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We are trying to find our family tree starting at the point of my children's great grandmother who was born in Michigan in 1887 or 1888 and was adopted. We do know her adoptive parents names and the county where she/they lived. Where do we begin? We went to the county of supposed adoption to be told they had no records. How does one find the record that is over 100 years old. Thanks for your help.
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You can look by county and see if there is a different location for your county than where you went. I also saw geneological society info listed as well. [url=http://vitalrec.com/micounties2.html]Michigan Counties Birth Certificate, Death Record, Marriage License and More (D-K)[/url] They also appear to have a specific adoption registry - and to my knowledge adoption records from back there were never sealed and if they were should be open in 99 years. If you are trying to obtain a copy of your original birth record or to locate information about your biological parents or siblings, the Family Independence Agency may be able to help you through the central adoption registry. To contact this program, write: [LIST]Central Adoption RegistryFamily Adoption AgencyP.O. Box 30037[/LIST][LIST][/LIST][LIST][/LIST][LIST]Lansing, MI 48909 [/LIST][LIST] [/LIST]
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Are you trying to trace bio-family or adoptive family? There were not "official" adoptions back then. One family would "take in" a child, give the child the family surname and that was it. My grandfather was exempted from service in WWI because he had 4 children and served as a postmaster (and justice of the peace) which were government jobs. A neighbor was killed during the war and his widow brought their young son to my grandparents' home and left him there. He was "adopted" simply by changing his last name when school started that next fall.Try to locate school attendance records, census records, church baptism or marriage records or probated wills.
I have been working very gingerly in the Michigan Geneo sites. I have also gone to Michigan to work on family geneo, Michigan is VERY difficult to get info from.
Its sooo strange, PA is wonderful, NY is somewhat difficult, Michigan is very difficult.
Several years ago I was able to get some type of death cert online on the Michigan website. Now, no way. Good luck, keep trying. A friend that lives in Michigan made a comment that the state is REALLY hurting for money. I told him that they could make some $$ if they would open their records for all of us. ha ha.