The scope of this website is not to teach the basic fundamentals of genealogy research.  There are many wonderful books as well as websites available to assist the new researcher. If you are new to the hobby of genealogy, I recommend that you visit your favorite bookstore to pick up a copy of a basic guide to genealogy. There are many on the market.  One of my favorites is "Unpuzzling Your Past - A Basic Guide to Genealogy" by Emily Anne Croom.

Now that you have done some homework and have a basic understanding of genealogy research, let's get started!

Remember to work BACKWARDS in time. Start with what you know, and work backwards toward what you don’t know.

No genealogy guide would be complete without a word or two about "source documentation". Each and every fact that you include in your research MUST have source documentation. How do you know this date or place of birth? How do you know this date and place of marriage? How do you know this place and date of death?

It is a good idea to get in the habit of documenting the sources of the information in your family tree. Documentation allows those who look at your family tree, most likely your relatives and eventually your descendants, to verify that the information is correct. Unless you cite the sources of your information, it is very difficult to know whether the information in your family tree is reliable or not. In addition, citing your sources can be a great time-saver if you need to double-check a fact several years from now. Without documentation of your sources, you have nothing more than a collection of names and dates.

A final word about genealogy in general ...... Take the time to talk to your older relatives. Your grandparents, great aunts and uncles have wonderful stories to tell. Take along a tape recorder and get this information down. Someday, it will be too late and the stories will be lost forever!

When doing research in Ionia County, one must remember that the county was not formed until 1833.  Before that time, area residents were governed by Kent County. This is why we often find people from the Lowell area with records in both Ionia County and Kent County.  Records for the people of the "Dexter Settlement" might be found in Kent County. It is also helpful to know that Montcalm County was originally a part of Ionia County. Ionia County is bordered on the north by Montcalm County, on the south by Barry and Eaton Counties, on the east by Clinton County and on the west by Kent County.

If you are having problems locating birth, marriages, deaths or burials, be sure to check out these other counties.

In order to research any given family line, one must understand the important historical events that influenced the movement of families from one given locality to another. Following you will find a "time-line" of sorts with reference to the important events of Ionia County and of the state of Michigan.

A word about obtaining any vital record ..... It is always easier to attempt to obtain a record from the county in which the event occurred. Begin your search at the local level and work toward the regional level. You will find that the officers at the county level are much easier to work with than those at the higher levels. And, you will often times find that records are less expensive to obtain. Remember to ask the court officer if a record is available as a "record copy" or a "genealogical copy". These copies, when available, are much less expensive than "certified copies".

Vital records are the single most important group of records for any genealogists. Unfortunately, our country and state methods of recording births has been sketchy at best until this century. One must at times, use other records in determining a date of birth. Bible records, marriage records, death records, obituaries, census records and tombstone inscriptions may all be used to assist you in determining an individual’s date of birth.

In determining the accuracy of any vital record, you must keep in mind that any record has room for inaccuracies. You can assume that most information on a birth record is correct as it is completed at the time of birth by either one of the parents or the attending physician/midwife. The name of the biological father may be intentionally falsified. In the case of adoption, a re-issued birth certificate lists the adoptive parents as though they were the biological parents.

If you are having problems determining your ancestor’s date of death, don’t forget to check family bibles, newspaper obituaries, funeral homes and the death records of nearby counties. A death record, when located, is a very valuable piece of information for a genealogist. Many times, in addition to the individual’s date of death, you might find: his or her date of birth, age at the time of death, place of birth, occupation, cause of death, parent’s names, and place of burial. Don’t overlook the information about who provided the information for the death certificate. Often times this is a relative.

In determining the accuracy of any vital record, you must keep in mind that any record has room for inaccuracies. In a death certificate, the items relating to the death are usually accurate as they are filled out at the time of death. The other items such as date of birth, parents names and birthplaces may only be a guess by the person providing the information for the certificate. If the information is provided by a child, most of the information will be accurate. But, if the information is filled out by a grandchild, or distant relative, or even a physician, the information is even less likely to be accurate.

Marriage records contain a variety of genealogical information. And, each of the marriage document formats, marriage registers, marriage returns and marriage certificates contain different amounts of information. Marriage documents may contain some or all of the following; the name of the groom, the name of the bride; the ages of both parties; the residences of both parties, names of witnesses (often times relatives); name of the performing official ( this might be a clue to the parties religion); and the place the marriage took place. It is sometimes helpful to remember that earlier marriages usually took place in the home town of the bride.

Wills and Probate records are an excellent and often overlooked source of genealogical information. Probate records are important because of the evidence that they provide about family relationships. A Probate record is initiated at the time of an individuals death. The court action is necessary to establish the legality of a will. Probate records will usually include a copy of any will written by the decedent. Originally the term "probate" referred to the court process that proved that a given will and testament was indeed the individuals "last" will and testament. The term "will" , in earlier years was used to mean the provision of dispersing real property, where as the term "testament" referred to the dispersal of personal property. The two terms are regularly used together in later years.

