What I've Been Up To Since Mid-December ...

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted much recently, although I've wanted to do so. (At the time of this writing, I have about 13 backlogged articles that I am trying to finish and post.) Of course, I haven't had much time because I'm a grad student.

One of the articles I wanted to post was a summary of the genealogy research that I did over Christmas break. Well, it wasn't very much, but while I was doing research for my thesis at the Library of Michigan and State Archives of Michigan, I was able to do a few quick look-ups on a couple of branches. At the Archives, I discovered that my Klippel ancestor had filed a Declaration of Intent (I'll write about this later.), and in the Library, I found the burial records for a few Saint Joseph county ancestors and relatives. Unfortunately, I did not copy the burial records down as a result of being too tired from doing research for my thesis earlier in the day. Since I know where to find the burial information, I'll make sure to copy the information on my next visit to the Library of Michigan.

So, as you can see, I did not do very much genealogical research on my time off from school. Most of the time I did research for my thesis, or read the textbooks for my upcoming classes, and since I've returned back to school, I am still researching and reading for my classes. I do not know how many posts I will be able to publish in the upcoming months because of my school work, but I do hope to post whenever I can. So, there maybe periods of time when this blog is quiet, but it will be due to being busy with school work rather than neglect. Stay tuned for future articles ...

Library of Michigan Update ...

I just happened to take a look at Brenda's post on the Library of Michigan, and it appears that the Library of Michigan isn't out of the woods yet. I guess I was a little too hopeful in my previous post. Does anyone have any additional reports on the status of the Library of Michigan?

Good News for the Library of Michigan?

I just received some news about the Library of Michigan from one of the yahoo genealogy groups I am member of, and looks like the Library of Michigan might be preserved. Of course, that is what it sounds like from this news article. Has anyone else heard the same thing?

Although I haven't posted very much on the threat to the Library of Michigan, I have paid attention to what was going on despite the fact that I have been busy with school work. If this news is correct, then we can breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, I'm being cautious as I do not know if this article is accurate. Does anyone know for sure?

Days Library of Michigan Will Be Closed ...

I just happened to notice a post on Brenda's blog about a few days where the Library of Michigan will be closed. You can read more about it here.

More Death Records Added to the Seeking Michigan Site!

I just happened to take a look at the Seeking Michigan site and discovered that more death records have been added. You can read more about the records added here. Anyhow, I'm off to see if I can find any more death records for people connected to my family. Enjoy!

Michigan Genealogy News: The Death Certificates and Other Things ...

I'm a little late in posting information about the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920, but some of the deaths are up. (About 250,000 are up, or 25% of the death certificates are online.) Of course, I have already found a few people, and I'll probably write about those findings next week.

Before I even got a chance to write about this post, Miriam already posted about the records, and found a way to look at some of the death records online through a different site. (Of course, I should mention that that site only has about 20,000 records online.) Harold has also written about the records, and he posted his thoughts on the search capabilities of the site.

Update, 3/25 at 11:30 a.m.: I have finally gotten around to writing this post, and I thought I should add that Harold has also posted an update to the search problem at the site.

Library of Michigan and State Archives News: Possible Closure?

I've just learned from a genealogy group on yahoo that there is some discussion about closing the Library of Michigan due to the budget. If true, this not good for genealogists. I'll try to find some more information, and post it here later if it is true.

Update at 1:12 p.m.: I've found a message from the State Librarian here. As for whether it is true or not that the Library might be closed, I'm still not completely sure.

Winter 2008 Edition of Michigan Genealogist Posted!

The Winter 2008 edition of the Michigan Genealogist has been posted! I learned about the posting from Miriam's post, and you can read the newsletter here.

Does Anyone Know?

Does anyone know when the Michigan 1897 to 1920 deaths will be posted? I read in the latest Michigan Genealogist Newsletter that the death records were supposed to be posted in October, but of course, that never happened. Has anyone heard or know anything about the project? Thanks.

Fall 2008 Edition of Michigan Genealogist Newsletter Is Available!

The fall 2008 edition of the Michigan Genealogist newsletter is now available on the Library of Michigan's website. You can read the newsletter here.

I Just Noticed This!

I just happened to take a look on Ancestry's genealogy blog, and I noticed that they are planning to post the Michigan death records from 1897 to 1920 soon. Of course, I am also curious if they will be charging people to access these records, since these records are supposed to be available on the Library of Michigan's website as well except that death records can be viewed for free on the library's website. I can't wait for these Michigan death records to go online as I have some ancestors and relatives who died in that time period.

I Paid A Visit to the State Archives and Library of Michigan Today ...

Yes, I went to the Library of Michigan and the State of Michigan Archives earlier today. I did not post anything to inform everyone that I was going there only because the visit was a bit unplanned. (I had planned to go to the Library on Friday, but my plans got changed. So, I ended up going today.) I went with my grandparents, and this time, we did not have to deal with road construction in Lansing. (When I visited before, in other years, there was always road construction that blocked the most direct route to get to the Michigan Historical Center, the building that houses the Library and archives.) Instead, I discovered that construction work is going on at the Michigan Historical Center.

