Cheboygan County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Cheboygan County

Guide to Cheboygan County, Michigan ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Michigan Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Cheboygan Organized: April 1, 1840 Parent County(s): Mackinac Neighboring Counties Charlevoix • Emmet • Mackinac • Montmorency • Otsego • Presque Isle See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for a Native American word first applied to the river. The county is located in the north area of the state.

County Courthouse

Cheboygan County Courthouse
870 South Main St.
P. O. Box 70
Cheboygan, MI 49721
Phone: (231) 627-8809
Cheboygan County Website

County Clerk has birth, marriage and death records from 1867, divorce and court records from 1884.
Register of Probate has probate records from 1854.
Register of Deeds has land records from 1854.

Cheboygan 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 Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1867	1867	1884	1854	1854	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

1840--Cheboygan County was created 1 April 1840 from Mackinac County. It was attached to Mackinac County prior to ogranization 29 January 1853. County seat: Cheboygan Michigan Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Michigan Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Michigan county boundary changes County Evolution In Michigan, 1790-1897, by Richard W. Welch. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Education, 1972. Online at: FamilySearch Digital 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
Cheboygan
Villages
Mackinaw City	Wolverine
Unincorporated communities
Afton Aloha Alverno Birchwood Burt Lake Dow Elmhurst Fingerboard Corner Freedom	Geyersville Giauque Beach Grand View Haakwood Long Point Mullett Lake Mullett Lake Woods Orchard Beach Point Landing	Pries Landing Riggsville Rondo Royal Oak Silver Beach Topinabee Tower Veery Point Wildwood
Census-designated places
Indian River
Townships
Aloha Beaugrand Benton Burt Ellis Forest Grant	Hebron Inverness Koehler Mackinaw Mentor Mullett	Munro Nunda Tuscarora Walker Waverly Wilmot

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Cheboygan County, Michigan online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave USGenWeb Tombstone Project MIInterment BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch 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 & images

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	517	—
1870	2,196	324.8%
1880	6,524	197.1%
1890	11,986	83.7%
1900	15,516	29.5%
1910	17,872	15.2%
1920	13,991	−21.7%
1930	11,502	−17.8%
1940	13,644	18.6%
1950	13,731	0.6%
1960	14,550	6.0%
1970	16,573	13.9%
1980	20,649	24.6%
1990	21,398	3.6%
2000	26,448	23.6%
2010	26,152	−1.1%
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

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 Digital Library — images

Emigration and Immigration

• 1929-1966 Michigan, Crew Lists for various ports, 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Funeral Homes

• Stone Funeral Home, Inc. in Cheboygan and Indian River.

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 Cheboygan County courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Cheboygan 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: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War
Civil War service men from Cheboygan County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Cheboygan County.

• 1861-1865 Record of Service of the Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War 1861-1865 at Michiganology — images, multiple volumes organized alphabetically by surname
• 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

• 1800s-Current Michigan, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University

Obituaries

• 1820-2006 Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1850-Onward Michigan Voter Registrations at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

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, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980 at Ancestry.com ($) — index & images
• 1797-1973 Michigan Probate Records 1797-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
• 1858-1915 Probate Calendar, 1858-1915; Probate Packets, 1858-1910(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1871-1902 Probate of Wills, Vol. M, 1871-1902(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1895-1934 Miscellaneous Deed Records, 1895-1934(*); Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

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.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

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

• 1867-1931 Birth records, 1867-1931 - Vol. 4 including 1906-1931 is available but not yet indexed.
• 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
• 1828-Onward Michigan Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 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; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
• 1867-1952 Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index & images
• 1897-1952 Michigan Death Records at Michiganology - index & images, organized by county and then last name.

Divorce

• 1897-1952 Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 at Ancestry ($) — index & images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Cheboygan County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Michigan Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

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

• FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Alpena Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Gaylord Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Petoskey Michigan FamilySearch Center

• Roscommon County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

The History Center of Cheboygan County
Ellis Olson Research Library
427 Court St
PO Box 5005
Cheboygan, MI 49721-5005
Phone: 231-627-9597
Email: cheboyganmuseum@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Museums

The History Center of Cheboygan County
427 Court St
PO Box 5005
Cheboygan, MI 49721-5005
Phone: 231-627-9597
Email: cheboyganmuseum@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Cheboygan County Genealogical Society
PO Box 51
Cheboygan, MI 49721
Email: lahaie.fhistory@yahoo.com
Website

History Center of Cheboygan County
PO Box 5005
Cheboygan, MI 49721-5005
Phone: 231-627-9597
Email: cheboyganmuseum@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

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

• The Cheboygan County MIGenWeb Project, an member of The MIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• Cheboygan County MI Genealogy (Michigan Genealogy)
• 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.