Libraries, Archives, & Historical Museums

   Addison Branch, Lenawee District Library

  Adrian District Library

You can e-mail the District Library or send an email directly to the Reference Librarian.

The library includes its Heritage Room. The Heritage Room has a respectable collection of materials of special interest to family historians doing research in Adrian and surrounding communities in Lenawee County.

Among its holdings are:

• Genealogy "How To" books
• Adrian Histories
• Lenawee County histories (some indexed)
• Census, 1830 to 1920 for Lenawee County on microfilm, 1850 index in book form (Lenawee County, MI) and indexes for 1830, 40, 50 and 1870 on film
• Also 1845, 1884, 1894 state census for Lenawee on film
• City and County directories, NOTE: new directories were not issued every year.
• Vertical file with clippings
• Loose photos
• City or County reports
• Biographical information not in book form
• Gravestone Records of Lenawee County, Michigan, Vol 1-5 by Harriet Cole Bowen [This series can be found at The Library of Michigan - book: F572.L5 B68 1935; microfilm: F572.L5 G7 1933a and in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Library - book: 74l5 929.3 D2Lg; also on microfilm]
• Michigan pioneer and historical collection, 40 volumes
• Record of service of Michigan volunteers in the Civil War, 46 volumes
• Yearbooks from Adrian High School
• Adrian Newspapers on microfilm [They have two microfilm readers, no reader/printer that you can use. After you look it up and fill out a form they will copy (for a fee) and mail to you.
• Plat books and atlases

Note: If you contact the library, in writing, tell them what you need, include a SASE, they will mail you a copy of the page pertaining to your search. They charge just a few cents per copy and they will bill you.

Mail your request to:

  Britton Branch, Lenawee District Library

Small collection, but reflective of the surrounding towns, even some Monroe County data. Some local town histories not readily found in other libraries. 3 in 1 Atlas of Lenawee Co, a couple of the county histories, but not all.

  Brooklyn branch, Jackson District Library

There have been recent changes so please call before traveling to this library. They are now part of the Jackson District Library. Have few books on family history or community history.

  Clayton Public Library

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch® Center

The Center is open by appointment and on most Sunday's between the hours of 9:15 to 9:55 AM prior to church services. Please Contact Jeannie Majeske at 517-423-2919 to schedule an appointment.

On September 8, 2017, FamilySearch discontinued its microfilm distribution services. By 2021, all microfilms stored in the Granite Mountain Records Vault were digitized. Many of these microfilms are now accessible online from home, at FamilySearch centers, or at affiliate libraries.

Although all microfilms have been digitized, the original record owners determine access levels. FamilySearch abides by contracts with the record owners, which restricts how and where records can be viewed.

• Copyrighted or contract-protected materials cannot be made freely available online.
• Many digitized microfilms not available online are accessible only at FamilySearch centers and affiliate libraries.

All services provided in FamilySearch centers are free. You will enjoy:

• Personalized research assistance from volunteer consultants
• Complimentary access to computers, internet, and subscription family history websites including:
• Ancestry.com
• MyHeritage
• FindMyPast
• American Ancestors
• Geneanet
• Special access to images of historical records that are only available in centers

  Clinton Township Public Library

E-Mail Clinton Township Public Library

Sharon Scott//Archivist Historical Society of Clinton

Has a small genealogy collection, but some interesting works. Also have a historical vertical file that is locked and only the ladies from the historical society have the keys, only open on Friday evenings.They have the local Clinton Newspaper on Microfilm. Holdings: Newspapers, organizations, church, maps,photographs, school, business, scrapbooks, cemeteries, obituaries, books, microfilms, manuscripts.

  Deerfield Branch, Lenawee District Library

(formerly Roberts-Ingold Memorial Library)

This library has a respectable collection that would assist family researchers, including some of the county histories, local village histories including some of those towns just over the county line in Monroe County. Also some family histories.

Maybe the most valuable resource this library has is it's current librarian, Mrs. Regina Upell Holubik, who has lived her entire life in Deerfield, was one of the researcher/author's of "Deerfield Album" written in 1973 and is very knowledgeable about the local families. She has been the librarian since 1968.

  Hudson Museum

Inventory: Local family genealogies and local Hudson area history. Newspapers, directories, organizations, church, maps, photographs, school, business, scrapbooks, cemeteries, obituaries, books are included in the holdings.

  Hudson Public Library

Holdings: newspapers, directories, organizations, church, maps, photographs, school, business, scrapbooks, cemeteries, obituaries, books, microfilms, most of our photos, scrapbooks, etc. are housed in the museum the library owns.

