Welcome to the Website
of the
Bay County Genealogical Society of Michigan
The Society strives to promote genealogy and educate persons interested in genealogy, with a focus on Bay County, Michigan.
It encourages the sharing of Bay County genealogy information and resources and helping others with their Bay County based families and ancestors, both past and current.
Members have read headstones from Bay County's rural cemeteries, collected interment information from Bay County cemeteries, transcribed birth, marriage, and death records from the Bay County Clerk's office, and indexed obituaries from the Bay City Times. All of this data is available at the Wirt Library.
Upcoming Presentations
Bay County Genealogical Society Meeting
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Presentation: Jeff Mason (in person) "Breaking Down Brick Walls & Revising Dead Ends"
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Potluck and Auction-Bay County Genealogical Society members only
July & August - no meetings
September 10, 2025 - Jon Ringelberg (in person) "Michigan Log Mark Registrations/Log Marks"
October 8, 2025 - Alan Spencer (in person) "The Spencer Family Project - A Reverse Genealogy Approach to the Four Spencer Brothers of Tuscola County"
To find out how to attend a meeting via Zoom. Click Here.
Genealogy Classes by Mary McManman
To be announced
Space is limited. If you have registered and cannot attend, please let the Reference Desk know so that somebody else can take your place.
Delegate News
(1) Find what, from Michigan counties, is at the Michigan Archives:
michigan.gov/mhc/archives/archive-collections/county-guides
(2) 1949 Death Certificates are available on Michiganology.org
(3) Programs for the Public from the Library of Michigan.
Free monthly family history Zoom programs.
www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/public/programs-for-the-public
(4) Our local genealogy society is looking for yearbooks from Bay County to complete our collection. If there are duplicates, we will share them with the Library of Michigan, as they are also looking to finish their collections. So, check your attics, basements, and closets. Contact the Society by using this Contact Form.
(5) Save the Date: Barbara J Brown Seminar will be held May 9 and 10, 2025 at the Library of Michigan sponsored by the Archives of Michigan. Main speaker will be Kelvin L Meyers - Forensic Genealogist.
(6) The Michigan Genealogical Council is looking for someone to be editor of their newsletter. This is a volunteer position what would be done from home. If you are interested, please contact them at https://mimgc.org/
What's New Inside
Items from the Bay City Times have been interspersed within the website. They will be changed periodically.
The current items are from the July 14, 1931, issue.
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1904 and 1906 Marriage Records and Indexes are now available for viewing.
Marriage Records and Indexes now cover 1904 -1933 inclusive.
Marriage Records and Indexes can be viewed by all Site visitors via the Research tab.
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The current issue (April-June 2025) of The Clarion, Bay County Genealogical Society's newsletter, and the most recent issue of the Michigan Genealogical Council newsletter are available for viewing by all site visitors.
They are located by clicking the Newsletter tab on the Main Menu.
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A listing of items located in the Bay County Genealogical Society's Private Library can be accessed via the Queries tab under the Research tab.
Downtown Bay City-1940s
Looking South from Center and Washington
City Hall-Tall thin building on the right
in the back