Michigan cemetery records are often used by genealogists when they are researching family history for others. Why bother paying an intermediary to do all the work, when you can access Michigan cemetery records yourself and do your own research? You are probably going to be required to pay a small fee to get copies of most Michigan cemetery records, but it is still a lot less than paying someone else, who will add the extra fees to their bills. You can save a lot of money by doing your own family tree research, and you will find that when you have documents such as Michigan cemetery records, it is a fun project that you will really get into. Michigan Cemetery and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
Learn More than You May Expect
Many people think that the only thing they are going to learn from Michigan cemetery records is when a person died. Actually, these records contain a lot more information that you need to have in order to have truly accurate family trees.
Michigan cemetery records can tell you a lot about a person, including:
- How old they were when they died
- Where they lived when they died
- The hospital where they died
- The attending physician at the time of death (this is not always available)
- The name of the person’s spouse
- The names of the person’s next of kin
- The names of the person’s parents and siblings (this is not always available)
The more information you can get, the better you will be able to do research and have a complete family tree when you are all finished. Using Michigan cemetery records is a great way to get a lot of the information you are going to need. Of course, you cannot just stop with the Michigan cemetery records. There are many other documents that will be important for your research, including birth records, marriage records, census records and more.
The days of having to hire a professional genealogist to do your family tree are long gone. With so many websites on the subject, as well as books and other literature, it is easy for anyone to be able to access Michigan cemetery records and other documents, and create their own family trees that they can leave for future generations to add to.
Research In Michigan Cemetery Records
There are more than 1,000 books full of published and transcribed Michigan tombstone listings located in the Burton Historical Collection and at the Library of Michigan. The Michigan Cemetery Compendium (Spring Arbor, Mich.: HAR-AL, 1979) lists the majority of the state’s cemeteries and their locations, if in-person research is required.
Famous People Buried in Michigan Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Calhoun | Truth, Sojourner 12/1/1904 – 11/26/1883 Oak Hill Cemetery |
Abolitionist and Social Reformer. In 1828, she successfully fought a legal battle to regain custody of her son, becoming the first black woman to win a lawsuit against a white man. |
| Chippewa | Edmund Fitzgerald Shipwreck Memorial – Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum |
Great lakes Freighter Disaster. On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior, 17 miles from Whitefish Point, Michigan. |
| Chippewa | Pitre, Didier ‘Cannonball’ 9/1/1883 – 7/29/1934 Riverside Cemetery |
Hall of Fame Professional Hockey Player. He played for the teams, Montreal Nationals (1903 to 1905), Michigan Soo Indians (1904 to 1907), Montreal Shamrocks (1907 to 1908), Edmonton Eskimos (1907 to 1908), Renfrew Millionaires (1908 to 1909), Vancouver Millionaires (1913 to 1914), and the Montreal Canadiens (1909 to 1923). |
| Ingham | Olds, Ransom Eli 6/3/1864 – 8/26/1950 Mount Hope Cemetery |
American inventor and automotive pioneer, best known as the founder of the car company that became Oldsmobile Motor Division of General Motors Corporation (GM). He was born Ransom Eli Olds on June 3, 1864, in Geneva, Ohio, the younger of two sons of Pliny Fisk Olds and Sarah Whipple Olds. |
| Kalamazoo | King Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park |
Memorial monument erected in the memory of Dr King. |
| Kent | Ford (Bloomer), Betty (Elizabeth Ann) 4/8/1918 – 7/8/2011 Gerald R. Ford Museum |
US Presidential First Lady. Wife of 38th President Gerald R. |
| Kent | Ford (King, Jr. ), Gerald (Leslie Lynch) Rudolph 7/14/1913 – 12/26/2006 Gerald R. Ford Museum |
38th United States President. Born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. |
| Kent | York, Dick 9/4/1928 – 2/20/1992 Plainfield Cemetery |
Actor, most remembered for his role as Darrin Stephens, the often-frustrated husband of Elizabeth Montgomery, in the Television sitcom series, Bewitched. Born Richard Allen York in Fort Wayne, Indiana on 4 September 1928, he quickly found work in the entertainment industry. |
| Wayne | Clarke, Tony 4/13/1940 – 8/28/1971 United Memorial Gardens |
