Searching collections:
The Million Record March Heads to the Finish Line
John Horn, Jr.'s Death Certificate, 1920
The Michigan death records collection here at Seeking Michigan, covering the years 1897 to 1920, is now largely complete. With the records added recently, there are now more than 960,000 certificates available for free at this site, meaning that the project is now 99% complete.
“A FASCINATING LIFE AND TERRIFIC STORY”
One particularly interesting death record is for John Horn, Jr. You wouldn’t know it from his death certificate, but Horn was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1874 “for his heroic exploits in rescuing men, women and children from drowning in the Detroit River.” According to his 14 April 1920 obituary in the Detroit News, Horn was credited with 135 rescues from the Detroit River – an amazing number and achievement. As a younger man following the Civil War, Horn also, interestingly, was an outfielder for the Detroit Base Ball Club, one of the very early baseball clubs here in Michigan.
From Horn’s death certificate, we can see he was born in Devonshire, England in 1843, died in Detroit on 12 April 1920 and was buried in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit. Both of Horn’s parents’ names are also revealed, including his mother’s maiden name. Not surprisingly, his Congressional Medal of Honor, life-saving accolades and early baseball career are not mentioned on the certificate; this example illustrates that there is so much more to someone’s life than just the certificate of his or her death. An early baseball career, saving 135 lives, the Congressional Medal of Honor – what a fascinating life and terrific story!
SEEKING MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS PROJECT IS 99% COMPLETE
So what years and counties are now here at Seeking Michigan? This digital project is based on the Library’s collection of microfilmed Michigan death records from 1897-1920. Of the 302 rolls of microfilm, only one has not yet been added to the site; this roll includes records from 1919 for Lenawee, Livingston, Luce, Mackinac, Macomb, Manistee, Marquette, Mason, Mecosta and Menominee Counties. Outside of these records, there are a few additional problematic records that will be added in the near future. Again, this death records collection is now 99% complete.
The list below details what records are currently available; [incomplete] means that 1919 Lenawee County is not yet fully loaded, not that the whole run of counties listed is incomplete.
1897-1918:
Alcona – Wexford
1919:
Alcona – Lenawee [incomplete]
Midland – Wexford
1920:
Alcona – Wexford
To summarize, the years 1897-1918 and 1920 are now complete for the entire state. 1919 is also complete, except for the 10 counties listed above. Detroit and Wayne County are complete for the entire run of 1897-1920. To link directly to the death records collection on Seeking Michigan, click here: Michigan Death Records, 1897-1920.
SPECIAL THANKS
A special thanks to our friend and baseball historian Peter Morris (http://www.petermorrisbooks.com) for sharing the story of John Horn, Jr. We appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and excitement for the Michigan death records digitization project and wish everyone success in their research!
If you go to http://seekingmichigan.org , then you should see a search box at the top of the page. Click “Advanced Search,” which is to the right of this search box. A menu should then pull down. “Death Records” are pre-selected, so if you want to search these, then you don’t have to worry about checking the box.
You should see two boxes – or “fields.” You can type a last name, first name, county or whatever you like in the first field. To the right of this, you’ll see a box with an arrow, and this box will be labeled “all fields.” Click on the arrow, and you’ll get another pull down menu. You can select “Last name,” “First name,” “County” or whatever describes the word you typed in the field.
From here, you can add more search terms, as needed. Go to the second box – or “field” – and repeat the process with your added term. If you want more fields, then you should be able to click on a line that reads, “Add more fields (This will be located below the previous fields.).
When you are done adding fields, click the “Search” button.
The web site – seekingmichigan.org does not display the complete death cert. anymore. The “thumbnail” appears but only the summary information is displayed.
The summary info does not display – the complete DOB, mother’s maiden name, mothers’s birthplace, etc.
WHY is this happening?? Has there been a policy change regarding this site??? This is the site -
http://cdm16317.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p129401coll7
Mr. Kerwin,
If you click on a thumbnail image, then a larger image – along with all of the summary information – should appear.