Selected Genealogical Resources

CENTRAL UPPER PENINSULA AND
NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
 
126 Harden Learning Resources Center
1401 Presque Isle Ave.
Marquette, MI 49855
              906-227-1225       
archives@nmu.edu

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARCHIVAL RECORDS

• Marquette County Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1852-1971, 28 cubic feet

A name index to the following records on MS Access is available in the Archives reading room.

Declarations of Intent, 1852-1970, 13 cubic feet

The declarations of intent show the name, country of origin, and date. Records from the 1906 to 1970 show the petition number, the name, age, occupation, description, birthplace, date, current address, port emigrated from, name of vessel (or train), last foreign residence, renunciation of allegiance to foreign power, and date of arrival. Arranged chronologically.

Citizenship Certificates, 1872-1906, 3 cubic feet

Includes the name, date, country of origin, renunciation of allegiance to a foreign power, and signature of judge granting citizenship. Each volume has a separate name index. Arranged chronologically.

Petition and Record, 1906-1970, 11.6 cubic feet

These second papers also have copies of the first papers bound with them. The record includes the petition number, name, current residence, occupation, birthplace, birth date, port of departure, date of departure, port of arrival, date of arrival, name of vessel (or train), date of declaration of intention, renunciation of allegiance to a foreign power, and date of citizenship. Arranged chronologically.

Applications for Transfer of Petition, 1939-1970, .1 cubic feet

This record series consists of requests for transferring petition papers from one court to another. Usually the individual involved changed residence from a different county or state to Marquette County. These applications show the name of the judge the case is being transferred to, the name of the court the petition is being transferred from, the name of the petitioner, his/her current address, the petition number, the date of the request, and the court the petition is transferred to. Arranged chronologically in one folder.

Court Orders, 1930-1971, .3 cubic feet

This record series documents naturalization petitions granted or denied. Includes the court, the date, the petition number, the name of the petitioner, and the cause for denial or continuance.

·         Marquette County Court Records and Index, 1852-1981

This collection contains the complete court record for all civil and criminal cases in Marquette County.  The index provides access by plaintiff and defendant.  The index also indicates the nature of the civil complaint or criminal offense. 

·         Marquette County Clerk Historical Record,

This collection contains a variety of record series that document the numerous activities of the Marquette County Clerk’s office.  Those with the most relevance to genealogical research include the following:

1.      Coroner’s Inquests

This record series documents the County Coroner’s inquest reports for all murder cases. There is no index to the series and the reports are arranged numerically. 

2.      Marriage Affidavits, 1902-1994

3.      Marriage Applications, 1962-2000

• Marquette County Assessment (Tax) Rolls, 1868-1979, 144 cubic feet

This record series documents taxable persons and property. Entries include name of the owner, legal description of the property, number of acres, value, kinds and amount of taxes assessed. The record series is arranged alphabetically by township and then chronologically.

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IRON MINING RECORDS

Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company Records,1846-1960, 1200 cubic feet

The Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives acquired the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Mining Records from the state of Michigan in 2001. The records are on deposit with NMU and are still owned by the state of Michigan. Previously, the State Archives of Michigan maintained the records. The collection includes general administrative records, reports, payroll records for individual mines; correspondence, shipping records, financial records, and maps and plans

Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company Digitization Project Records, 1892-1960

The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Mining Company Digitization project, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, focuses on three record series from the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Mining Company collection. The three series include over 70,000 historical documents contained in lumber, land, and mining annual reports, and over 235 maps dated 1893-1960. There is also a blog documenting the progress of the project; an assortment of photographs pertaining to or contained within the collection; and lesson plans utilizing the source materials to meet Michigan education standards.  You can access the online collection at http://archives.nmu.edu/cci

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CHURCH RECORDS

1.      St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Records, 1856-1998, 8 cubic feet

This collection documents the history of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the first Episcopal Church in Marquette. Records include minutes, correspondence, agendas, published and unpublished material, financial records and constitutions and bylaws. Of particular interest are a complete set of the vestry minutes, newsletters and reports, and the church register beginning in 1856.  You may access the complete finding aid at /archives/node/39 

2.      Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan,1984-1994

This collection consists of archival material in various formats. Records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, studies, published and unpublished histories, centennial celebration material, confirmation and appointment records, council minutes, land records, bishops election records, VHS video tapes, photographic prints and slides, audio cassettes and tapes. Of particular note are the histories of individual churches and the administration of bishops. Also documented are church youth and community activities.