Singer, Songwriter, Producer. Born Ralph Williams, he wrote for many legendary artists, including Etta James’ “Two Sides to Every Story” and “Pushover” and David Ruffin’s early hit song “Mr. |
| Wayne | Ford, Henry 7/30/1863 – 4/7/1947 Ford Cemetery |
Pioneer IndustrialiSt. Founder of the Ford Motor Company. |
| Wayne | Jackson, Michael 8/29/1958 – 6/25/2009 Woodlawn Cemetery |
Musician, Entertainer. He was called the “King of Pop,” and is best remembered for his revolutionary videos such as “Thriller” (1982), and “Dangerous” (1991), as well as two Guinness World Records: Most successful entertainer of all time (with 13 Grammy Awards, 13 Number One single hits in a solo career, and sales of over 750 million in albums worldwide), and for having the greatest selling album of all time (“Thriller”). |
| Wayne | Parks (McCauley), Rosa (Rosa Louise) 2/4/1913 – 10/24/2005 Woodlawn Cemetery |
Civil Rights Pioneer and Social ActiviSt. An African-American working woman, she became most famous for her refusal in 1955 to give up a bus seat to a white man who was getting on the bus, an incident that led to her arrest and inspired Dr. |
| Wayne | Peppard, George 10/1/1928 – 5/8/1994 Northview Cemetery |
Actor, he is best remembered for his breakthrough role of Paul “Fred” Varjak in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), and for his role of Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith in the television series “The A-Team” (1983-1986). Born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of opera singer and building contractor Vernelle Rohrer. |
| Wayne | Ruffin, David 1/18/1941 – 6/1/1991 Woodlawn Cemetery |
R & B singer and lead for the famed Motown group The Temptations. David Ruffin could not capitalize on his first solo singles for various labels, so he shared his private pain in the Temptations’ biggest hits. |
| Wayne | Stubbs, Levi 6/6/1936 – 10/17/2008 Woodlawn Cemetery |
Singer. He was the lead vocalist of the legendary musical Motown group The Four Tops. |
| Wayne | War Memorial – Woodmere Cemetery |
Erected by the Veteran’s Association, the monument is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of 19th US Infantry and other regiments who served in the Civil War. |
| Wayne | Wilson, Jackie (Jack Leroy) 6/9/1934 – 1/21/1984 Westlawn Cemetery |
Singer. Born Jack Leroy Wilson in Detroit, Michigan, the only child of Jack and Eliza Wilson from Columbus, Mississippi. |
Michigan Cemeteries
| Cemetery Name | Cemetery City |
|---|---|
| Mount Joy Cemetery | Alcona |
| Forest Hill Cemetery | Ann Arbor |
| Fort Custer National Cemetery | Augusta |
| Roseland Park Cemetery | Berkley |
| St. Clements Cemetery | Center Line |
| St. John’s Catholic Cemetery | Claybanks Township |
| Resurrection Cemetery | Clinton Township |
| Pine Tree Cemetery | Corunna |
| St. Hedwig Cemetery | Dearborn Heights |
| Elmwood Cemetery | Detroit |
| Holy Cross Cemetery | Detroit |
| Mount Elliott Cemetery | Detroit |
| Mount Olivet Cemetery | Detroit |
| Woodlawn Cemetery | Detroit |
| Machpelah Cemetery | Ferndale |
| Michigan Memorial Cemetery | Flat Rock |
| Great Lakes National Cemetery | Holly |
| Maple Ridge Cemetery | Holt |
| Glen Eden Lutheran Memorial Park | Livonia |
| Eden Cemetery | Mason |
| Hawley Cemetery | Mason |
| Leek Cemetery | Mason |
| Maple Grove Cemetery | Mason |
| Pine Grove Cemetery | Millington – Kayla Rolland |
| Evergreen Cemetery | Muskegon |
| Lakeside Cemetery | Muskegon |
| Oakwood Cemetery | Muskegon |
| Restlawn Cemetery | Muskegon |
| Mona View Cemetery | Muskegon Heights |
| Knapp Cemetery | Northville |
| Rural Hill Cemetery | Northville |
| Thayer Cemetery | Northville |
| Waterford Cemetery | Northville |
| Yerkes Cemetery | Northville |
| Norton Cemetery | Norton Shores |
| Guardian Angel Cemetery | Oakland Township |
| Lakeside Cemetery | Port Huron |
| Oakview Cemetery & Mausoleum | Royal Oak |
| Holy Sepulchre Cemetery | Southfield |
| White Chapel Cemetery | Troy |
| Detroit Memorial Park East | Warren |
| All Saints Cemetery | Waterford Township |
| William Ganong Cemetery | Westland |
| Mount Carmel Cemetery | Wyandotte |
Michigan Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- Rootsweb Michigan Cemetery Look Ups (rootsweb.ancestry.com)
- Family Records: Cemetery and Bible Records Mainly Michigan and Massachusetts
- Michigan Tombstone Inscription Project (usgwtombstones.org)
- Web: Indiana and Michigan Michiana Genealogical Cemetery Index 1800-2010
- Web: Michigan Find A Grave Index 1805-2011
- Cemetery records
- A Compilation of Bible-marriage-family-and-cemetery records relating to Michigan pioneer families
- Michigan Obituary Project (usgwarchives.net)
- Michigan Deaths and Burials 1800-1995
- Epodunk – Michigan Cemeteries (epodunk.com)
- Find a Grave – Michigan Cemeteries (findagrave.com)
- Michigan Cemeteries at Internment.net (interment.net)
- The Michigan Political Graveyard (politicalgraveyard.com)
- Michigan Cemetery Books (amazon.com)
