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!
I’m not finding any death records for Iosco County in 1909. In particular I am looking for Clarence Zimmeth died 1909 (born 1908) and George Zimmeth also born and died in 1909.
These are both sons of George Zimmeth.
When I couldn’t find a John Whorley death record in Ionia County for 1909 I checked the list of all deaths in Ionia County for 1909 and the search says No Matches. Am I doing something wrong or is there a glich in the system. I’ve gotten the same results when checking other years too.
Great site!!! Thanks so much.
I realize GENDIS in not by any means definitive, but I have had some success with it nonetheless so I wouldn’t discount that as a resource entirely. Although the records on this site may be loaded, I still am not getting ANY records from Macomb County for 1911. Am I searching wrong? I broadened the parameters as much as I could and put in the least amount of information possible and still no go.
Peggy – re: Andrew Schaupp – In the Detroit city directory for 1912, it states that he removed to Foley, Ala that year. However, the 1915 directory lists Anna as his widow, living with Chas B, Clara A, and Lawrence at 122 Hawthorne av in Detroit. Hope this helps.
BTW, city directories are available online from footnote.com at a pretty reasonable price.
Good luck.
Vanessa you were told a couple weeks ago that Macomb County records for 1911 aren’t visable yet. They are aware of this and it says in the blog entry there are some problematic records that will be added in the near future. As of yet they haven’t.
Sue – Thank you so very much for the information you found re:Andrew Schaupp in the 1912 Detroit city directory. Do you know what the word “removed” means? Have you seen this word used in a city directory before or was this a typo for “moved”?
Peggy – I believe that “removed” means removed from the directory – not deceased (it would be stated as such, along with the date, in the pre-1910 directories), and not a typo. In the Detroit city directories, there is a section for “Removals, Alterations, and Additions.” However, your g-grandfather was in the regular alphabetical listing.
Sue – Again, thank you for all of your help. This explains why I was unable to locate his death certificate in Michigan. He must have passed away in Alabama between 1912 and 1915. I am now directing my searches to Foley, Baldwin County, Alabama, but haven’t had any luck so far. Do you think I should invest in a subscription to Footnote.com to help me locate him in Alabama?
Peggy – At this time, Footnote has city directories for large cities only. If you are interested in checking it out, you can sign up for a free trial – see footnote.com for information.
looking for lucy gifford married to willard buckley
If possible, please let us know where we can send inquiries when we do not find large groups of records online (i.e. Macomb County 1911 deaths – none of those are listed). That way, I won’t be asking here since I was told that my inquiry was mentioned as not being updated although in checking back blogs I don’t show that Macomb County 1911 was problematic, only that another researcher had the same results I did. Thank you.
We are aware of the problems with 1911 thank you.
It doesn’t seem that some records are listed – Bay County for year 1908 doesn’t seem to be online (and probably some other years). Or, at least they aren’t searchable.
I am looking for my great grandfathers death certificate. His name is Paul Sovey. He was born in Canada but he died in Michigan. He lived in Bay City, Bay Co, MI and that is the last I can find on him. His son lived in Flint, Genesee Co, MI. and maybe he died there. Could you please help me find him?
Carol Sovey Baldwin search for you great grandfather on family search labs, I got three hits for him there. I used the dates of 1850 to 1940 and place – Michigan, United States. He was still living in 1920 according to the Federal Census.
Use this address to go directly to the search page: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start
Hope this helps and lots of luck
I am looking for the death certificate for a Edward James McCormack. My best information had it that he died in Feb 1899 and I assume near Atlanta in Montmorency County. I say Feb 1899 because his last daughter was born in Jul 1898 and his wife is listed as a widow in the 1900 census. He is supposedly buried at the family farm about 6 miles SW of Atlanta. I have used almost every variation that I can think and I have come up empty. Any suggestions?
What a wonderful site. I have filled in quite a few gaps. I really appreciate all the work that hasd been done. Is there a way to input corrections? I have at least two that I am aware of that need to be corrected. Also, when I search Plymouth, Wayne County for the year 1911 there seem to be no one listed. I find it hard to believe that no one died in Plymouth in 1911. I happen to have the burial records for Elmira Andrews and also an obit that state she died in Plymouth in 1911. Is there a possible gap for that year?
Ginger: 1911 seems to be problematic; I am having problems with Macomb County as well. I have been told they are aware of the problem, but haven’t heard any other updates. I just keep trying.
I want to thank you for this site. Because of it I have been able to find the death record of my mother’s little sister. No one else remembered her amoung my cousins etc.