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NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY RECORDS

1. NMU Graduate and Non-Graduate, Faculty, and Student Organization Index, 1899-1961

A card file database of former students, faculty, organizations. Arranged alphabetically and available in the Archives reading room

2.      Office of the Registrar enrollment Records, Graduation Lists, and Phone Directories,1900-1990’s

Extensive lists of graduates be year and statistics on student enrollment. Collection includes promotional brochures, pamphlets, and phone directories of students and faculty.

3.      The Peninsulan Yearbook, 1910-1980, (gaps; 1911-1920; 1932-1939; 1942-1945)

An excellent resource for information on graduates, students, faculty and staff, and student organizations.

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ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS

The Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives maintains an extensive oral history collection that documents the social, economic, political and demographic history of the region. Important subjects include the Italian-American immigration, underground mining, labor history, Northern Michigan University, the Great Depression, and World War II.

1.      Oral History Digitization Project

The Oral History Project at the NMU Archives involves identifying and digitizing important interviews on cassette tapes for preservation. Simultaneously, these audio files are being entered into a cataloguing site linked to the Lydia Olson Library, giving researchers the ability to listen to the tapes in the comfort of their own homes.  You can access the collection online at http://archives.nmu.edu/oral_history

2.      Italian-American Oral History Collection, 150 interviews.  You can access the collection online as part of the Oral History Digitization Project at http://archives.nmu.edu/oral_history/italian.html

Between 1982 and 1985, the Center for Oral History at Northern Michigan University and Dr. Russell Magnaghi completed over 150 individuals with a variety of first and second generation Italian-Americans from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A catalogue to the collection is available from the Archives web site. The project visited every Italian-American community in Upper Michigan, neighboring Wisconsin, and Ontario. These communities included:

• Chippewa County: Sault Saint Marie
• Dickinson County: Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Loretto, Norway, Vulcan
• Gogebic County: Bessemer, Ironwood, Wakefield
• Keweenaw County: Mohawk
• Houghton County: Baltic, Calumet, Franklin Mine, Hancock, South Range
• Iron County, Michigan: Caspian, Crystal Falls, Iron River, Virgil
• Mackinac County: Cedarville-Hessel
• Marquette County: Gwinn, Ishpeming, Marquette, Negaunee
• Menominee County: Hermansville
• Iron County, Wisconsin: Hurley, Kimball
• Ontario: Sault Saint Marie

3.      Recorded in Stone: Voices on the Marquette Iron Range 

Recorded in Stone is an instructional web site on the history of immigration to the Marquette Iron Range in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Produced by the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives and funded in part with a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, the web site features digital reproductions of oral histories, original documents, photographs, bibliographies, and lesson plans for high school social studies teachers. The site also includes a set of summary histories of significant immigrant groups written by area scholars.  You may access the Project web site at http://voices.nmu.edu  

• The Red Dust Oral History Collection, 800 interviews and transcripts

Students of the former National Mine School followed by Aspen Ridge Middle School, conducted numerous oral history interviews from 1983-2000. From these interviews, they wrote and produced 17 books entitled “Red Dust” as part of the Red Dust local history project. Maxine Honkala, Sharon Richards and Bobbi Ameen directed the project. The student’s received national and state awards for the documentaries which they produced for National History Day.  You may find a more complete description of the collection at /archives/node/107 

• Northern Michigan University and Regional Oral History Collection

Dr. Russ Magnaghi, Department of History, and the Audio-Visual Department at Northern Michigan University are the creators of this collection. Since the early 1980s, Dr. Magnaghi has conducted an oral history program on selected subjects documenting the history of the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1995, Dr. William Vandement, president of NMU, appointed Dr. Magnaghi University Historian in preparation for the University’s centennial celebration in 1999. In this capacity, Dr. Magnaghi conducted numerous oral history interviews with faculty and staff that had a significant impact on the historical development of NMU. NMU’s Audio-Visual Department completed the remainder of the recordings as part of their official responsibility to records official events on campus.  You may find a more complete description of the collection at /archives/node/105