Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Kent 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
- Account ledger for lighting (Lowell) · RG 56-51897 to 1898
- Register of log marks · RG 71-1131867 to 1877
Cemetery Records
- Kent County files · RG 83-531962 to 1976
Census Records
- State census · RG 80-751884, and from 1894
Court Records
- Circuit Court in chancery cases · RG 71-441859 to 1861
- Journal of Circuit Court proceedings · RG 71-441854 to 1873
- Justice’s transcript · RG 71-491869 to 1902
- Orders of Circuit Court · RG 71-441876 to 1882
- Special motions of Circuit Court · RG 71-491860 to 1877
Health Records
Land Records
Military Records
Naturalization Records
- Certificate stubs · RG 89-28not dated
- Citizenship journal · RG 89-281860 to 1906
- Declarations of Intention · RG 89-281871 to 1929
- Petitions · RG 89-281906 to 1927
Organization Records
- Articles of association · RG 65-291845 to 1900
Poor Home / Relief Records
- Direct relief case files · RG 72-981933 to 1966
- Journal of Superintendent of the Poor · RG 71-441930 to 1939
- Record of persons admitted · RG 71-491930 to 1943
Recreation Records
- Liens on watercraft · RG 71-1131869, from 1901, and from 1915
Tax Records
- Abstract of sale of state tax lands · RG 71-491877, from 1879, from 1881, and from 1886
- Assessment rolls · RG 71-491872 to 1940
- Assessment rolls (Oakfield Township) · RG 87-65*1857
- Bond tax record · RG 71-491921 to 1939
- Business tax record · RG 71-491902 to 1908
- Cash book · RG 71-441877 to 1882
- Index to assessment roll for Grand Rapids · RG 71-491895
- Liquor tax record · RG 71-491878 to 1879 and from 1884 to 1898
- Monies received for delinquent taxes · RG 71-491861 to 1864
- Mortgage tax report · RG 71-491926 to 1939
- Special assessment of Village of Lowell · RG 71-491912
- Statement of lands with unpaid taxes · RG 71-491859, from 1875, from 1897, and from 1899
- Statement of lands with unpaid taxes · RG 71-441878 and from 1886
Voter Records
- Voter registration book (Lowell) · RG 56-51876, from 1912 and from 1919 to 1946
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
- Kent 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, Kent" 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 1831, 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.