Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
The creativity needed to research in Michigan pre-1860 is unimaginable. First I'll fill you in on why things require creativity, then give you some sense of direction to follow.
First, at the beginning of the 19th century, Michigan was part of the Northwest Territory. It had a representative in Congress...but only one. Because it was only a "territory" they didn't need to do a census to show the number of "free white males". The reason being that the original purpose of the census was to determine the number of voters in a state in order to determine the number of congressional reps apportioned to that state. Since the NW Territory automatically got one...and only one...Congressional rep, there wasn't really a need to county everyone. And remember, only free white men had the vote back then, so women and children didn't really need to be enumerated.
So then as the 1818-1830 era hits, the NW Territory started losing limbs as states like Ohio were created. Each prospective state had to be enumerated by the US Census Bureau for each of the three consecutive years before admission to statehood. That kept the numbers honest and cut down on the possibility of the new state being under-represented. The good news there is that the census records still exist. The bad news is that they weren't save in their entirety. A big chunk of the Michigan census records is missing, particularly for the St. Clair-Lapeer-Saginaw region. But if you want them, the LDS libraries have them.
Anyone living in Michigan at the time of admission to the Union is quite possibly listed in one of two places...the first being the recorded history of each county (the Library of Michigan can get the complete list for you online), the other place being the Pioneer Society of Michigan...and those records (which include biographies and proven histories submitted by applicants to the society...much like the DAR) are available next door to the LOM at the Archives of Michigan.
Transportation also plays a key role in your search. The earlier he was here, the easier to find him. The reason, simply enough, is that there weren't many towns on the interior of the state, so the majority of the population was along the coastal waters and main rivers of the state. I see in the One World Tree that they are both listed as dying in Kalamazoo. This is even better...it's very rural in that period. So that means there's not a lot of competition with those names in the local records.
Probably your best resource, though, are the little known Censuses of Michigan. These aren't federal censuses, but rather were done mid-decade (year 4-5 of each decade, such as 1894). These held more information because the young state needed to know who its residents were and what their demographics were. That helped plan schools, etc. and handle the quickly changing population with all of the emigration occuring at that time. These are on file at most major libraries in the state, most FHC's in the state, and the FHCs outside the state can order them for you. Most major research libraries will also have bound copies of the census for you. You can check with your local library to see if they can order a copy for you through interlibrary loan.
Researching Ohio records from 1820-1880 is also very easy. The best part there is that many of the counties have put their county histories online so that you can read through them to learn who lived there at various points and what was happening to draw new people to the area. That would give you a better idea of what moved them from one place to another.
Next, there was a very small "war" that was waged, but it has an impact on your search because of the years. It was basically dubbed the "Ohio Strip War" (even though only one person died...and that because he got lost in the woods) and the gist is that the city of Toledo OH and the strip of land extending from the Michigan-Indiana border all the way east to Lake Erie was being claimed by both Michigan and Ohio. It's the reason that the southern border of Michigan makes as 12 mile jog at the tri-state border. For most of us it's just a fun piece of trivia. But if your family was living in the strip when Alber was born, they may be found in both Michigan and Ohio records. It also means they would have started off thinking they were in Michigan, but the US Congress changed that in the 1830s. For Michigan it meant giving up claim to the Toledo strip, but getting the entire UP from Wisconsin (much to the chagrin of most UPers even today).
Another major point of upheaval that would impact your search is the War of 1812. Since I see no proof of where William was born, it's possible that he was brought out here as a soldier and mustered out and stayed here. It also means he may have been a soldier from a state that couldn't afford to pay him after the war so he was given a land grant, instead, to relocate to Indiana or Michigan (very common at the time). Searches of land records and US veteran pension records would be a help at that point.
If he came here from another country, it's going to be impossible to find anything on him if he landed before 1820. The best you might get is a later census reference to the country of birth, but passenger records are nearly non-existent for the period of 1790-1820.
On the bright side, there are scarce populations to search. On the dim side, there were a lot of illerate recordkeepers who are awesome at slaughtering names...and that makes searches more difficult.
I know you mentioned Missaukee county, and here's a link to the Rootsweb/MIGenWeb page for the county http://www.mifamilyhistory.org/missaukee/. Donna Hoff-Grambau is an excellent genealogist and can probably introduce you to other researchers in the area who might be able to help. But given the info that William/Nicena died in Kalamazoo county that's listed on FamilySearch.org, you might also check the Kal County site here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikalama/
Anyway, that's a pretty decent overview. The next level of research requires a better idea of where they were living. You'd check with local churches for records, go to published biographies for their children or grandchildren that might mention the pioneer ancestors (like these 2), hit up special interest groups like the DAR/SAR, etc. If you need any guidance along the way, just drop a note.
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:
|
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/mi/messages/29364.html | ||
 |
Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|