  Lenawee District Library

On film:

• Adrian Daily Telegram 1977-1987
• Blissfield Advance Jan 1877 to 5 Sept 1946
• US census 1820-1920 for Lenawee County; 1890 Vets Schedule; 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880 Mortality Schedules
• Adrian Courier and Tri County Advertiser July 17, 1885 - Jan 21, 1960

Book form:

• Cambridge Township Death records Feb 1906 - Nov 1914 and Dec 1910 - Jan 1922. Birth records Jan 1906 - Dec 1910 and Feb 1911 - 1916
• County histories for Lenawee County, Fulton County Ohio and Jackson County Michigan
• Directories, Adrian, etc.
• 1840 US census index of Michigan in book form
• 1850 US census index of Michigan in book form
• 1870 US census index of Michigan in book form
• 1890 Michigan Veterans Census Index in book form
• The Lenawee County combination atlas

There are many many more books, too numerous to list, but this gives an idea.

  Lenawee Historical Museum       **Historical Society & Archives**

The Lenawee Historical Museum is the home of the Lenawee Historical & Genealogical Society and its Archives. It is staffed by volunteers who have expertise in genealogy and are knowledgeable about county history. You can submit queries directly to the Society and they will generally reposnd within a few days.

They collect business, education and government records, photographs and postcards, and maps. They have an ever-growing genealogical file of information, which may include personal documents such as letters, diaries, and journals, along with compiled genealogies of families in and from Lenawee County. Their holdings include: directories, church, maps, photographs, school, business, scrapbooks, obituaries, books, and manuscripts. Property tax records dating from 1839 to the 1920s have been digitized and can be accessed at the museum.

The museum's website includes indexes to many of their holdings. Indexes cover 19th and early 20th century public school records, Adrian College calendars with student and faculty lists (1879-1899), county jail records, ambulance records, as well as a number of other items of genealogical value.

This museum should not be overlooked. It has invaluable information on places and people of the local area. Indexes

  Michigan History Center

The Michigan History Center is the home of the Michigan History Museum, the Library of Michigan, and the Archives of Michigan.

The Michigan History Museum provides a view spanning Michigan's rich past, from the time of the state's earliest peoples to the late 20th century. Located in the Michigan Library and Historical Center Building in Lansing, the museum's five floors provide a "walk through time," beginning with Michigan's first people's, the Anishinaabe, and ending in the mid-20th century.

The Michigan History Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.There is an admission fee on Tuesday through Saturday, but Sundays are free. You can visit their Web site at Michigan History Museum for more information.

The Library of Michigan is free and open to the public. The collection of the Library of Michigan include includes items on law, genealogy, newspapers, county guides, and more. The Library exists to serve Michigan residents online and in person. You can E-mail the librarian or visit their Web site at Library of Michigan for more information.

Archives of Michigan is the official repository for the records of Michigan government, including records transferred from individual counties, and other public institutions. The collections also include documents, maps, photographs and film from private individuals and organizations. You can visit their Web site at Archives of Michigan for more information.

The Archives of Michigan is open to the public Monday thru Friday from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

  Michigan eLibrary  Mostly for Michigan Residents

Many of the databases maintained by the Library of Michigan are digital and can be accessed free by Michigan Residents online at MeL.

  Onsted Branch Library (formerly Luella G Reynolds Library)

Holdings: Birth and Death records from early 1900 and some obituaries. Newspapers at the library are "The Exponent", not every issue, the actual paper, not film, those saved were those with specific interest to the Onsted area.

  Summerfield-Petersburg Branch Library (actually in Monroe County)

  Read It and Reap Library

Hours: Monday - Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

The Read It and Reap Library houses the genealogical collection of the Lenawee County Family Researchers, the county genealogical society.

  Schultz Holmes Memorial Library

They have a very small genealogy section. Their most valuable resource is having the local paper, the Blissfield Advance, on microfilm. Please note they have a microfilm reader and a printer.

  Stair District Library

Colleen Leddy, Director

Holdings: Newspapers, school yearbooks, scrapbooks, cemeteries, books, local census microfilm.

  Tecumseh Historical Museum and Historical Society

A very respectable collection of artifacts with special emphasis on Tecumseh. No specific research can be done here, but you can always take a look and see if your ancestors posessions have been donated and preserved by this active group.

  Tecumseh District Library

Mary Beth Reasoner is the Local History Coordinator

The Tecumseh District Library has a very sizable and respectable collection in its historical room including:

• Tecumseh News and Tecumseh Herald - not all copies and not all years but lots. [on microfilm]
• Index of births, marriages and deaths for Tecumseh Herald from 1850-1900 [on microfilm]

They have one viewer/printer.

• Atlases, county and Tecumseh histories.
• Year books, junior high back to 1970, high school 1913.
• City directories for Tecumseh. Not all years
• Scrapbooks and ledgers, clubs, business records, etc.
• Tax rolls for village of Tecumseh. Not all years
• Oral histories, done in 1989, 28 videotaped interviews.
• Vertical file for Tecumseh and one for Michigan.
• 1860, 1870, 1880 US census for Lenawee County on film. Also some census for North Carolina, one of PA and Tennessee.
• Blueprints, photographs, slides and films.

Some books in the collection can be copied, but permission must be obtained from the librarian at the reference desk for each book.

They also have a fine collection of genealogy research books.

  William G. Thompson Museum and Gardens