Now I can add her to the family tree. She was born and lived one day. Listed as Infant no first name. At least she is now with the rest of the family on the Family Tree and not forgotten after all.
I have found others in the family here also, but this was the best!
S.M.
I THANK EACH OF ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS PROJECT !!! The first time I used the Michigan Death Records search I found ELEVEN family members on what have long remained dead-end lines in my research. Maiden names shown on some records have given me wings to fly over formerly impassable brick walls in my family tree. I love y’all forever for making these records accessible to us!
Thanks for this site!!!
You have made my genealogical search so much easier.
Thank you, Thank you. I have tried to find the death record of my husband’s great, great grandmother to no avail. I have check your site periodically. TODAY, I found it. The very first one to pop up. What excitement. Thank you. Ann
This has been a wonderful resource for genealogy, both my own and for the others I’ve been working on. One comment: As of today, the death records are all mixed up, no longer by county. There doesn’t seem to be any sequence for them. This just happened recently, I believe. Thanks again, though, for putting this on-line. Is Kent County complete through 1919? Pat
I was able to locate a death certificate by looking for the first name and date, but the last name was horrendously mis-transcribed. Is there a method for submitting corrections. I’ve found information on many family members and am finally able to tie up loose ends for several families. Thanks!
Send corrections to seekingmichigan@gmail.com
This has shaped up to be a great resource for those of us who gather our families together… I’ve been helped by numerous of these records, and for that, much thanks!
I may have a curveball for you though…I have a funeral record for my person in question, but can’t seem to find the death record here, no matter how creatively I try to search for it (it may be mis-transcribed and so won’t show up)
Anyway I’m looking for:
Ephraim Schuyler Williams
b. 28 Sep 1835 in Saginaw, MI
d. 25 Mar 1911 in Detroit, Wayne County, MI
buried in Elmwood Cemetery (allegedly)
(record from Detroit’s Wm. R. Hamilton funeral home – at that time William Hamilton was also connected with Elmwood Cemetery in some administrative capacity I believe)
Thanks for any help with this mystery…
These are really great. I figured HIPPA laws would prohibit such information from being on-line.
Why just records thru 1920? Is there some law that prohibits publishing of these if they are less than so many years old? Or is this the goal of the initial project and we can expect more records (after 1920) in the future?
Kate -
Currently, death record information that dates after 1930 can not be made public. That status will change at some point, but for now, the “cut off date” is 1930.
Why did we stop at 1920? The Library of Michigan holds microfilmed copies of death records, and the 1920 records are the last ones on the microfilm. Later information is not available to the Library at present, nor will it be so in the near future.
Original Michigan death records – for ALL years – are held by the Vital Records section for the Michigan Department of Community Health. A copy is also held by the clerk of the county in which the person in question died.
To order death records from the Department of Community Health, click here: http://www.vitalchek.com/content/sitemap_MI.aspx
To order copies from a county clerk, click this link to the Michigan County Clerks Directory: http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17449_18635_20736—,00.html
Thanks to all who made this site available and who worked to set it up. I have located death records for 40 people in my families, but then I had people in Detroit, Bay City and Calumet. I have not been able to locate 4 death records, but there could be many reasons for that.
Any word as to when Macomb County 1911 will be online? I wanted to wait before I wrote again to ask but have not seen it yet. Also looking for some records pre-1902 for Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. Will there be more updates or is what is here now going to be it? Thanks.
We’re still looking at the 1911 Macomb records, please be patient as we resolve that problem.
Pre-1902, but only back to 1897, for Houghton and Keweenaw Counties are already online here at Seeking Michigan. Earlier years can be found at FamiylSearch Labs: http://pilot.familysearch.org.
There will be another update in the future detailing the project’s status. Thanks for using the site.
As you know its not just Macomb County there are many counties missing in 1911, 1908 also.
I’m also finding 1909 in Iosco County is MIA.
Kris … MANY MANY THANKS for making this project a reality. Everyone involved deserves our gratitude.
In a July 30, 2009, post above, Jennifer noted the absence of Detroit/Wayne Co. death records for Jan., Feb. and March 1911. The death certificates begin in April of that year. When might we expect to see the missing months added to the system?
Also, does the collection include Detroit city rcords, or are the death records for Wayne County only?
Thanks for your valuable work!
I love this site and this collection. I’ve found 20+ records pertaining to my extended family.
Unfortunately, I can not find one great grandparent. I’ve been creative in how I search. Still nothing.
I’ve discovered that there is a gap in the records covering more than half of that year so his records must be lost in that black hole.
