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New: The libraries behind the stories: every library, archive and newspaper our news stories draw on, and which stories use each one.

County histories

How far to trust them. Written a generation or two after the events, mostly from the recollections of old settlers, and paid for by subscribers whose biographies they print. Rich in names and dates, wrong often enough that every fact should be checked against a deed, a census or a newspaper.

• Howard S. Rogers, History of Cass County, from 1825 to 1875 (Cassopolis: W. H. Mansfield, 1875). University of Michigan Library
  The earliest county history, closest to the first settlers. Short, and often the source the later books copy.
• Alfred Mathews, History of Cass County, Michigan (Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1882). University of Michigan Library
  Much longer, with township and village histories and biographies. Repeats Rogers in places, adds new witnesses in others; its footnotes say who told what.
• L. H. Glover, A Twentieth Century History of Cass County, Michigan (Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1906). University of Michigan Library
  The county as it stood a generation later. Good on churches, schools and businesses of its day; leans on the earlier books for the pioneer years.
• Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan (Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1893).
  Subscription biographies, written with the families. Strong on births, marriages and children; kind to its subjects.

County and town maps

How far to trust them. Landownership maps were sold by subscription, so the names on the farms and the directories beside the town plans are the people who paid. The streets, lots and buildings are usually true to the ground; the names are a snapshot of one year.

• Geil, Harley & Siverd, Map of the Counties of Cass, Van Buren and Berrien, Michigan (Philadelphia, 1860). Library of Congress
  The wall map at the heart of the map room, with its town plans and business directories.
• Map of St. Joseph County, Michigan (1858). Library of Congress
  The neighbouring county two years earlier: Three Rivers, Constantine, Centreville, White Pigeon.
• Geil & Harley, Map of Kalamazoo County, Michigan (1861). Library of Congress
  Kalamazoo, Portage, Schoolcraft and the ground where Vicksburg grew.
• M. W. Stokes, Map of St. Joseph Co., Indiana (South Bend, 1863). Library of Congress
  South Bend and Lowell, Mishawaka and the townships, with engraved views.
• Geil & Harley, Map of Elkhart Co. Indiana (Philadelphia: Samuel Geil, 1861). American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
  Goshen, Elkhart, Bristol, Middlebury and the farms between.
• W. W. Graves, Atlas of Berrien County, Michigan (Chicago: Rand McNally). University of Michigan Library
  Township plates with every farm, from Benton to Three Oaks.
• R. L. Polk & Co., Illustrated Historical Atlas of Kent County, Michigan (1894). University of Michigan Library
  Grand Rapids Township and the city’s edge.
• Plat book of Cass County, Michigan (about 1928). scans contributed by Ross Traverse to the Cass County MIGenWeb Project
  The township sheets of about 1928, for following a farm from 1860 to the age of the automobile.

Views, plans and insurance maps

How far to trust them. Bird’s-eye views were drawn to sell a town, so they flatter it, but the streets and big buildings are carefully placed. Fire-insurance maps were drawn for underwriters and are the most exact record of buildings there is.

• Bird’s-eye views of Niles (1868), South Bend (1866, 1874, 1890), Kalamazoo (1874), Benton Harbor (1889) and Grand Rapids (1868). Library of Congress, Panoramic Maps
  Every house and tree, as the artist chose to show it.
• Sanborn Map Company, Fire insurance maps of the valley’s towns (from the 1880s). Library of Congress, through Wikimedia Commons
  Building by building: wood or brick, stories, stores and stables.
• Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Carte des Lacs du Canada (Paris, 1744).
  The Great Lakes as French mapmakers knew them, long before the first county was drawn.

Records to search yourself

How far to trust them. The first-hand record: made at the time, by someone with a reason to get it right. Still not perfect; see the guides.

• Archives of Michigan, Michigan death certificates, 1897–1952. Michiganology
  Free to search and view. Read our guide to the death certificate first.
• Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office records. BLM
  The first sale of every piece of public land, with the buyer’s name and the date.
• Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Library of Congress
  Digitized newspapers, searchable by word.
• Clarke Historical Library, Digital Michigan Newspapers. Central Michigan University
  Michigan papers, including some from the valley.
• Indiana State Library, Hoosier State Chronicles. Indiana State Library
  Indiana papers, for South Bend, Elkhart and Goshen.
• Cass District Library, Cass County plat maps. Cass District Library
  Plat books of later years, for carrying a farm forward.

For the free archives to search, country by country, see where the records are. For the names in the town directories, see who was in town.