Top websites for Detroit Research

This is for DETROIT and Wayne County, our top list! In the comments below, please list your favorites! Detroit Free Press Index Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association Index Seeking Michigan

Hidden Eloise graves uncovered in Westland

Hidden graves uncovered in Westland from Eloise Hospital. Very interesting article on the internet. PLEASE CLICK HERE

Detroit Free Press Index

Good news! The Detroit Free Press Index is now online! Type in your surname and see what was published about them back in the day. This is only an index, if you want the full article you have to pay. This is an excellent website for Detroit Researchers! DETROIT FREE PRESS INDEX

Freedmen's Bureau Project --- Volunteer Indexers Needed!

To help bring thousands of records to light, the Freedmen’s Bureau Project was created as a set of partnerships between FamilySearch International and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Afro­-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), and the California African American Museum. Tens of thousands of volunteers are needed to make these records searchable online. No specific time commitment is required, and anyone may participate. Volunteers simply log on, pull up as many scanned documents as they like, and enter the names and dates into the fields provided. Once published, information for millions of African Americans will be accessible, allowing families to build their family trees and connect with their ancestors. For more information, CLICK HERE!

Ireland: Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI

This website contains images from the NLI’s collection of Catholic parish register microfilms. The registers contain records of baptisms and marriages from the majority of Catholic parishes in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 1880! http://registers.nli.ie/

Ancestry: Free Access July 1-5, 2015

Free access to records from the original 13 colonies, including the new Virginia records! July 1-5, 2015 Ancestry

MILLIONS OF VIRGINIA VITAL RECORDS NOW DIGITIZED AND INDEXED

PRESS RELEASE Virginia Department of Health and Ancestry complete massive records project. (Richmond, Va.) -- Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced the completion of a two-year, public-private collaboration between the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Ancestry that fully digitizes the state’s vital records. To date, more than 16 million records have been digitized and indexed. Scanned images of the original, public* documents are available online through Ancestry.com. Access to the indexed information on the records is available free of charge, beginning Friday, June 5, through the VDH Division of Vital Records’ and the Library of Virginia’s websites. “This public-private project demonstrates Virginia’s continued commitment to innovation, efficiency and leveraging information technology to the benefit of all,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Having all Virginia vital records digitized mean millions of public birth, death, marriage and divorce records are now more easily accessed for genealogy and family history research. This project also provides a long-term conservation solution for preserving the rich history of Virginia’s people.” “I am pleased that this project has come to fruition,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel. “It was a major undertaking and citizens will now enjoy the ability to find more information about their heritage.” “Family history and individual health are closely linked,” said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “Through this project, people can more easily explore their ancestors’ lives and possibly identify family health conditions or hereditary risk factors. This information is empowering and takes us one step closer to our goal of becoming the healthiest state in the nation.” “We are grateful for the opportunity to help Virginia increase access to these records for Commonwealth residents. Virginia plays a special role in the history of the United States,” said Quinton Atkinson, Ancestry Senior Director Global Content Acquisition. “Tens of thousands of people researching their family history have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to learn more about their ancestors through these records. It is an exciting moment for the entire genealogy community.” The project began two years ago following legislation (Senate Bill 660 in 2012) supporting digitizing vital records. So far, birth and death records from 1912 to the present, marriage records from 1936 to the present and divorce records from 1918 to the present have been scanned and are available. Non-public records—those that have not yet reached the required time for release—are only available in a “limited index,” which discloses only an individual’s name and the date and location of the event. “Throughout this project and beyond, maintaining the integrity of Virginia’s Vital Records System and the security of people’s records remains our priority,” said VDH Chief Information Officer Debbie Condrey. “All documents were scanned under the supervision of trained VDH Vital Records staff following strict protocols.” “It is exciting and rewarding to successfully implement a records project of this magnitude and historical significance,” added State Registrar and Division of Vital Records Director Janet Rainey. “This project is one of the first of its kind in the nation.” For more information on Virginia’s records visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/Vital_Records/, the Library of Virginia or www.ancestry.com. * In Virginia, death, marriage and divorce data become “public” information 25 years after the event; birth data are “public” after 100 years.

Ford Archives Project

Do you have any ancestors who worked at the Ford Motor Company? My great-grandfather Joseph Buszek worked there. He took the streetcar to work everyday. He was made of strong stuff. One time a load of coal fell on him! The guys quickly dug him out and he got right back up and went back to work. Ford now has an archive online! The Benson Ford Research Center of The Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company Archives jointly manage the historical records of the Ford Motor Company through the Ford Historical Resources Collaborative. The publicly-accessible records, which are available through the Benson Ford Research Center, include archival records, printed material, photographs, graphics, audio files, and video files. To maintain a comprehensive record of Ford Motor Company, in 2007 we began the periodic web capture of the company's website, Ford.com, which became Corporate.Ford.com in late 2010. The Ford Historical Resources Collaborative has partnered with San Diego State University to crawl and capture Corporate.Ford.com four times a year, save the dataset in a preservation environment, and provide access through www.TheHenryFord.org

. In this way, we can continue to serve the research needs of educators, students, scholars, writers, and automotive enthusiasts.

Seeking Michigan Death Certificate Images now online!!

The Archives of Michigan is thrilled to announce that images of Michigan death certificates from 1921-1939 are now available for free at Seeking Michigan: http://seekingmichigan.org/. The index for records from 1940-1952 will be made available in the next few weeks, with additional certificate images to be released each year as privacy restrictions are lifted; for example, 1940 images will be released in January 2016. Together with the records from 1897-1920 that have been available at the site for years, this collection makes Seeking Michigan the one-stop destination for more than 2.6 million free, publicly-available 20th century death records for Michigan ancestors. This 1921-1952 collection of death certificates and indexes, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Community Health and FamilySearch, covers a critical period in the growth and development of Michigan. Here, researchers will find evidence of the influx of Eastern European immigration, the emergence of Detroit as the automotive capital of the world, and a state crippled by the Great Depression. Those ancestors that immigrated to Michigan, worked the assembly line, and struggled to make ends meet can all be found here. An individual’s last name, first name, county and township/village/city of death, birth year, age, and parents’ names are all indexed and searchable. Additional information, including the decedent’s occupation, cause of death, burial location, and birthplace is listed on the certificate itself. Michigan death records from 1897-1952 are now all in one place, for free! And, as luck would have it, Seeking Michigan is also celebrating its 6th birthday today. Enjoy and happy searching!

Windsor Public Library Obituaries

To those of you who have Canadian Roots, the Windsor Public Library has Obituaries online. The notices include last name, first name, maiden name if applicable, spouse's name if applicable, and the date the obituary appeared in the Windsor Star.

Seeking Michigan

Don't forget to check SEEKING MICHIGAN when you are researching your Michigan ancestors!