Barry County – 1897 – I see no records prior to the very end of August.
It just occurred to me to check the entire state for the year 1897 and this collection begins at the end of August 1897 and not at the beginning of the year.
Its too bad that the first eight months are not included. Maybe you should note that in the general information so people are aware of this limitation.
Julie -
This digital collection is based on our microfilm collection of Michigan death records. Our films for 1897 Barry County start in September. What’s online here is what we’ve got on film.
My understanding is that 1897 was a transitional year for the recording of Michigan death records, the movement from the ledger books to the certificates. The Michigan Returns of Death (ledger books) for 1867-1897 are available at the FamilySearch Labs site: http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start.
Folks looking for 1897 death records should be looking at both the FamilySearch page and here at Seeking Michigan. Some researchers have found 1897 records at one site and not the other, at both sites, or at neither.
Thanks for noticing that, and good luck!
Thom-
The microfilms that this collection is based on do contain Detroit/Wayne County for Jan-March 1911, but for whatever reason, they are not appearing here online. We’ll look into it, thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Thanks, Kris.
I have looked at FamilySearch also to no avail. Of course, as luck would have it this great grandfather has been a mystery man all throughout my years of research. It would have been great to have gleaned information from his death record. There are so many answers I could have received within that document so I’d hoped this collection would be a big break in the case.
I’ll just keep at it. Thanks again.
I did find so many of my people in the collection and I deeply appreciate it being made available online.
Looking for a death record for May 1906 in Kent County. Found only death records for that year from August (just a few)-December. I am using the drop down tabs in all different configurations but still no luck. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks though for a great website!!
I am looking for the death record of a Michael Negblom in 1918. I have a church record in Dickinson county that has a death date of August 10, 1918.
Hi,
I’ve found several death records for my family (thank you so much!) but am still looking for my g-grandmother, Christine Geiger, who died 1916 in Huron County. Any chance there are still some outstanding records?
Thanks,
Karen
Hello,
This is a terrific site! Thank you, Archives of Michigan!
Unfortunately, it appears that records for Detroit March-December 1913 aren’t showing up. There’s a specific individual I’m looking for who died in Detroit in March, 1913 and I cannot find him or any listings from March-December 1913 in Detroit.
Thank you,
Chris
Like Chris (Dec. 15) I am also looking for a death which occurred in Detroit in 1913. It appears that either the relevant records have not yet been uploaded, or they are in the database but inaccessible to searchers.
Chris & Alice -
Seeking Michigan is a collaboration of the Library of Michigan and the Archives of Michigan. The death records collection here is the Library’s contribution to the web site. Thank you for your comments.
It appears that the roll of microfilm covering 1913 Detroit deaths (Sept. – Dec.) was indexed incorrectly as 1915.
We will get the index corrected, but in the meantime, try using 1915 as the year of death, you will likely have more success.
Thanks for using Seeking Michigan, and good luck!
Chris & Alice: Part II
The two previous microfilms are also indexed incorrectly as 1915. Until we get the index corrected/updated, I would encourage you to use 1915 as your year of death when searching.
Thanks for using the site.
I am delighted to identify photograph #343 Eighth Michigan Infantry, is my great-great grandfather Pvt. Samuel H. Loveland. He enlisted in Company C, 8th Mich. Infantry, on August 30, 1862 and served for 3 yrs. He was wounded in action May 1864 in the Wilderness Campaign and discharged June 2, 1865. He was a furniture dealer in Pine River, Gratiot Co. at his death in 1901. His death cert. #661 says place of burial is Mt. Pleasant, but I have not been able to locate a cemetery where he is buried. Any help? Thanks, Carole
My grateful thanks to all that worked on this project. I have found a number of both paternal and maternal family, mostly having immigrated, and information on them is not always accurate or complete.
This site is a genealogist’s dream.
Once again, Thank You.
Earl Duthler
Amsterdam, Netherlands
formerly Grand Rapids, Michigan
Kris …
On Oct 30, 2009, I inquired about the absence of Detroit/Wayne Co. death records for January-March 1911. On Nov 2 you indicated that the records are part of the collection but for some reason are not appearing online. I checked today and they’re still MIA. When might we expect to see them?
Many thanks to the Library for your important contribution to Michigan genealogy.
Thom this database has never been finished, your missing records are among thousands of missing from the years 1909 and 1911 etc. There are whole counties missing in many years, this database needs to be gone through and re-checked but hasn’t been done. Who knows the records are probably there but just indexed wrong, whichever this database was never properly finished.