I first went to the Archives, as that was what was open at the time. (The hours for the Library and Archives have been greatly reduced, so I decided to go to the Archives first.) While I was at the Archives, I decided to try to look for one of the naturalization records of my ancestors, but I was unsuccessful. I then decided to look in the social statistics schedule of the 1880 census to see if I could find someone that I could not find in the population schedule, but again, I was unsuccessful. Before I left the Archives, I asked one of the archivists if he knew where the 1904 state census was, and I learned that it had not survived. The archivist told me that during World War Two, the state census records were thrown out to make room, and that the surviving state censuses held in the Library came from the counties that happened to keep copies of the state censuses for their counties. So, the state censuses held by the Library appear to be the only state censuses that survived.

After the Archives closed at 1 p. m., I went to the Library of Michigan (in the same building), as the library opened at 1 p. m. At the Library, I started to search for my ancestors in the 1884 state census for Bay county, but I did not have any luck. (I'll just have to try again.) I then looked in the 1894 state census for Bay county, and I found them. Included in the household of my ancestors was a man that I had been trying to connect to me ancestor, and I finally had a relationship listed between him and my ancestor. The only problem was that he was listed as a son to the head of the household, which was impossible as the head was only seven years older than that man. (I write more about this later.) I then decided to look for an obituary of an ancestor, and I was able to find her death notice. I continued to look through old newspapers, but I did find any other information that would help. I last decided to look through the NARA index for naturalizations to see if I could find my ancestor. I had to figure out the soundex code for my ancestor, as that was how they were indexed, but after I w s able to figure it out, I was able to find my ancestor's index card. After I found that record, I had to leave as the Library closed at 5 p. m. So, after researching for about five hours, I was only able to find a little bit of information. Hopefully, the next time I visit, I will have some more success in my research.

A Library Tribute ...

Lori Thornton mentioned that this week is Library Appreciation Week in the United States, and as a way to commemorate this week with posts in tribute to libraries. I thought I would also write a post as a tribute to a library, and one library that I want to write in tribute is the Library of Michigan. Why? The Library of Michigan has a large number of books and records that are very essential and useful for genealogists and researchers, especially for doing Michigan research. (I should also state the the State Archives of Michigan is also a valuable repository for records. Both the library and archives are in the same building, the Michigan Historical Center.)

I like the Library of Michigan primarily because I can access records of different Michigan counties at the same time. I don't have to make multiple trips in the summer to different places for vital records only, or for the 1884 and 1894 state censuses. Plus, I can look up newspapers from different counties in the same place. It is more convenient for me. Of course, I should state that I can't view all the records I need. If I need to look for land or probate records, I need to go to the counties where those records are held. Also, I can't view marriages that occurred before 1867. I would have to go to the county where I believed the marriage occurred. (That is, if that county recorded marriages before 1867. Not all of the counties in Michigan that exist today, existed back in 1867.)

All in all, though, I like doing research at the Library of Michigan. Of course, I should state that I always go with family members, so I always someone to help me look up records, thereby covering more in the time I'm there.

Doing Research at the Library of Michigan

Although it has been a while since I have done research at the Library of Michigan, I thought I would write a post about my experiences since Jasia and Randy briefly blogged about the library.

Both the Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan are in the same building, but are on different sides of the building. Again, I will only be posting in this post on the library.

The library is on the left side (walking into the building) of the building and is on the second floor. After taking the elevator up to the second floor, one will notice that the floor is divided between two sides of bookshelves and in the center, a row of tables. On the side of the floor that has the elevator, there is an area where one can access the internet and genealogy databases from a computer. Near the computer work-stations is the librarian's reference desk. Past the reference desk is the microfilm room where one can view censuses and vital records. The other side of the floor also has a microfilm room, but that room holds the microfilms of newspapers. (I have only gone into the newspaper room once, so I am not as familiar with what newspapers are on microfilm.)

The microfilm room near the reference desk holds, among other records, vital records and censuses. The library holds these vital records:

• Marriages - 1867 (or 1868 for some counties) to 1925. I forget the exact year, but I believe after 1921, the marriages are not indexed.
• Births - Supposedly from 1867 to 1915. (I have only seen indexes for a few years, and I haven't found any actual images for the early births.
• Deaths - 1867 to 1920. After 1915, the deaths are not indexed. Please note that Detroit deaths (and births) are kept on separate films from the rest of Wayne County.
• Censuses - Federal and state. (Most of the state censuses are from the years 1885 and 1895.) You will only be able to view the population schedules for the federal censuses. If you want to view the other schedules of those censuses, you will have to go to the State Archives.

In addition to records on microfilm, the library also has information on Michigan and other states, and has city directories for Michigan cities.

Again, I must state that I am relying on my memory for this post. I could be wrong. To check for more up-to-date information, click here to go to the library's website.

Library of Michigan Program

I just noticed on Ancestry's blog that the Library of Michigan has set up a class for kids on how to do genealogy. You can read Ancestry's article here. I would also read the article that Ancestry's blog provides a link to, and you can read that article here.

The title of the post, though, is a bit misleading because it states "Michigan State Library." When I first read the title, I thought the library at Michigan State University (MSU) was hosting the program. As a person from Michigan, whenever I see the phrase "Michigan State," I think of the university first. I guess I'm just too conditioned to think that way.