Jackson County Genealogical Society

Welcome To The Jackson County Genealogical Society Homepage!

Jackson, Michigan

The Jackson County Genealogical Society is an organization formed and dedicated to the encouragement and enhancement of genealogy, the study of family descent. Our objectives are:

Preserve and make available for genealogical research the records of the Jackson County, Michigan area.

We shall encourage and assist the study of family history, promote the exchange of genealogical knowledge, and encourage the central deposit of genealogical records.

We shall cooperate with other genealogical societies and assist Jackson County area libraries in collecting genealogical records, expanding their collections of published genealogical records, and publishing genealogical material.

We shall publish material of genealogical interest and use to Society members and other genealogists.

Since it was formed in 1977, the group has taken many approaches to promoting genealogy.

JCGS is one of the sponsors of the Jackson, Michigan County homepage for the Michigan and USGenWeb Project.

JCGS is involved in the indexing of several of the local historical records, compiling a record of the cemetary headstone inscriptions, and linking with local historical societies.

JCGS provides research services and publications that are described below.

Jackson County Pioneer Certificate Program

The Jackson County Genealogical Society and the Jackson County Historical Society are proud to present the Jackson County Pioneer recognition program to honor the descendants of those people who made Jackson county. Here is the link to the program.

Jackson County 175 Anniversary

Jackson County recognized it's 175th birthday on August 1, 2007, with events at the Cascades Falls amphitheater. JCGS was there with information about the Library holdings, the Pioneer Certificate Program, and Jackson history. The Jackson County Historical Society joined us to provide historical information. Representatives of the County government was on hand during the day to talk about what the government does.

Meeting - Event Schedule

Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month from September to May. The location for the Chapter meetings will usually be the meeting room at Dept. of Aging, 1715 Lansing Ave., Jackson. Alternative locations will be announced. The start time is 6:30 pm, with a short mix and mingle time between 6:15 and 6:30. This year, dinner will be available before the meetings at 5:00. Thanks to the Dept of Aging for providing these dinners.
Board meetings are scheduled on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. They are held at the Society Library at the United Way Building, 540 N Jackson St. Please contact Steve Shiley or JCGS by mail for the address and time.

The officers for 2007-2008 are:
President Judy Moulton
Vice President Rich Cottrell
Secretary Jo Ann Bunce
Treasurer Rosalee G. Griewahn
Past President Steve Shiley
Lexicon Editor Dianne Jonas
Newsletter Mark Nye
Research H. Elaine England
Research Emeritis Doris Littebrant
Special Projects Judy Moulton
Librarian Rosalee G. Griewahn
Web Master Steve Shiley
MGS Delegate Stacy Stoner
MGS Delegate

Calendar for 2007-2008:
May 13 - Dinner/General Membership Meeting, Crouch Senior Center
May 20 - Board Meeting
June 17 - Board Meeting
July 15 - Board Meeting
August 19 - Board Meeting
September 2 - General Membership Meeting, TBA
September 16 - Board Meeting
October 7 - General Membership Meeting, TBA
October 21 - Board Meeting
November 4 - General Membership Meeting, TBA
November 18 - Board Meeting
December 2 - General Membership Meeting, TBA
December 16 - Board Meeting

Membership is $20 for a year, payable in September. Please include $5 for international postage.
A bimonthly newsletter is published and provides information on issues and coming attractions. The newsletter is available in electronic format which will help keep postage costs under control.
The LEXICON is a publication that deals with the people, events, genealogical news, and happenings of Jackson County. It includes ancestral charts and family group sheets of members. Queries can be published in the LEXICON, free to members, non-member cost is $1. A copy of each of the years LEXICON issues is included in the membership. Additional LEXICON issues are available for $3.50 + .90 postage.
A mailing list is available to discuss genealogical issues with other members. It is restricted to JCGS members only. Announcements for meetings will be included in the list. Here is a link to join the list.

If you would like to contribute information to these pages or know of other appropriate links, please contact either Steve Shiley or JCGS Library or JCGS by mail.

General County Information

Jackson County Genealogical Society
c/o Jackson District Library
244 West Michigan Avenue
Jackson, MI 49201-2275

JCGS Library at United Way Building
536-540 N. Jackson
Jackson, Michigan 49201
Telephone 517-768-9266
Email contact.

Jackson County is located in the south central part of Michigan.

Jackson County was formed in 1832 from Washtenaw County. The county seat is the city of Jackson.
Other communities include Brooklyn, Cement City, Clarklake, Columbia, Concord, Grass Lake, Hanover, Horton, Liberty, Michigan Center, Munith, Napoleon, Norvell, Parma, Pulaski, Rives Junction, Spring Arbor, Springport, Stockbridge, Tompkins Center, and Vandercook Lake.

Research Sources - Indexed

Births 1867-1933 (index only)
Deaths 1867 to present
Marriages 1833 to present
Naturalizations 1839 to 1890
Michigan Federal Census, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Michigan State Census, 1884, (some wards and townships missing)
Cemetery Records
City and County Directories 1867 to present, not complete
1858 Land Owner Atlas
1874 Land Owner Atlas
History of Jackson County (1881)
Portrait and Biographical Album (1890)
Michigan Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War
Jackson County People in WWI and WWII
Michigan Pioneer Collection, Vol 1-30
Original Land Owners of Jackson County
Marriage and Death notices from newspapers, scattered early references
Land and Probate records from 1833-1850, not complete

Research Sources - Not Indexed

Michigan Federal Census, 1900, 1910, 1920
Jackson State Census, 1894, some townships are missing
Delands' History of Jackson County (1903)
Newspapers, not complete, specify a 2 week time period for search

Jackson, begins 1847

Grass Lake, begins 1882

Hanover-Horton, begins 1895

Parma, begins 1899

Springport, begins 1893

The Society provides volunteers that can conduct research at both the Society Library and other Jackson sites. A limited amount of research (1 hour) will be provided for a retainer of $20 plus copy costs and a business sized SASE. Copies of uncertified death and marriage records are $.50 per page. Any other copies are $.20 each. If more extensive research is desired, additional research will be completed at $15 per hour. In your letter, indicate which items and the dates you wish searched. The volunteers work out of the Society Library and can be contacted by email.

Historical Societies - Information Sources

Grass Lake Area Historical Society
P.O. Box 53
Grass Lake, MI 49240

Jackson Convention and Tourist Bureau
6007 Ann Arbor Rd.
Jackson, MI 49201
(517)764-4440

Hanover-Horton Area Historical Society, Inc.
105 Fairview St.
P.O. Box 256
Hanover, MI 49241

Family History Center
Church Of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
3019 W. Morrell
Jackson, MI 49202
517-784-6306
Hours: Tuesday 6 PM to 9 PM; Thursday 9 AM to 9 PM; Saturday 9 AM to 1 PM.

Here are the Society newsletters. Some of the documents are in pdf format and will require at least version 5 of the Adobe Reader. The newsletter can be read on line or saved to your machine.
Some are listed in Word format and will require Microsoft Word or a program that can view Word. If you have Word on your machine, you should be able to be read on line or you can save it on your machine.
Some are listed as rich text format. These will work in just about any word processing program. You will have to save the document to your machine before you can open it.

Steve Shiley Jackson, Michigan

This page was last updated Tuesday, 08-Apr-2008 18:50:28 MDT
WebDesigner: Steve Shiley

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