Michigan Genealogy Research Help: How to Start and Avoid Common Mistakes

Start with what you can verify, not what you want to be true

Every research project I’ve ever gotten tangled up in started the same way: I wanted a connection to be true badly enough that I stopped checking it as hard as I should have. That’s the single most common failure mode in genealogy, Michigan research included, and it has nothing to do with how good the records are. It’s a discipline problem, not an access problem.

The fix is boring but it works: start with the most recent generation you can document from living memory, family papers, or a document you already hold in hand, and work backward one generation at a time. Don’t skip ahead to the exciting 1830s ancestor before you’ve nailed down the 1900s and 1920s ones — every generation you confirm makes the next one easier to find, and every generation you guess at makes everything built on top of it shakier.

The five-part standard that separates proof from a guess

Professional genealogists use a framework called the Genealogical Proof Standard to decide when a family-tree conclusion is proven, not just plausible. Casual researchers don’t need to formally cite it, but the five elements are worth internalizing as habits:

1. Reasonably exhaustive research. Have you checked the record types that would confirm or contradict a conclusion — not just the first database that turned up a match?
2. Complete and accurate source citations. Write down exactly where a fact came from — the specific record, date, and repository — not just “found on a website.” You will need this later, and you will not remember.
3. Reliable, well-analyzed evidence. A record made at the time of an event (a baptismal entry, a contemporary land deed) generally outweighs one made decades later from memory (a death certificate’s reported birth date).
4. Resolution of conflicting evidence. When two sources disagree, figure out why, and which is more likely correct — don’t just pick whichever is more convenient.
5. A sound, clearly written conclusion. If you can’t explain in plain language why two records refer to the same person, you probably haven’t proven it yet.

That last point is the practical test I use constantly: if I can’t write a paragraph explaining why a census entry and a birth record refer to the same person — not just that the names match, but why, given age, location, and family context — I’m not done with that research yet.

A quick way to weigh two conflicting sources against each other:

Mistakes that show up constantly in Michigan research specifically

A few problems come up often enough in Michigan genealogy work that they’re worth flagging directly:

• Trusting the first matching name. A common surname in a small Michigan county can easily belong to two or three men of similar age at once — check age, location, and known family members before accepting a match.
• Ignoring Michigan’s shifting county lines. Boundaries moved constantly through the 1800s. A record that seems missing from a county might be filed under whichever county governed that land at the time.
• Assuming a record type didn’t exist yet. Michigan’s statewide vital records law didn’t take effect until 1867, but church registers, land records, probate files, and township school censuses existed well before that.
• Treating an index hit as a confirmed record. An index entry tells you a record is worth pursuing — it isn’t the record itself, and transcription errors are common enough that a second source is always worth the extra step.
• Not separating “I can’t read this” from “I don’t understand this.” Old documents fail readers for two different reasons — unfamiliar handwriting, or unfamiliar terminology — and they need two different fixes.

What to do when sources genuinely disagree

Conflicting evidence is normal, not a sign something’s gone wrong. When two records give a family different information about the same event, work through it methodically rather than picking whichever answer you’d prefer:

1. Identify how close each source is to the actual event. A baptismal record made within days of a birth generally outweighs a death certificate’s reported birth date, filled in decades later from memory.
2. Check who provided the information to each source. A census taken from a neighbor’s guess is weaker than a source where the person, or a close family member, supplied the details directly.
3. Look for a third, independent source to break the tie. Land records, probate files, and church registers often exist alongside vital records and can confirm which conflicting date or spelling is correct.
4. Write down the conflict and your reasoning, not just your final answer. You’ll want to know why you chose one date over another when you revisit this years from now.
5. Be willing to leave a question genuinely open. A tree note that says “birth year uncertain, sources disagree between 1847 and 1849” is more honest than a confident wrong answer.

Two specific reading problems worth their own guides

Two obstacles come up often enough in Michigan records that they deserve dedicated treatment rather than a paragraph here. If a 19th-century document is stopping you cold, figure out which of these two problems you’re actually facing first:

• Old handwriting. Secretary hand, the long s, German Kurrent script — the shapes of the letters themselves have changed enough that a perfectly legible document can look like nonsense at first glance. Our guide to reading old handwriting breaks down the specific letter forms and abbreviations that trip up most researchers.
• Old disease names and medical terminology. A cause of death like “dropsy” or “consumption” isn’t illegible, it’s just unfamiliar — 19th-century medicine described symptoms, not modern diagnoses. Our guide to old disease names translates the terms you’re most likely to run into on a Michigan death record or mortality schedule.

For a broader map of which Michigan record type to reach for at each stage of research — vital records, census, military, cemetery, and more — see our record types guide, and for county-specific starting points, see the county resource hub.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I start Michigan genealogy research if I know almost nothing? Start with the most recent generation you can document from living memory or family papers, then work backward one generation at a time. Pull a federal census for the family first — it’s free on FamilySearch and gives you a place and approximate date.

What is the Genealogical Proof Standard? A five-part framework for deciding when a conclusion is actually proven: reasonably exhaustive research, complete source citations, reliable and well-analyzed evidence, resolution of conflicting evidence, and a soundly reasoned written conclusion.

What’s the most common mistake new genealogists make? Accepting the first matching name as the right person, without checking age, location, and family details against what’s already known.

What should I do when two sources disagree about the same fact? Figure out which source is closer to the actual event and more likely to be accurate, rather than averaging them or picking whichever is more convenient. A source made at the time of an event generally outweighs one made decades later from memory.

How do I read a record I genuinely can’t make sense of? Separate the two problems you’re actually facing — is it the handwriting, or is it unfamiliar terminology? Our guides to old handwriting and old disease names each tackle one half of that problem directly.