When a person dies "testate", the executor of the will presents the will to the court, the witnesses of the will are called to testify to their signatures and that the decedent or "testator" was of sound mind when the will was signed. This is called "proving a will". You will see reference in the probate courts to dates that a will was "Proved". You will also see indexes of "testators". These testators are the decedents.

When a person dies "intestate", an interested person, usually the surviving spouse or next of kin, petitions the court to settle the estate.

Here are some things to look for and some hints to remember when reviewing a probate file.

The Will - look for relationships - the names of children and spouse - you may even find the married names of daughters. You have found a real gold mine when the will reads something to the effect of "to my eldest daughter, Mary, wife of John Smith of this town".

Petition for probate or application for letters of administration - may give the decedents date and place of death, names and relationship of surviving spouse and children

Will contests and proofs of heirship - provides very valuable information as all interested parties must prove degree of relationship to the decedent.

Appointment of guardian - an "appointed" guardian is a clue that surviving children were under the age of 14. If a guardian is said to be "allowed" the surviving children may have been older than 14. The guardian may be the surviving spouse or a close relative. Many times a surviving male relation such as an uncle or older brother was appointed guardian of younger children, even if the spouse survived.

Assignment of dower - may be the only clue that you have to the surviving wife’s actual name. Other documents may list her as "my loving wife" or other non-specific descriptions. I actually have a copy of a will that lists a decedent’s wife as "my wife, whose name and address are unknown".

Decrees of distribution - lists the heirs by name and their degree of relationship

No discussion about Ionia County Michigan genealogy would be complete without addressing the county's state prisons.

Every ten years since 1790, the United States Federal Government has done an official count of the residents of the country. Initially the census records were "statistical in nature. Those census records gave only the name of the head of household and the various statistics about the home. It was not until 1850 that each person living in the home was listed by name. Following you will find a listing of each federal census and what type of information is available for that particular census.

Remember - Michigan did not become a state until 1837. Before that time, residents of Michigan may be found in earlier territorial census films.

One may assume that most of the information given on the census returns is accurate. However, the census takers were not the best spellers and many had very poor penmanship. Census takers were supposed to go door-to-door, so you will find neighbors listed sequentially on the returns. Occasionally, when a family was not home, the information was obtained from a neighbor. Thus, you may find some inaccuracies in the returns. In addition, studies have shown that men nearly always aged more than the 10 years between census. Were they attempting to get beyond the age of eligibility for military service? Women on the other hand, rarely aged the ten years!

How will knowing my ancestor’s religion or the church he attended help me with my family tree search? Often times we are at a loss in locating vital records to fill in the dates that we need. In earlier years, before the registration of vital records was regulated by governmental agencies, churches were better at recording their baptisms/christenings, marriages and burials than any of the government offices! Also, religion was a big consideration for people deciding to settle in a new area. Members of congregations often moved from place to place as a unit.

When doing research on a particular family in a particular area, it is always wise to see what histories have already been published.  While not all of the family histories that you find will be appropriately source documented, they will certainly give you clues for further research!  There are a number of family histories on file at the library in Ionia. 

The Michigan Cemetery Atlas lists 55 cemeteries in the county of Ionia. Some are tiny family plots and others are new, modern final resting places.  What cemeteries are in Ionia County and who is buried in these cemeteries?

Newspaper articles were (and still are) often written to announce the births, marriages and deaths of the people of the community. Obituaries hold a special significance to the genealogist. An obituary usually gives the date of the individuals death, the name of a spouse, date of marriage, names (including married names of daughters) of children, church affiliation, and place of burial. This is often the only clue for finding the elusive burial plot of the person who died in Ionia and ended up being buried in a completely different county or even a different state.

My "gold mine" obituary came as a complete surprise. The very last line in the obituary stated that the individual had been shipped by train to his home state of New York to be buried next to his older brother!

You might also find a line or two about the birth of your ancestor. Imagine my surprise to find a "one-liner" in a little newspaper that stated that "a healthy 10 pound baby girl arrived at the home of....." in reference to my own grandmother.

Don’t overlook the wedding anniversary section of these newspapers. A 50th Wedding Celebration announcement for a couple will often times be a wealth of information.

The city directories of the early years listed the residents of the city, their age and their occupation. These directories are valuable in placing an individual in a particular place at a certain time. They are useful for determining when a person arrived in an area and when he/she may have left the area or died. Telephone directories of today have greatly replaced the city directories in all but the large cities.

The Hall-Fowler Memorial Library in Ionia holds the City Directories for the years 1872, 1874, 1877, 1891 and most of the years from 1904 through 1961.

The Library of Michigan in Lansing, Michigan has the following information

History and directory of Ionia County.. D. Dillenbach, 1872. Film F 566 .C67 1973, Reel 38, No.117

History and directory, village of Saranac, 1941. The Pub. Co., 1941. F S74.S273 H58 1941

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