MI Census Good News, Bad News

The good news is that Seeking Michigan has completed it's project to post images of the Michigan 1894 census on the website. In addition, they have included images for the 1884 Michigan census. The bad news is that not all counties are represented (insert sigh of disappointment here). The story goes that the missing records were either donated during a WWII paper drive or perished in a 1951 fire.

The counties and years covered by these records are as follows:

Baraga (1884), Barry (1884, 1894), Bay (1884, 1894), Benzie (1884), Gratiot (1894),

Hillsdale (1884, 1894), Ingham (1884, 1894), Iosco (1894), Jackson (1884, 1894), 

Kalamazoo (1884, Pavilion-Wakeshma twps only; 1894), Kent (1884, 1894), Keweenaw (1884), 

Lake (1884), Lapeer (1884, 1894), Lenawee (1884, 1894), Livingston (1894), Menominee (1884, 1894), 

Midland (1894), Montcalm (1884, 1894), Muskegon (1884, 1894), Newaygo (1884, 1894), 

Ottawa (1884, 1894), Roscommon (1884), Sanilac (1884, 1894), St. Clair (1884, 1894), 

St. Joseph (1884, 1894), Washtenaw (1884, 1894), Wayne (1884, 1894).

To start searching go to the Seeking Michigan website and choose “Advanced Search” at the upper right of the screen. Be sure to de-select “Death Records.” Keep in mind that the search algorithm only finds exact matches. To work around this you can type in multiple spellings and select “or” from the drop-down menu. The download feature now works nicely. Good luck finding ancestors and answers. And don't forget to check in Jackson county if you have any lawbreakers in your past.