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!
Thom -
I don’t have an estimated date for the errors to be fixed. We are aware of the errors as you describe, and we certainly want the index to be the best it can be. Thank you for your patience.
We recognize everyone is anxious to see this project completed and wrapped up. In the meantime, researchers are encouraged to take advantage of the existing microfilm indexes from 1897-1914.
Thanks for your patience.
Sal –
As detailed above, we are aware of existing indexing problems/errors. Staff continues to work on them, we want the index to be as accurate as possible for researchers.
Contrary to your comments, the death records project is not finished. We continue to address some of the larger problems, such as the one mentioned in an earlier post by Thom.
I encourage you to check back with us. Thank you for using the site.
I am thrilled with all the death certificates that I have found for my genealogy research. I have been looking for Hugh McCurdy for a long time and I finally found it, but the info I was hoping for ( the names of his parents) was left as unknown. But for medical purposes, finding out the cause of death is good to know.what a great project.
will more years be put online at some point?
Marie -
This collection (1897-1920) is based on our current holdings available here at the Library of Michigan. We’re always looking for new additions to the site, but at this point, we’re only going up to 1920.
Thanks for your comments.
Hi, I found this site through the Library of Michigan about a week ago. I’ve been having quite fun discovering some unknowns of relatives of my husbands, as well as finding puzzle piece for my sis in law’s family!!
I have found that nothing is showing for some 1908 Benzie County records??? I was hoping to see if there was further info on the records.
Is the year missing or just not available. The other years are there.
Thanks in advance!!
There are no death records for Jackson County 1906. Why???
Are there any plans for someone to double check the indexers work for the death records? I realize there is a lot of information to index for this site and really do appreciate the time invested. However,after I finally did find the records I was looking for,it was by guess and by gosh. The names on two of the death records were nowhere near what they were indexed under. I was looking for Ruswinkle and I eventually found them under Ruscvenkle and Ruseomkel. In looking at the certificate copies,one was very clear and one is iffy. Was this perhaps done too quickly to meet an impossible deadline?
I look forward to your response. Thank you,and I really do appreciate this effort.
I really am thankful for this website. I was able to find the names of my great,great,great-grandparents! I had been at a dead end! I really wish the records up to 1930 were available online!
What a huge project this was, and it is a real gift to those of us searching for our ancestors! Thank you for all the effort this required. I cannot find any records for 1909 in Jackson County. Will these be posted soon?
To Karen Shepard comment on Dec 15th 2009,
You have probably found this by now , but there is a
death record for a “Christina Jeiger”, could this be what you are looking for?
I was stuck on my family tree until I found this wonderful project! Now I know so much more about my family and am so grateful the information was free. I have paid a lot of money to the City of Chicago blindly to find out information, sometimes correct-sometimes not. So I appreciate the work you all are doing with this website! Thank you so much…I wish all of my ancestors lived in Michigan!
Elizabeth Small is who I am looking for she is around 88 or 87 1923 or 1922 Ben Rice was her husband he is not living her daughter is Peggy I am lookimg to see what happen to Elizabeth please help!
This is just wonderful, as many of my Hendershot & Hendershott ancestors lived and/or died in Michigan. Already I’ve spotted several in this death certificate collection and it’s filling in missing information. What a special treat to be able to access these old death records for free. Thank you so much!
Thank you to all the men and women who spent countiless hours bringing this information to all of us. I’ve been to all but two of the fifty states, one of those two being Michigan. I’ll have to remedy that situation. Thanks to this site, I’ve located the death certificate for William Landmann, who died in 1915 in Detroit. He is my great great grandfather who settled in Sanilac County in 1881. Our family has been gone from Michigan for ninety-five years, and knew nothing about what happened to William. Thank you so very much.
First of all, thanks to all the people who worked on this project! What a wonderful resource for us!!
Second, I’m wondering if the database is actually complete for the years stated? I’m looking for a death record for 25 Sept 1900, Roxand Twp, Eaton Co. for Frank West. I am unable to find him using a variety of searches on the site (such as by date, name, place, etc.). I know his death was recorded as I’ve seen it on Family Search, but they do not have the original image and the info is incomplete without the original. I’d like the original image
Thanks!
Here is a un-named death certificate from that county and the same date you mention whose dad is Hubbard West and born 23 Nov 1855
http://seekingmichigan.org/u?/p129401coll7,776790
Hello.
I’m trying to find the death certificate of Rachel A. (Lewis) Rice, who died April 8, 1904 in Branch Co., Michigan. For some reason I’m having a hard time finding it even though it is during the time period that is supposed to be online. Thanks.
Thanks, Craig! That seems to be him, although I have no idea why his name would not be on the certificate. Yet another mystery to unlock.
