Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Clare 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
- Articles of association · RG 99-791872 to 1973
- Equipment marks · RG 99-781929 and from 1938
- Livestock brands · RG 99-781901 to 1954
- Log marks · RG 99-781890 to 1906
Cemetery Records
- Clare County files · RG 83-531967 to 1979
Court Records
- Chancery calendars · RG 2024-61871 to 1962
- Chancery decrees · RG 2024-61876 to 1962
- Chancery journal · RG 2024-61878 to 1896
- Chancery order books · RG 2024-61878 to 1963
- Circuit Court calendars · RG 2024-61871 to 1962
- Circuit Court case files · RG 2023-641871 to 1950
- Circuit Court journals · RG 2024-61901 to 1957
- Criminal calendars · RG 2024-61885 to 1957
Military Records
- Burial register of soldiers · RG 99-781927 to 1931
- Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post records · RG 63-191876 to 1945
Naturalization Records
- Application for admission to citizenship · RG 99-771907 to 1931
- Applications to take oath · RG 99-771941 to 1955
- Certificate of arrival requests · RG 99-771914 to 1920
- Certificate stubs · RG 99-771917 to 1926
- Declarations of Intention · RG 99-771871 to 1928
- Loyalty certificates · RG 99-771944 to 1945
- Petition and record · RG 99-771879 to 1965
Occupational Records
- Dentistry board licenses revoked · RG 99-781942
- Drugless healers · RG 99-781914 to 1935
- Medical board of registration & licensure · RG 99-781913 to 1952
- Medical practitioner’s sworn statements · RG 99-781883 to 1899
- Optometrists board register · RG 99-781910 to 1953
- Professional register · RG 99-781900 to 1982
Political Records
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
- Find Clare County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the county clerk, the register of deeds and the probate court.
- 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, Clare" 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
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1840, 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.