This document provides resources for researching family history, including local collections, libraries, government records offices, databases, and online resources. It lists local history rooms and societies in West Michigan, as well as the Grand Rapids Public Library, Western Michigan University Archives, Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library, and the Michigan Library and Historical Center for conducting research. Websites like Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, Castle Garden, Ellis Island, FamilySearch, Find-A-Grave, Rootsweb, and Seeking Michigan are recommended for accessing records and conducting genealogical searches online. Contact information and search capabilities are provided for various county clerk offices for vital records.

1. Local Collections Local Societies and Historical
Grand Rapids Public Library
Organizations
http://www.hsmichigan.org/
societies.php
Researching Your
Family’s History!
111 Library Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
616-988-5400 KDL Branches with Local
http://www.grpl.org History rooms
Family History Center
Caledonia Cascade
2780 Leonard St NE
East Grand Rapids Gaines
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Kentwood Rockford
616-949-3343
Wyoming
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo St. Local Government Sources
Lansing, MI 48909
Library: 517-373-1580 Kent County Clerk’s Office
Archives: 517-373-1408 County Administration Building
http://www.michigan.gov/ 300 Monroe Avenue NW
michiganhistory Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2288 family, here are examples of documents
616-632-7640 Getting Started
to look for throughout the process:
Western Michigan University
County Clerk Vital Records Search: As you get started, begin with yourself
Archives and Regional History Collect.  Photographs
https://www.accesskent.com/ and things you already know. Look
Room 111, East Hall, East Campus  Vital Records
VitalRecords/ around your house for documents that
Kalamazoo, MI 49008  Birth Certificate
give names or dates. Record as much
269-387-8490  Death Certificate
Ottawa County Clerk’s Office information as you can onto a five-
http://www.wmich.edu/library/  Marriage Certificate
Ottawa County Administrative Offices generation family tree chart. (You can
archives/  Obituaries
12220 Fillmore Street, Room 130 download a free chart from the internet:
www.familytreemagazine.com/info/  Gravestone/Cemetery records
Central Michigan University P.O. Box 296
West Olive, MI 49460 basicforms.)
Clarke Historical Library After writing down what you know, ask
Charles V. Park Library Building 616-994-4531 relatives to fill in any information that
As you are compiling together
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 might be missing.
information about yourself and your
989-774-3352 County Clerk Vital Records Search:
http://clarke.cmich.edu/ https://www.miottawa.org/
VitalRecords/
AO 8-18-11

2. KDL Databases Castle Garden Find-A-Grave Local/State Resources
*accessible through www.kdl.org. http://www.castlegarden.org http://www.findagrave.com
This free site offers access to an Find-A-Grave is a resource for locating the Western Michigan Genealogical Society
Ancestry Library Edition extraordinary database of information on final resting place of family, friends, and
This collection contains more than 4,000 http://www.wmgs.org
11 million immigrants that passed through 'famous' individuals. With millions of names Information about membership, meetings,
databases and 2 billion names. It includes Castle Garden from 1820 through 1892, and photos, it serves as an invaluable tool
coverage of the U.S. and the U.K., and publications as well as free research
the year Ellis Island opened. Currently for genealogists and family history buffs. databases along with other services such
including census, vital, church, court, and the site hosts 11 million records and is in Individual memorials can include photos,
immigration records, as well as record as ordering obituaries from the Society.
the process of completing digitizing the biographies and dates. Find-A-Grave can
collections from Canada and other areas. original ship manifests. be searched by individual names or by
*Access to Ancestry Library Edition is not Common Corners
browsing geographical areas. http://www.commoncorners.com
available from home. Ellis Island Website for local history and/or
http://www.ellisisland.org Linkpendium genealogical organizations in the eight
Biography and Genealogy Master Index This website offers free access to Ellis http://www.linkpendium.com
Indexes reference sources and important county area including Allegan, Barry,
Island/Port of New York Records This immensely useful site is a catalog of Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon,
retrospective works of individuals, both immigration records from 1892 through links to United States genealogy
living and deceased, from every field of Newaygo and Ottawa counties.
1924. Includes digitized copies of ship information, records, pages and sources, all
activity and from all areas of the world. manifests as well as images of the ships organized by geography. You can search by Genealogical Research at the Library of
that entered the Port of New York. a surname, and get links within every state, Michigan
Heritage Quest or you can start your search in a specific
Include searchable census images from http://www.michigan.gov/familyhistory
FamilySearch.org state or specific county. Links will lead you Find information about conducting
1790 to 1930; 25,000 family and local http://www.familysearch.org to obituaries, cemetery lists, wills,
history books; Revolutionary War records; genealogy research and using the Library
FamilySearch.org is a website that offers biographies and much more. Please note: and Historical Center, as well as links to
Freedman’s Bank Records; and the free access to digital images of these links will refer you to sites that are
Periodical Source Index (PERSI) covering online research tools.
genealogical records. It includes free as well as some that require a paid
over 6,500 genealogical periodicals since searchable digital indexes of scanned subscription.
1800. Seeking Michigan
images of historical documents based on http://seekingmichigan.org
the microfilm collection of the Family Rootsweb Resource created by the Library of
Online Resources History Library. FamilySearch.org can be http://www.rootsweb.com Michigan and Archives of Michigan that
searched by individual names or by Operated by Ancestry.com, Rootsweb includes historical and genealogical
Cyndi’s List browsing geographical areas across the contains many useful articles, links, tools, materials related to the state of Michigan.
http://www.cyndislist.com/ world. online family trees, and more for those who Seeking Michigan features digitized
Cyndi's List is an index to genealogical are just beginning their genealogy copies of the Library of Michigan’s
resources on the Internet and a great place research. It also contains message boards as collection of Michigan death certificates
to start for all aspects of genealogical well as a collection of mailing lists for that consists of nearly 1 million records
research. communicating with other researchers. from 1897 to 1920.