I appreciate your good sleuthing skills!!
I am looking for Mary Schuldt died 31 Jan 1910 in Sterling,
Macomb, Michigan. I do not find any records for Sterling, Macomb county for 1910.
Kurt
There are at least 2 records for Sterling Twp for 1910 but not for her.
Here is a Mary Schuldt died 17 Jan 1907 in Sterling, Macomb, Michigan but obviously not what you asked
http://seekingmichigan.org/u?/p129401coll7,289301
This is a fantastic site. Thank you everyone. However, lately I have not been able to print any death record. I am not having difficulty printing from other sites. Has anyone else reported this problem?
Looking for information on George W. Van Etten. He was in the Civil War with his brother Samuel and son, Van Buren Van Etten. When he came out of the war, he was a blacksmith and lived in Ottawa county, Nunica, Mich. Was born in New york somewhere and we would like to find out where. New York state is somewhat lax in their records. Born July 28, 1821, died March 4, 1885. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for anything you can do.
Here is some info you probably already have:
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL5288316M/The_Van_Etten_family_of_America_from_1658_to_1969
http://ottawa.migenweb.net/genealogies/settlers/TUV/vanettenS.html
http://ottawa.migenweb.net/cemeteries/crockery/nunica2004.html
I am trying to get a legible copy of the death certificate of Francis X. Kinast. I found his record under the name, Frank Keimast. The copy is so light, I can barely read any of it. I’m wondering if it’s possible to get a better copy than what is available online. The transcribed date of death is March 16, 1899, but according to cemetery records, I think it should be May 16, 1899. He died in Cheboygan, Cheboygan County, Michigan. I can’t read the number on the certificate, but it might be 293 or 298. I am particularly interested in the maiden name of his mother. Thanks so much.
Kathy – I suggest contacting the Cheboygan County Clerk. They may have a more legible record.
Here’s the contact info.:
Cheboygan County Clerk
870 South Main Street
P.O. Box 70
Cheboygan, MI 49721
Phone: 231-627-8808
Fax: 231-627-8453
Kathy -
The death records here at Seeking Michigan are based on the Library’s microfilm collection. So if an online image is light or difficult to read, the microfilm set here will unfortunately be the same.
As Bob suggested, the Cheboygan County Clerk should be able to help you get a copy of the county record. In addition, those same county records are available via the LDS network of Family History Centers.
Thanks for your interest in the Seeking Michigan site.
A great new resource! Thank you very much.
Just a few hours of searching and I have new death records and dates/locales for two important ancestors, plus discovery of another child in a family I thought had but one.
FWIW, I am finding neither the IE nor the Firefox browser to work optimally with all of your useful features. So any additional testing and coding you can do to make more features browser-independent would be a big help to many of us.
Thanks again!
Any guesses to when this project will be finished? There are many missing records. Some counties have no entries for particular years.
Joyce –
We expect to finish up in the next few months, including correcting indexing errors and the bigger fixes you allude to.
A reminder to researchers that the complete set of these death records are available on microfilm, so if you don’t find what you are looking for here online, you may have better luck utilizing the films.
Thanks for your interest in the site, and have a happy holiday.
Kris,
Does the “finish up” that you expect to complete in the next few months include the spelling corrections that we have emailed to make the database more accurate and to make the search process easier for future researchers?
Joseph -
Yes, we will be working on the corrections that researchers have given us. Please keep in mind, though, that with a project of this size, there are a number of changes to be made – more than a few, as you can imagine.
Thanks for your interest in the site.
Kris,
The following record should be corrected: Jacoba Verrix, Bay County, Hampton Twp, date of birth Oct. 1850, date of death Feb 5, 1907 – Certificate #423. The correct spelling is VENNIX
For several days, icons have not been appearing in results lists and naturalization records have been omitted.
I can’t locate Andrew J. Melick’s death certificate. He died in Dewitt, Clinton, MI 30 April 1901. Can anyone help?
The town of Dewitt does not have it. Thanks so much.
Hello, I’ve been looking for 2 death dates/certificates. The first is for Sarah Jane Neal, who died in 1962 in Caro, Michigan. She war born in 1883 to Charles Mor & Harriet Doane. The second is for John wintermute Doan(e) who died 1890-1900. Born to Moses Doane & Mary Jane Goodwin. Thanks for any help
I am wondering if you have plans to expand on the Michigan Death Records beyond 1920? My grandmother, Lulu Laing, died in 1926. She died in Detroit, Mich but the Detroit Health Office does not have a record nor does the Michigan Office in Lansing. The index does not include her name but I note that the index is full of errors, so I am hoping that your research will turn up with a record. This is a wonderful project and I hope that you can continue with this work.
