Jackson County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Jackson County

Guide to Jackson 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: Jackson Organized: August 1, 1832 Parent County(s): Washtenaw Unorganized Territory Neighboring Counties Calhoun • Eaton • Hillsdale • Ingham • Lenawee • Livingston • Washtenaw See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

Andrew Jackson

County Information

Description

The county is named after President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). The county is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Jackson County Courthouse
312 S. Jackson Street
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: 517-788-4265
Jackson County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1830’s, divorce records from 1800’s and naturalization records.
Probate Court has probate records.
Register of Deeds has land records.
Clerk of the District Court has court records.

Jackson 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	1830s	1867	1830	1830	1834	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

1829--Jackson County was created 29 October 1829 from Washtenaw County and unorganized territory. it was attached to Washtenaw County prior to organization 1 August 1832. County seat: Jackson 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
Jackson
Villages
Brooklyn Cement City Concord	Grass Lake Hanover	Parma Springport
Unincorporated communities
Clark Lake Horton Leoni Liberty	Munith Norvell Pleasant Lake Pulaski	Rives Junction Sandstone Tompkins Waterloo
Census-designated places
Michigan Center Napoleon	Spring Arbor Vandercook Lake	Vineyard Lake
Townships
Blackman Charter Columbia Concord Grass Lake Charter Hanover Henrietta Leoni	Liberty Napoleon Norvell Parma Pulaski Rives Sandstone Charter	Spring Arbor Springport Summit Tompkins Waterloo

Resources

Bible Records

• Jackson County Family Bibles at MIGenWeb
• Michigan Bible Records and Genealogical Notes, Part 1 at Ancestry $

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Jackson County, Michigan online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave USGenWeb MIGenWeb Archives 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

Census Records

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

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Jackson

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Court Records

• 1836-1892 Miscellaneous Record, 1836-1892(*); Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1860-1879 Lis Pendens in Chancery, Vols. A-B, 1860-1879(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

• 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images
  
• 1887-1890 Jackson, Michigan, U.S., City Directories, 1887-1888, 1890 at Ancestry ($)
  
• 1918 Jackson County, Michigan, U.S., Rural Directory, 1918 at FamilySearch
  
• 1918-1923 Jackson County, Michigan, U.S., Rural Directory, 1918-1923 at Ancestry ($)
  
• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary
  

Emigration and Immigration

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

Funeral Homes

• Burden-Patience-Montgomery Funeral Home in Jackson.
• Desnoyer Funeral Home in Jackson.
• Eineder Funeral Homes in Brooklyn and Michigan Center.
• Hampton Funeral Homes in Hanover and Jackson.
• Lauer Family Funeral Homes in Jackson.
• Sherwood Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Grass Lake.
• The House of Johnson Funeral Home in Jackson.
• Vickers Springport Funeral Home in Springport.
• Watson Funeral Chapel in Jackson and Parma.

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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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.

• History of Jackson County, Michigan. Interstate Publishing Co., 1881. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

• De Land, Charles Victor. DeLand's history of Jackson County, Michigan : embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions, together with interesting reminiscences, Vol. 1. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Michigan (1790-1897)
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War
Civil War service men from Jackson 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 Jackson County.

- 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Company D

- 17th Regiment, Michigan Infantry, Companies F, G, K, and Unassigned

• 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
• 1832-1963 Probate Records, 1832-1901; Index 1832-1963(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1836-1892 Miscellaneous Record, 1836-1892(*); 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

• 1867-1917 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 Jackson 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

• Ann Arbor Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Jackson Michigan FamilySearch Center]
• Jonesville Michigan FamilySearch Center

• Manchester Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

Jackson County Genealogical Society and Library
211 W Ganson St, Ste 170
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: 517-768-9266
Email: jcgs.library@yahoo.com
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Jackson County Genealogical Society
211 W Ganson St, Ste 170
PO Box 188
Jackson, MI 49204
Phone: 517-768-9266
Email: jcgs.library@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Jackson County Historical Society
PO Box 1856
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: 517-740-1168
Email: jxnhistorical@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

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

• Jackson County, MI-Roots Michigan Roots is a member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Genealogy Trails Jackson County Michigan
• Jackson 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.