edit source]
Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]
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 Mason County courthouse and where records are currently housed.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Mason 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.
Mason County History Companion - A listing of printed matter and published books pertaining to the Mason County Area.
Ludington Car Ferries, Goggle Books by by David K Petersen.
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Mason County History Companion - Mason County Maps
- Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Mason County History Companion - Military Related Links
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[edit | edit source]
- 1837-1993 - Michigan, Eastern and Western Districts, Naturalization Records, 1837-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Ludington Daily News; Archives from 1867 to 2007 are available on the Google News Archives. Google News Archive "L" Section
Ludington Daily News; Archives from 1930 to 1977 are available on newspapers.com [1]
Ludington Daily News; Archives from 1998 to 2013 are available on genealogybank.com [2]
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1820-2006 - Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
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
School Records[edit | edit source]
Social Security Records[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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.
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Listed below are archives in Mason County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
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
- Ludington Michigan Family History Center
416 E Melendy St
Ludington, MI 49431
Phone: 231-843-3358
Email: MI_Ludington@familyhistorymail.org
Website
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Mason County. For state-wide library facilities, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.
Museums[edit | edit source]
- Mason Area Historical Society and Museum
PO Box 44
200 E Oak Street
Mason, MI 48854
Phone (Museum): 517-676-5974
Website
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Mason County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Michigan Societies.
- Mason County Historical Society
1687 S. Lakeshore Drive
Ludington, MI 49431
Phone: 231-843-4808
Website - Mason Area Historical Society and Museum
PO Box 44
200 E Oak Street
Mason, MI 48854
Phone (Museum): 517-676-5974
Website
Websites[edit | edit source]
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- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- Mason County History Companion - Lots of information about the Mason County Michigan area and resources for researchers and history buffs.
- Mason 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.
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Michigan.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mason County, Michigan" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_County,_Michigan."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Michigan.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Michigan.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Michigan.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mason County, Michigan," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_County,_Michigan, accessed 01 November 2019.
