Tuesday, October 30, 2007

More Online Michigan Resources - Clarke Historical Library

A couple of weeks ago, I was surfing online and ran a Google search to see if there is a website for the genealogical society in Lapeer County, Michigan (there isn't). It turned out to be rather serendipitous, however, because while running the search, I came across the site of Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.

If you have ancestors from Michigan (and not just the central lower peninsula), this website is a must-visit. The links that seem to be most useful for online research include "Web-Based Resources," "Isabella County Obituary Index," and "Resources in the Library > Material in the Library > local history material," which lists the materials in their collection for each and every Michigan county. This is wonderful resource information, because you can e-mail the staff and ask for lookups and/or photocopies for a small fee.

I discovered that Clarke holds copies of the Alma Record and the Alma Record and Alma Journal for Gratiot County for the period of time in which my 3rd-great-grandmother, Mahala (SAYERS) WILKINSON, lived there with her daughter during the last years of her life. I requested an obituary lookup last week via e-mail, sent in my check for $2.25, and yesterday received it (it appears in the next post). I was overjoyed, because I had not been able to find a RAOGK volunteer who had access to these records!

No comments: