Our genealogy materials can be freely accessed, but unlike public libraries, those works do not circulate outside the department.

  A microfilm machine is available as well as a microfilm reader/copier.

  We are continually expanding our collection to include research materials which we feel are of prime interest to our genealogy patrons.

  The following is only a small portion of our holdings:

   Michigan 1710-1830 Under the French, British and Americans; 1860 and 1880 Kent County, Michigan; 1870 Michigan; 1884 and 1894 State Census for Kent County; State Census of Michigan, June 1, 1894, United States Soldiers of the Civil War, Vol.3; Canada West (Ontario) 1848 and 1850 Census With an Every Name Index.

   1790 United States; 1840 Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service; 1810, 1830, 1850, 1870 Fleming and selected counties of Kentucky; 1820 Clermont and selected counties of Ohio; 1830 Erie and Essex counties of New York; 1840 Dutchess County New York; 1850-1920 Kent County Michigan, excluding 1890. This is supplemented by the 1890 Michigan Special Schedules of Federal Census Enumerating Union Veteran and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Many other Michigan counties are also available covering various periods of time.

   1810 United States Census Index; 1880 United States Census and National Index; 1881 Canadian Census; 1930 Kent County, (not all townships).

OTHER RESOURCES

   A wide array of genealogical information can be gleaned from these historical books we have, such as:

   A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692 on the Basis of Farmer’s Register; Doomsday Book, England’s Heritage, Then & Now; The Pilgrim Fathers and The Mayflower Ship, 1620, (printed in Plymouth, England); The Original Lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700- Emigrants, Religious Exiles, Political Rebels, Serving Men Sold For a Term of Years, Apprentices, Children Stolen, Maidens Pressed, and Others Who Went From Great Britain to the American Plantations 1600-1700; and Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, Augusta County Court Records 1745-1770.

   One of our ongoing projects is the Surname File which at this time has well over 183  names listed on family files. Also available is Volume I of the Michigan Surname Index. Our store of genealogies include:

   The Bicknells, 1635-1880 and the Family Re-Union at Weymouth, Massachusetts, Addresses, Poems and Speeches; Genealogies of the Bray-Swart & Allied Families; Sophie de Marsac Campau, A Sketch of  Her Life and Character; Cook Family Records; The Cox Family in America; Project Overflight, (Cox family); Davis Family History; The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal Being a Complete Table of All the Descendants Now Living of Edward II, King of England; Emmorey Family Tree; The Youth of Paul V. Emmorey; Louisa Gordon Family Letters 1844-1875;  Hawley/Haley Genealogy; Haynes  Family History; Heiss Genealogy; The Hotchkiss Family, First Six Generations; The Long Road Back, An Account of a Martin Family and Some Allied Lines; Early Pioneer Families in the Cedar Springs Area; The Pioneer Pemberton’s Journey Into the Wilderness; Robinson Family; Legends and Tales of Rix Robinson; The van den Berghs In America; Walls Family History; The Story of Mary Washington; The History of the Cyrus P. Watson Family; The Hieronimus Weller Family in America, A Genealogy of the Family of Johann Hieronimus Weller and Anna Juliana Kunz/Cuntz; and Descendants of Peter Winter 1748-1814, Waldecker Mercenary and Blacksmith.

   We maintain a good selection of Michigan and Kent County histories, as well as many of this states township histories. Naming only a few, we have:

  Our  Michigan Pioneer Collection is almost complete, with 37 of the 42 volumes as well as indexes for volumes 1 thru 30.   Memorial of the Grand River Valley; Early Michigan Settlements; Peoples of Three Fires, The Ottawa, Pottawatomie and Ojibway of Michigan; History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties Michigan 1881; Historical Compendium of Ottawa County Michigan; 100 Years in Leelanau , A History of Leelanau County; History of Kent County Michigan, Illustrated 1881; History of Grand Rapids and Kent County; Cedar Springs Story; Pioneer Parade, A History of Ensley Township, Newaygo County; Solon Township, Out of the Wilderness; The Sand Lake Story, plus books covering many other parts of the United States.

   Military records include: Service Records of Area (Cedar Springs) Men and Women who Served in the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard,  Marines and Navy. Collecting these records has been an ongoing project and they are now contained in 5 large notebooks. Another notebook is filled with news clippings on those from the area who were serving or had served during WWI, WW II, Viet Nam  and the Korean conflict.

   Other excellent military research material we have are: Index to Michigan Soldier’s Obituaries, Civil, Spanish and World War I; Soldiers of the Great War Memorial Edition, 3 vols.; DAR Patriot Index to the Spouses of the DAR Patriots; History of Company K During the Spanish American War With Cuba in 1898; United States and Canadian Loyalists; Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Alphabetical Index; The History of Newaygo County Michigan Civil War Veterans and Twenty-four Hundred Tennessee Pensioners, Revolution, War of 1812, and much more!

   We carry a wide array of newsletters and periodicals, running the gamut from several of Kent County’s Historical Societies to those covering many other parts of the United States.

   The Wolverine Clipper was published in Cedar Springs from December 29, 1869 through April 17, 1878, becoming the Cedar Springs Clipper from April 24, 1878-October 19, 1983.These papers are all on microfilm and can be viewed on our reader. Since the demise of the Clipper, the  Post has become Cedar Springs weekly newspaper. Most of those issues, 1992 to the present can be perused at our facility. The Bugle, a monthly periodical covering mainly local events, was first published on June 25, 1984. All copies to date are contained in 4 large notebooks and shelved for use, in the genealogy department.

   We are exceptionally pleased with the wide assortment of vital records we have been able to accumulate. Burial listings are available for these townships in Kent County: Algoma, Cannon, Courtland, Gratton, Nelson, Oakfield, Plainfield, Solon and Spencer. Other areas of interest are some records of burials in the counties of Genesee, Marquette, Newaygo, Ottawa and Van Buren.

   Death notices, obituaries and memorials have been compiled by our volunteers into a 5 volume set of notebooks thus far. We also have a few vital records for some towns in other states.

   A few more miscellaneous categories of records that could be of help are:

Church records; Cedar Springs School yearbooks; Journal of Cedar Springs High School Graduates, 1880-1960, With Married Names and Addresses; Directories; Plat maps; Tax Records; Federal Land Patents, Kent County Michigan, Original Land Patents Granted by the United States Government in the State of Michigan from 1837-1875, plus, our many books in the reference section.

   If you are unable to visit our facility in person, we can make a search of our records for a fee of $9.00 per hour, plus 25 cents per page if copies are required.

Call the museum Wednesdays with your questions.  616-696-3335

Email csmuseum@wingsisp.com