Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Chippewa 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
- Register of cattle brands · RG 96-2201987
- Register of log marks · RG 96-2201894 to 1922 and from 1930
Cemetery Records
- Chippewa County files · RG 83-531968 to 1979
Court Records
- Chancery case files · RG 93-1231840 to 1882
- Circuit Court journal · RG 96-2171846 to 1879
Land Records
Military Records
Naturalization Records
- Circuit Court journal · RG 96-2171846 to 1879
- Declarations of Intention · RG 96-2171852 to 1973
- Military petitions · RG 96-2171917 to 1918
- Petitions · RG 96-2171906 to 1985
- Petitions granted and denied · RG 96-2171929 to 1980
- Second papers · RG 96-2171877 to 1906
- Transfer naturalization · RG 96-2171956 to 1974
- Women repatriated · RG 96-2171937 to 1958
Occupational Records
- Register of physicians · RG 96-2201883 to 1901
Tax Records
- Assessment rolls · RG 63-411849 to 1920
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
- Chippewa 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, Chippewa" 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: Michilimackinac County (now Mackinac)
Check the parent county for earlier records: Mackinac County
Later formed partly from Chippewa County: Luce County, Marquette County, Ontonagon County, Schoolcraft County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1827, 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.