Muskegon county as a black hole!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Margaret Shuey on July 12, 2009 at 9:48am

I'm guessing you've looked through Michigan GenWeb's site, already? Here's a link to Muskegon's listings just in case: http://www.usgwtombstones.org/michigan/muskegon.htm. Otherwise, I'm afraid the best I can offer is my sympathy. A number of my relatives seem to have vanished into thin air. Currently, I'm stuck on one of my grandfather's cousins, born in Michigan. He just disppears after about 1900.

Permalink Reply by Harold Henderson on July 12, 2009 at 9:53am

Merryann --

When I go to the "library" tab at familysearch.org, click on "library catalog" and then on "place search," type in "Muskegon" part of "Michigan," and finally click on "Michigan, Muskegon," I find indexes for probates, vital records including deaths, and cemetery listings.

Or do you mean that the library has these materials, but your people aren't in them under any spelling variant? I see they do have tax lists, deeds (partly indexed), and at least one county directory -- any hope there? They also have many years of chancery court files, which apparently are indexed volume by volume. (I haven't used these, but in Indiana those indexes are usually only by plaintiff, but at least you can read them faster than the full record.) I guess the next thing after that is to go after the families they married into and did business with, and try to come at them sideways. Hope this helps -- Harold



-- Harold

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on July 12, 2009 at 4:05pm

Yep - they are there. Been through them all. The people just aren't there. I haven't gotten to the tax records yet, so that's always a possibility - although some of the ancestors rented, rather than owned their farms. I'll keep trying.

Merryann

Harold Henderson said:

Merryann --

When I go to the "library" tab at familysearch.org, click on "library catalog" and then on "place search," type in "Muskegon" part of "Michigan," and finally click on "Michigan, Muskegon," I find indexes for probates, vital records including deaths, and cemetery listings.

Or do you mean that the library has these materials, but your people aren't in them under any spelling variant? I see they do have tax lists, deeds (partly indexed), and at least one county directory -- any hope there? They also have many years of chancery court files, which apparently are indexed volume by volume. (I haven't used these, but in Indiana those indexes are usually only by plaintiff, but at least you can read them faster than the full record.) I guess the next thing after that is to go after the families they married into and did business with, and try to come at them sideways. Hope this helps -- Harold



-- Harold

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on July 12, 2009 at 4:07pm

Thanks, Margaret!

Yes, I've been to the website. It's really pretty good - but nothing. It would have been so much easier if Daniel Hosler had decided to apply for a pension. Must be he figured diarrhea wasn't worthy.

Merryann

Margaret Shuey said:

I'm guessing you've looked through Michigan GenWeb's site, already? Here's a link to Muskegon's listings just in case: http://www.usgwtombstones.org/michigan/muskegon.htm. Otherwise, I'm afraid the best I can offer is my sympathy. A number of my relatives seem to have vanished into thin air. Currently, I'm stuck on one of my grandfather's cousins, born in Michigan. He just disppears after about 1900.

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on July 15, 2009 at 2:45pm

That's even worse!!! At least mine have the decency to hide before the State required death registrations!

Permalink Reply by Tracy Baer on July 15, 2009 at 10:02am

I googled Blue Lake Twp, MI. There is two counties with a Blue Water Twp, Muskegon and Kalkaska County. Maybe that will help. Check the census records and make sure it is Muskegon CO. See if that helps. Also, check Civil war registrations. I found one of my disappearing relative through the service records and was found in WI in a soldiers home.

Hope that helps.

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on July 15, 2009 at 2:44pm

Thank you, Dear, but is is definitely Muskegon county - the county directories and census records I mentioned in the original post show that. Daniel shows in the 1890 veterans' schedule, but there is no record of him in the CW graves registration transcriptions, or any of the cemetery listings I can find. He never applied for a pension.

I think I'll go after another ancestor for a while.

Permalink Reply by Tracy Baer on July 16, 2009 at 7:05pm

I found one of your 3 missing relatives. WWW.SeekingMichigan.org has the death certificate for Daniel Hostler with a death date of 13 Oct 1898. I will continue to search for you to see if I can find anymore.

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on July 16, 2009 at 9:40pm

OMG!!!!

I've been on that site and didn't find it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Permalink Reply by Tracy Baer on July 19, 2009 at 5:04pm

I was just at the Library of Michigan and they said that everything is not loaded yet. You may want to keep checking it. The date range is from the year 1867 to 1920. So anything before and after these dates will not be loaded.

Permalink Reply by George N. Griffin on September 7, 2009 at 7:19am

Have you tried Newaygo County and Oceana County Blue Lake is close to both of those 2 counties

Permalink Reply by Merryann Palmer on September 7, 2009 at 10:11am

But of course! Thanks for the thought - so many people have blinders on as far as area goes, and miss so much because of small moves and border changes.