Newaygo County, Michigan Genealogy

United States

Michigan

Newaygo County

Guide to Newaygo 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: White Cloud Organized: 27 January 1851 Parent County(s): Mackinac, Oceana Neighboring Counties Kent • Lake • Mason • Mecosta • Montcalm • Muskegon • Oceana • Osceola See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Newaygo County is believed to have been named for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819 or for an Algonquian word meaning "much water." The county is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Newaygo County Courthouse
1087 Newell St.
White Cloud, MI 49349-0293
Phone: 616-689-7235
Newaygo County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1867, marriage records from 1851 military records.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, naturalization records.
Probate Court has probate records.
Register of Deeds has land records.

Newaygo 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	1851	1867	1893	1840	1880	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--Newaygo County was created 1 April 1840 from Mackinac County and Oceana Counties. It was attached to Kent and Ottawa Counties prior to organization 27 January 1851. County seat: White Cloud 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
Fremont Grant	Newaygo	White Cloud
Villages
Hesperia
Unincorporated communities
Bitely Brunswick	Riverview	Woodland Park
Townships
Ashland Barton Beaver Big Prairie Bridgeton Brooks Croton Dayton	Denver Ensley Everett Garfield Goodwell Grant Home Lilley	Lincoln Merrill Monroe Norwich Sheridan Sherman Troy Wilcox

Resources

Bible Records

• Newaygo County Michigan Bible Records at Genealogy Trails

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Newaygo 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

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Directories

• 1863-1922 Michigan State Gazetteers and Business Directories at Hathi Trust Digital Library — images
  
• 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

• Beacon Cremation and Funeral Service in Hesperia.
• Crandell Funeral Home in Fremont and White Cloud.
• Fields-McKinley Funeral and Cremation Services in Grant and Newaygo.
• Kroeze-Wolffis Funeral Home, Inc. in Fremont.

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 Newaygo 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 Newaygo 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

• 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

• Digital Michigan Newspapers at Central Michigan University
• The Fremont Area District Library posts on their webpage a local records database.These records include anniversaries, births, marriages, military service and obituaries.The database appears to be extracted from local newspapers since the early 20th Century.
• 1800s-Current Michigan, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

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
• 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

• 1867-1902 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

• 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

• 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

Divorce

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

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Heritage Museum of Newaygo County and Research Center
12 Quarterline Road
PO Box 361
Newaygo, MI 49337
Phone: 231-652-5003
Email: museum@newaygocountyhistory.org
Website
Facebook

Terry Wantz Historical Research Center
30 E Main St
PO Box 2
Fremont, MI 49412
Phone: 231-335-2221
Email: whrc.info@gmail.com
Facebook

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

• Big Rapids Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Greenville Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Hart Michigan FamilySearch Center
• Mount Pleasant Michigan FamilySearch Center

• Hackley Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

Fremont Area District Library
Local History Room
104 E Main St
Fremont, MI 49412
Phone: 231-928-3480
Email: jroseberry@fremontlibrary.net
Website
Facebook

Grant Area District Library
Genealogy Room
122 S Elder Ave
Grant, MI 49327
Phone: 231-834-5713
Email: jhunt@grantlibrary.net
Website
Facebook

Hesperia Community Library
Local History and Genealogybr>80 S Division St
Hesperia, MI 49421
Phone: 231-854-5125
Email: hes@hesperialibrary.org
Website
Facebook

White Cloud Community Library
Local History and Genealogy
1038 E Wilcox Ave
PO Box 995
White Cloud, MI 49349
Phone: 231-689-6631, ext 106
Email: localhistory@whitecloudlibrary.net
Website
Facebook

Museums

Heritage Museum of Newaygo County
12 Quarterline Road
PO Box 361
Newaygo, MI 49337
Phone: 231-652-5003
Email: museum@newaygocountyhistory.org
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Heritage Museum of Newaygo County
12 Quarterline Road
PO Box 361
Newaygo, MI 49337
Phone: 231-652-5003
Email: museum@newaygocountyhistory.org
Website
Facebook

Western Michigan Genealogical Society
c/o Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library St NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-3268
Email: wmgs@wmgs.org
Website
Facebook

Websites

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

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Newaygo 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.