For a Wayne County death record, you can contact the Wayne County Court Clerk. The address is:
Wayne County Clerk
201 City-County Building Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: 313-224-6262
Fax: 313-224-5364
The Library of Michigan and the Archives of Michigan have no access to post-1920 death records. Because of this, there are no current plans to expand the database beyond 1920.
Pre-1897 Michigan death records are indexed at the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Gendis site. Here is the url: http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132–14297–,00.html
Piggybacking Bob’s comment above, although the GENDIS site is good and worthwhile to look at, it is not complete, and only an abstract of the original record.
Researchers should also be sure to look at the FamilySearch site, which in addition to actual images of Michigan state-level records (births, 1867-1902; marriages, 1867-1925; deaths, 1867-1897) has tons of Michigan content.
We’ve been making corrections to the index for the death records collection here. As you would expect, we have a lot of suggested corrections from researchers, but please note that any changes made will be based on the information on the certificate itself, not the information as it should be.
Also, there are several larger problems – missing counties, etc. – to contend with, so we appreciate your patience as we work to make this index and database the best that it can be. Happy searching!
This is a great resource!… I’ve been helped by numerous of these records, and for that, much thanks!
I need help on one of the records though… I can’t seem to find the death record here, no matter how creatively I try to search for it. I’m looking for:
Ephraim Schuyler Williams
b. 28 Sep 1835 in Saginaw, MI
d. 26 Mar 1911 in Detroit, Wayne County, MI
Seems certain 1911 records don’t show up still… were they all fixed yet?
Thanks for any help with this mystery…
Hello, looking for my Grandmother, Sofie Bates, died, in Cleveland Ohio, buried in a Detroit cemetery in 1967/68.
About age 80 when she died. Her husband, Ignatius Bates, died in 1943?, also buried with her at the same cemetery.
Trying to get information,(actually cemetery information) so I can visit them .
Thanks, Bob Bates Wooster,Ohio 44691
216-299-3588
More than two years ago this project was described as ‘largely complete’. Is there any news on when it will be finished? I am still waiting to find the death of a relative in the area of Detroit between 1910 and 1913.
A big chunk of the previously-missing death records will start appearing.
Alcona, Alger, Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Arenac, Baraga, Barry, Bay, Benzie, and Berrien from 1908. Ionia, Iosco, Iron, and Isabella from 1909.
More coming in the next few days, including the missing Detroit and Wayne County records from 1911.
Thanks for your patience, and happy searching!
All of the previously-missing death records have now been added – including Wayne & Macomb counties from 1911. To the best of my knowledge, this collection is now complete. Enjoy!
Please let us know if you find a record with a transcription error, we want the index to be the best it can be.
Thanks again for your patience, and enjoy the now-completed database.
Kris,
Thanks for the update! The records for Hartland, Livingston county still seem to be missing. An advanced search for Hartland in 1908 and 1910 will return results. But, the same search for 1909 will not return any results.
Thanks,
Brian Gorman
Brian –
Yes, you are correct. Several townships from 1909 Livingston County – including Hartland – are not found on the microfilms.
So, as the online records here at Seeking Michigan are based on the Library of Michigan’s death record microfilms, the database is complete in so far as the microfilms are.
I would encourage you to contact either the Michigan Vital Records Division or the County Clerk’s office in Howell; the complete set of deaths for that county would be in either location.
Thanks for your interest, good luck with your research.
Kris
I have found that names from Dickinson County are not complete. I cannot find my Great Grandfather who died in 1908.
It looks like there are missing records for Van Burean County. I have not been able to locate the death certificates for relatives in Almena Township, Van Burean County. There are several that I am looking for.
This is a great resource. Thank you for all of the wonderful work.
Hi there Kris, and to whom it may concern.
I have been on here now my 6th time and for the life of me I just can not figure this out. I am not computer savy, but I do think I have a reasonable command on use of websites. I really need your help please. I would really like to go through Kent County Michigan death records, so many of my family is from that area. I am looking for one person in particular. His name is James E. Stuart. I have him first listed in Nelson twsp, Kent County as early as 1880 census. He was born in Branch County in 1850 to Joseph P.and Sarah Stuart. He was widowed. He is last listed in 1900 Census Nelson twsp Kent County Michigan. I am assuming he died after that. I do find a James Stuart in the 1920 Census for Branch County age 70. The family use of names repeatedly among relatives was not unusual. Perhaps it is him. I would venture that James Stuart died in Kent County after 1900, and that the James Stewart mentioned in Branch Co. 1920 is another person, or realative. Can you please help me with this Kris. Thank you so much!
I don’t know how to use your seeking Michigan. I used to go to advanced search and search for my dead relatives. Now I can’t get in. Could you give me some instructions????? Margaret