Eaton County Genealogical Society, Home

Updated April 2012

County Township Map

Website Statistics

Regularly Scheduled Room Hours

Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Please call ahead if coming from a long distance to ensure room is open. Phone (517) 543-8792
Note: Appointment may be made outside of regular hours by contacting Society by phone or by e-mail at tsthuma@juno.com. (Please contact 72 hours in advance, thanks!)

For research requests, please Send A Request.

See the Web Updates page for details to updates. Each page shows when that page was updated.

FamilySearch Indexing - MGC Group
The US, Michigan – 1940 Census Record FamilySearch Indexing project became available for indexing on April 12, 2012. The Michigan Genealogical Council FamilySearch group to date have indexed about 59,000 records and arbitrating 19,000 from April 1^st through April 15th. The FamilySearch MGC group currently has 140 members and it is still growing. FamilySearch and the MGC have made this a priority Michigan project and hope to complete it in a very rapid fashion. As soon as the indexing and arbitration is completed then it will take some time to set up the project processing and then the indexes and images will be available for free at FamilySearch.org.

. Those that join the FamilySearch MGC group will have access to periodic messages regarding tips, updates, etc. and may contact the MGC administrators for assistance by e-mailing fsindexing@mimgc.org.

Want to Help with the 1940 Census? Here’s How to Get Started!
To get started go to http://the1940census.com and look for the "Download the Indexing Software" button near the bottom of the page. This will allow you to download the software that installs on your computer that is used to do the indexing. Once it is installed, and you open it for the first time there is a button you can use to register for a user account with FamilySearch. Once you have registered, you can then log in to your account at: http://indexing.familysearch.org/ (the Log In link is at the top right of the page) and then go to "My Info" (also at top right) and assign yourself to the "Michigan Genealogical Council" group there. Note that some Societies have separately registered with FamilySearch Indexing to work on the 1940 Census Project. These Societies will have their own project administrators and support separate from the MGC Group, and if you register another Society in your "My Info" page on the FamilySearch Indexing website, you will not be able to be a part of the MGC Group and its support. You might like to do some practice before 2 April. While it isn't available yet, there will be a practice area for the 1940 Census set up by FamilySearch Indexing. Or you might like to do a batch or two from one of the other projects currently available to get the hang of how it works. Byron Bailey and I are looking for a few more people to help with the Administration of the MGC Group. If you are an experienced FamilySearch Indexer, and would like to help with this, please send an e-mail to fsindexing@mimgc.org Thanks!!! and Good Luck with your Indexing. Roger Moffat and Byron Bailey

.Cemetery Symbols Project .
Introducing our new Cemetery Symbols Project! This is a CD project and does not require the internet to use; it requires a PDF reader (such as Adobe). It consists of Eaton County cemetery headstone and symbol thumbnail photos in various categories. (Please note: This is not ALL of Eaton County headstones; only a sample from each cemetery.) The cost is $10.60 to pick up or $12.85 to have mailed. We have provided a sample of this project for you to see exactly the type of project this is! Take a look and see if any of your ancestors or relatives are included in the actual name index. There are over 2,000 photos! There are explanations for what many symbols on headstones represent. This is a wonderful Christmas idea for someone who loves genealogy! Available beginning November 9th, 2011. See the actual Cover Page, Table Of Contents and Index By Name from the Symbols Page!

Members Section!
See our Members Section for a few extra options for members! If you are not already a member, consider joining us for these new features. Nothing has been taken away from our regular site! If you have questions about these new options, contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions and provide more information!

Land Records
A new project we are currently working on is scanning and indexing Land Records from the Eaton County Courthouse. These will include deeds and mortgages they have on microfilm. We would love volunteers to help with this! See the Land Records page for more details and for the index we have completed so far.

Grand Ledge Library Index Cards
One of our latest completed projects is the scanning and indexing of the index cards in the Grand Ledge library. The complete list is an alphabetical listing of the names indexed. Use the bookmark feature of your pdf file reader to skip to letter you want to research or use your pdf reader Search option. Please note: this is a very large file and may take some time to load. If you would like to load smaller parts of the file, click on the following to list last names by A-D, E-H, I-L, M-P, Q-T, U-Z. (The actual images are included with the list from the Members Section, Image Files page.)

Eaton County Civil War Ancestor Project
See our new Civil War Ancestor Project! Submit your Eaton County Civil War Ancestor information to share with other researchers and get a certificate (suitable for framing or a great addition for your child/grandchild's baby book) if desired.

Featured Index System Database Index!
We have a new addition to our Database page! We are featuring a complete name index listing for selected indexes, which may be changed periodically. Check back to see if a different index has been featured! We have started this new feature with the 1939 Charlotte Home Survey index. Now included are the microfilm death records index and Wolf Bounty index. Added February 2010! Civil War Bounties/Liable For Duty index, Post 40 GAR Memorial Book and Marriage Records index from microfilm (1867-1937). Added August 2010 - Oneida School Census records from 1897 - 1906!
See listings for the remainder of our database names (by category) on the Database File Listings page.

List of Available Past Quest (Newsletter) Issues
See the list of Past Quest Issues with links to the Table of Contents and Name Indexes (where included)!

Surname Contact Information
ECGS has collected names that people have researched over the years. This information has been added to our system and the names are available from the Eaton Co Surnames button. See surnames and specific people that have been researched in Eaton County. (Note: These are not complete researches; these indicate that someone has been researching the names.)
We invite you to share your Eaton County ancestors with us!

Library Collections
See our newest library additions, featured on the top of the Collections page!

Featured Item(s) For Sale!
See our new Featured Items page. We will periodically feature different items we offer for sale.

Eaton County Pioneer Family Certificate Project
Please see the Pioneer Certificates page for information on applying for an Eaton County Pioneer Family Certificate! To see a list of Pioneers we currently have, please Click Here.

Database Research Tool At The Courthouse!
Come visit us in the Genealogy Room at the old Courthouse and use our Surname Index System! This system contains individual indexes of various types of books from our library. See the Index List for a list of indexes included in the system as of November 12, 2011. And, see our new Database page where you can view lists of our surnames.

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