Microfilm

The following sets of microfilm are part of the Local History Collection: 

Area Newspapers

Censuses

  • Connecticut: 1790-1850, printed indexes available for all years.
  • Indiana: 1820-1850, printed indexes available for all years; 1860 (Noble and Ohio Counties); 1870 (Newton, Noble, Ohio, and Tippecanoe Counties); 1880 ( Morgan, Newton, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen and Parke Counties)
  • Massachusetts: 1790-1850, printed indexes are available for all years.
  • Michigan: 1820-1930, plus soundexes for 1880-1920. Printed indexes available for 1820-1870. The only available index for the 1930 census is on the Internet. Consult the staff for assistance.
  • Mississippi: 1860 (Claiborne, Clarke, Coahoma, Copiah, and Covington Counties – free schedules; Copiah, Covington, De Soto, Franklin, Greene, Harrison, and Hinds Counties – slave schedules)
  • New Hampshire: 1790-1850. Printed indexes available for all years.
  • New York: 1790-1850. Printed indexes available for all years.
  • Ohio: 1820-1850. Printed index available for all years. 
  • Pennsylvania: 1790-1850. Printed indexes available for all years.
  • Vermont: 1790-1850. Printed indexes available for all years.

Kalamazoo County Vital Records

The indices for Births and Marriages continue through 1975, even though the corresponding records have not been filmed. The index to Foreign Deaths continues through 1998. There is no index to the Poorhouse Records.

  • Births: 1867-1903
  • Marriages: 1831-1950
  • Deaths: 1867-1997
  • Foreign Deaths: 1931-1989
  • Poorhouse Records: 1885-1941, 1950

Miscellaneous Government Records

  • Kalamazoo County deeds: 1831-1903 (through Liber 70), including grantee and grantor indexes
  • Early Kalamazoo city government records

County Histories

Michigan County and Regional Histories and Atlases (88 rolls), cataloged in iBistro

Civil War

Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, 46 volumes on seven rolls. There is a separate printed index to this set (H 977.4 M61 Index). 

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn fire insurance maps for cities and villages in Kalamazoo County

Genealogical Register

New England Historic Genealogical Register, volumes 1-136, 1847-1982, including an index to volumes 1-50. Later volumes of the Register are available in paper copy. Volumes 51 through 148 are indexed in four bound volumes that are kept on top of the cabinet that houses the Register microfilm.