Advice for Genealogists

Are you looking for genealogical Information about your family?

Each week the Keweenaw County Historical Society receives requests via our website for help in locating information concerning someone’s family genealogy.  Unfortunately the Keweenaw County Historical Society Archives have no records that are helpful to genealogists. We have no employment records, birth or death records, tax records, etc. Also, the church records for most of our local historic churches, including the churches in Phoenix and Central, are missing. However we work with several other organizations in the area that have helped individuals in the past. Some of these provide the materials and you must do the research while others also have a list of local researchers who will do the research for a fee. Here is a summary of some of the organizations:

The J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, University Archives and Historical Collections, (commonly known as The MTU Archives), http://www.mtu.edu/library/archives.
This is a large, university research center full of documents, mining company records, some tax records, reports, photographs, etc. You might want to see their guide for genealogical research for help http://www.mtu.edu/library/archives/research-guides/GenealogicalSources.pdf

The Archives of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/historyculture/collections.htm
This archive has a wide range of information, documents, and artifacts about the Copper Country. They do allow researchers access to their records. See their website for the scope of the collection and how to access it.

The Archives of the Finnish American Heritage Center,
https://fahc.finlandiafoundation.org/archive
While the main thrust of this collection is local Finnish American History and families the archives contains materials about local towns, mines, and industries that are helpful in other areas of research. See their website for hours, descriptions, etc.

As for Keweenaw County tax records, some of the records are in the County Court House in Eagle River and some are in the Archives at Michigan Tech.

We hope that helps you on your quest.

Updated 02/03/2025