Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Bay County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Business Records
Cemetery Records
- Bay County files · RG 83-531967 to 1976
Census Records
- Federal census · RG 65-321860 and 1870
- State census · RG 84-71884
Court Records
- Circuit Court docket · RG 71-191900 to 1922
- Justice Court docket · RG 71-161875 to 1900
- Justice returns · RG 71-191858 to 1859 and from 1874 to 1881
Land Records
- Deeds · RG 74-71842 to 1886
- Index to deeds · RG 74-71853 to 1907
- Index to mortgages · RG 74-71873 to 1906
- Record of mortgages · RG 74-71836 to 1917
- Rural Property Inventory · RG 72-761936 to 1942
Military Records
Naturalization Records
- Certificate stubs · RG 94-4171909 to 1936
- Court orders · RG 94-4171929 to 1966
- Declarations of Intention · RG 94-4171858 to 1963
- Repatriations · RG 94-4171940 to 1958
- Second papers · RG 94-4171888 to 1965
- Transfers · RG 94-4171916
Occupational Records
- Chiropractor register · RG 86-91934 to 1953
- Chiroprody register · RG 86-91915 to 1948
- Drugless healer register · RG 86-91913 to 1928
- Nurses register · RG 86-91910 to 1926
- Optometrist register · RG 86-91926 to 1937
- Physician register · RG 86-91900 to 1946
Political Records
- Oaths of office · RG 71-191857 to 1871 and from 1876 to 1895 and from 1900 to 1903
- Record of township and city officers · RG 71-191874 to 1893
Poor Home / Relief Records
- Bookkeeping records of Superintendent of Poor · RG 71-191869 to 1914
- Report of inmates of infirmary · RG 71-191912 to 1913
- Selected welfare case files · RG 67-26*1933 to 1959
Prison Records
- Bills to county · RG 71-19Superintendent of Detroit House of Corrections, from 1868 to 1872
Probate Records
- Calendar · RG 2015-1381903 to 1906
Recreation Records
- Liens on watercraft · RG 71-191865 to 1869
School Records
- Census, Union School District (Bay City) · RG 71-191878 and from 1888 and from 1891 to 1892
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected holdings described by the Archives of Michigan. Preserve the record-group (RG) reference when requesting records. Some collections are held at partner repositories; consult the guide before traveling. Asterisks and other qualifiers refer to access or location notes in that guide. Some records have privacy restrictions or require proof of death. A date span may contain gaps and does not establish that images are online.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Bay County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk, the register of deeds and the probate court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Births, deaths and marriages registered in the county, and court records.
- The register of deeds
Deeds, mortgages and other land records.
- The probate court
Wills, estates and guardianships.
- The Archives of Michigan
In Lansing: state and county records, and Michigan death certificates from 1897 to 1952 online at Michiganology.
- Archives of Michiganfree
The state archives in Lansing, with county and state records, military records and Michigan death records.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Michigan, Bay" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Midland County, Saginaw County, Arenac County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Arenac County, Midland County, Saginaw County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1857, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Michigan began registering births and deaths in 1867, much earlier than most states, with county clerks keeping the registers and sending copies to the state. Ask the county clerk for the early registers.