Michigan State Census, 1827-1894
How do I search this collection?
You can search by subject name, county, and date created.
Subject name
You can search for individuals listed on the census via the subject name field. We recommend searching names by entering them as “Last name, First name”.
If the name you are searching for may have alternate spellings or if you are unsure of the correct spelling, use a question mark (?) at the exact spot where you are unsure of the spelling. The search results will include all results with all letters available for that single spot. For example, using “sm?the” would return results for both smithe and smythe.
If you want results for different variations of a name, use an asterisk (*) at the end of the term where spelling starts to vary. This type of search is called a truncation search. The results will include all results with the exact spelling up to the asterisk (*), and results with any additional letters after the exact spelling. For example, searching for “Smi*” will return results for Smith, Smithe, Smythe, and other words that begin with “Smi”.
County
You can search for records by county. Fill in the county name, such as “Barry” in the field. You do not need to add the word “county” to the field.
Date Created
You can search for a census year using the “date created” field. Whether searching for a year or a day, select the day before and after your timeframe. For example, if searching for 1884, select 12/31/1883 and 01/01/1885.
What information can be found in this collection
The information collected varies by year and location, but only male heads of households and males over the age of 21 were listed by name. Other household members may have been counted, but not named.
Michigan Censuses from 1827 to 1874
The information collected varies by year and location, but only male heads of households and males over the age of 21 were listed by name. Other household members may have been counted, but not named.
Michigan Censuses from 1884 and 1894
- Name
- Age
- Color (Race)
- Relationship to the head of the household
- Marital status
- Month and place of marriage (if married during that census year)
- Place of birth
- Parents’ places of birth
- Children born to a family during census year
- Occupation
- Health status
- Education
- Number of years living in Michigan (1884, 1894)
- Number of years living in the United States (1894)
How can I browse this collection?
This collection is organized first by the specific state census year. Once in a year, material is organized by county, then township, then image number.
If a search of this collection does not turn up results, we suggest you browse to a county or township within a specific state census and type the name into the “Search within” field and search.
What is the story behind this collection?
The state of Michigan conducted its own regular and special censuses at various times throughout history. This collection of state census records is incomplete because many of the documents have been lost over time. It contains records from the following counties and years:
- Baraga (1884)
- Barry (1884, 1894)
- Bay (1884, 1894)
- Benzie (1884)
- Branch (1857, 1874)
- Clinton (1864)
- Eaton (1845, 1854, 1864, 1874)
- Gratiot (1894)
- Hillsdale (1884, 1894)
- Houghton (1864, 1874)
- Ingham (1884, 1894)
- Iosco (1894)
- Jackson (1884, 1894)
- Kalamazoo (1884, 1894)
- Kent (1884, 1894)
- Keweenaw (1884)
- Lake (1884)
- Lapeer (1884, 1894)
- Lenawee (1845, 1884, 1894)
- Livingston (1894)
- Kalamazoo (1874)
- 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 (1845, 1884, 1894)
- Sanilac (1864)
- Washtenaw (1827, 1845, 1854, 1884, 1894)
- Wayne (1884, excluding Detroit)
Two stories are told about why the state’s copies of the schedules no longer exist—they were either donated to a paper drive during World War II or destroyed in a 1951 state office building fire. For a detailed description of Michigan’s censuses and how they were conducted, see LeRoy Barnett’s “Michigan Census Schedules and Records” in Family Trails, volume 5.
The Archives of Michigan would like to thank the Library of Michigan and the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library for loaning us microfilm for scanning.
