Emmet County

TIPS FOR RESEARCHING YOUR ANCESTORS

We've received numerous requests for guidance in researching ancestors in EMMET COUNTY. The following list might help you in your research:

Talk to everyone in your family about what they know about the ancestors, keeping in mind that memories can fade and that some of their information is inaccurate. (Great Grandma was a full-blooded Indian or we came over on the Mayflower are two examples of information that are said over and over and is usually found to be not true.) Write down what you've discovered.

Buy or download a free genealogy program to organize your information. Brother's Keeper genealogy software is shareware and can be downloaded for free. This way all of your information is organized and can be emailed to someone easily. Be sure to keep a back-up copy.

Explore Resources. In this section you will also find links to many great sites for beginners. 

Use ALL types of spellings when you look for records. Many times the spelling changed (Hawley to Holley) or the person writing down the information had trouble deciphering the script. Sometimes names are spelled so "screwy" that your best bet is just to scroll through the pages. The "s" looks like "f" in some old script, so Smith could look like Fmith to a beginning transcriber.

Use the search engine on this website and others to locate surnames. 

Post a query on a query board. There are a number of different query boards including Surname Boards - Gen Forum. (See Queries under the Quick Links listed at the bottom of each page on this site. Gen Forum has a wealth of free resources including articles and forums, form letters, classes, step-by-step guides, etc.)

Check census records in the county and in surrounding counties. The 1850 census records begin listing all of the family members and where each person was born.

Check Cemetery records. There are quite a few cemeteries in Emmet County. 

Check local funeral home listings. Many times people did not have money to buy a tombstone, but their remains were handled by an undertaker.

Check Resources for a list of your local libraries to see if they have any biographical information on the family you are searching for.

Check birth, death and marriage records. These records may list parents' names, etc. Get copies of these records by ordering them from the appropriate source. In many cases, they are available at no cost (see Resources, Court, Birth, Death, Marriage pages for links).

Check the Court records page. If you find something of interest, try to order the record from the County Clerk. Keep in mind they charge a fee per page to photocopy records. You may have to make a trip to the Emmet County Courthouse or hire a researcher to get the information for you.

Check old newspapers. Libraries may have old newspapers on hand or microfiche equipment. Some historical newspapers can be found online at no cost to you. Check Resources for a list of those.

If your ancestor was in the Civil War, order the records at the National Archives. They have a great deal of information in them.You can also find military records at Fold3 (by Ancestry) with a free trial.

Don't take every piece of information you find as truth. Ask for sources, verify information yourself. Think outside the box. Google is your friend but do not assume information found in other people's trees is correct.

Happy hunting!

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