Selected repository locations for present-day orientation. Numbers match the research stops below. Select a marker to open its stop. Locations are approximate, not entrances or driving directions. Grouped numbers identify nearby repositories; use the address key for individual locations.
Several stops can lead to the same repository. Maps show selected verified locations, not every guide stop or every community represented in the records. Use each stop’s access instructions, including for online and out-of-county collections. Check access before traveling.
Stop 1: Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library 500 Center Avenue, Bay City, MI 48708
Check current local-history department hours before visiting.
Stop 3: Bay County Genealogical Society of Michigan 500 Center Avenue, Bay City, MI 48708
Hosted collection at Wirt Library; not a separate society building. Address source is Wirt library newsletter; society brochure confirms collection host.
Stop 5: Bay County MIGenWeb, compiled by Kathy Francis See access instructions Not plotted.
Follow the Pinconning database link on the online records page. Take the citation to the newspaper collection at Bay County Library System or another holding institution to inspect the actual notice.
County outlines: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic boundaries ↗. Selected major roads: 2024 TIGER/Line primary and secondary roads ↗. Public repository addresses checked against the sources above, with approximate Census geocoder positions. Unmatched addresses and out-of-county repositories are listed in the key rather than assigned a guessed position. Markers identify contact locations, not collection coverage. Historical boundaries, township lines and current traffic conditions are not shown. Prepared November 1, 2026.
Collection and access sources reviewed November 1, 2026. These are selected research routes, not complete county holdings or completed name-level searches.
RESEARCH STOP 01
Wirt Library school and Pinconning collections
Collection details
The Local History and Genealogy Room holds local high school yearbooks, atlases, maps, city directories and local history files. Its newspaper microfilm includes both Bay City and Pinconning, making it a useful stop when a family lived beyond the county seat. Newspaper and obituary indexes cover only some periods. Ask for a specific school and graduating year, or a Pinconning event and approximate date, rather than relying on a broad county surname search.
What to confirm
The overview gives no exact yearbook run or newspaper-film date spans. Confirm that the particular school, volume and issue survive. An index omission does not establish that the newspaper lacked an obituary.
RESEARCH STOP 02
Butterfield Library maps and business histories
Collection details
The library reports Bay City Polk directories dating to 1866, insurance maps for various years from the 1890s through 1960, and bird's-eye maps dated 1867, 1879 and 1891. Local business, commerce, industry and architectural materials make this particularly useful for investigating a family's workplace, storefront or house. County histories in the collection date back to 1875.
What to confirm
Map dates are selective, not an annual series. The society warns that some primary-source items are presently unavailable for research. Ask about the exact item before assuming access.
RESEARCH STOP 03
Local vital-record transcriptions and cemetery books
Collection details
The society lists marriage transcriptions for 1857–1921, birth transcriptions for 1868–1878 and death indexes for 1914–2009. Its cemetery publications and obituary indexes offer additional name-finding routes.
What to confirm
These are transcriptions and indexes. Confirm a finding in the original record. The society brochure is dated 2022; verify volunteer availability instead of relying on its old schedule.
RESEARCH STOP 04
Four cemetery sexton records, 1874–1909
Collection details
The society provides transcribed sexton records for Green Ridge, Pine Ridge, Seamen and Jewish cemeteries for 1874–1909, with alphabetical and plot-based approaches.
What to confirm
The society warns that faded handwriting, missing information and errors affect the source and transcription. This is not a complete record of every Bay County burial.
RESEARCH STOP 05
Pinconning newspaper life events with issue references
Collection details
The online records page links a compiled 1906–2013 birth, death and marriage database drawn from the Pinconning Press and Pinconning Journal. It supports name, spouse, child, event and date searches and supplies issue/page/column references.
What to confirm
A volunteer-created index is a finding aid, not the newspaper itself. Its outer date span does not establish complete issue or event coverage.
Prepare one focused request
Give the repository the locality, year, collection and specific question. Ask about the relevant volume or folder, gaps, access restrictions and copying costs. Save the citation and record what you searched, including searches with no result.
Use these dated holdings to choose a next search. This is a selection of cataloged collections, not a complete inventory of Bay County records.
A range is a lead, not a guarantee. Bars show the dates stated by the cited catalog or inventory. They do not establish uninterrupted coverage, complete reporting or online image access. Unmarked years mean not represented in this selection, not that records were destroyed. Indexes and abstracts still need to be followed to the underlying record.
Sources reviewed November 1, 2026. Blue shows cataloged holdings; rust identifies indexes or compiled publications where the source specifies them. Read the format label and access notes for each row.
180018501900195020002026
derivative index/transcription
Marriage transcriptions
Listed years: 1857–1921.
Source, access and coverage limits
Use the society website and publication list to identify the volume needed. Ask bcgs13@yahoo.com about access to the society genealogy materials at Wirt Library and any privately held items before visiting.
Keep in mind: Brochure revision July 2022; no complete event coverage claimed. These are transcriptions and indexes. Confirm a finding in the original record. The society brochure is dated 2022; verify volunteer availability instead of relying on its old schedule.
Use the society website and publication list to identify the volume needed. Ask bcgs13@yahoo.com about access to the society genealogy materials at Wirt Library and any privately held items before visiting.
Keep in mind: Brochure revision July 2022; no complete event coverage claimed. These are transcriptions and indexes. Confirm a finding in the original record. The society brochure is dated 2022; verify volunteer availability instead of relying on its old schedule.
Use the society website and publication list to identify the volume needed. Ask bcgs13@yahoo.com about access to the society genealogy materials at Wirt Library and any privately held items before visiting.
Keep in mind: Brochure revision July 2022; no complete event coverage claimed. These are transcriptions and indexes. Confirm a finding in the original record. The society brochure is dated 2022; verify volunteer availability instead of relying on its old schedule.
Use the cemetery-record page to reach the transcript files. Save the cemetery, name and plot reference, then ask the research library about the underlying entry or related cemetery material.
Keep in mind: Missing/faded entries and transcription errors; only named cemeteries. The society warns that faded handwriting, missing information and errors affect the source and transcription. This is not a complete record of every Bay County burial.
Follow the Pinconning database link on the online records page. Take the citation to the newspaper collection at Bay County Library System or another holding institution to inspect the actual notice.
Keep in mind: Not complete issue or life-event coverage. A volunteer-created index is a finding aid, not the newspaper itself. Its outer date span does not establish complete issue or event coverage.
Confirm the historical jurisdiction as well as the date. A record may be held outside today’s county, and an inventory’s ending year does not mean recordkeeping stopped.
Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.