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, Stop 2, Stop 5, Stop 6: Gratiot County Historical and Genealogical Society 228 W Center St, Ithaca, MI 48847
Confirm current research access and any appointment before traveling.
Stop 3: Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University See access instructions Not plotted.
Contact clarke@cmich.edu with RG 76-93, record type and year. The public may consult material in the reading room, and research appointments are available. Ask for the detailed finding aid and copying options before traveling.
Stop 4: Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections See access instructions Not plotted.
Request c.00424, volume 1, folder 1. MSU requires a research account and a reading-room appointment at least three business days ahead. Contact archives@msu.edu about retrieval or remote reference assistance; public consultation is at the Main Library reading room.
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
Ithaca school newsletters and Bethany district records
Collection details
The inventory identifies Bethany No. 6 school records under Single Purple 014A and Ithaca High School Fortnight Growler newsletters in decade groups from 1930–2009, Single Purple 254 through 254G. Several later groups are explicitly marked not indexed. These offer a school-based route beyond a surname search.
What to confirm
The decade labels are broad holdings descriptions, not a promise of every issue. Bethany dates are not specified. Ask for the issue or volume and inspect its original wording.
RESEARCH STOP 02
Church and Sunday-school records with specific shelf references
Collection details
The inventory lists William Asbury Taylor’s Ithaca Methodist Episcopal material, 1898–1900, including members, marriages, sermons and funerals (Single Dark Blue 27), and Fulton Center Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school records, 1881–1906 (Single Dark Blue 51).
What to confirm
Confirm the item’s format, completeness and any restrictions. A church history, directory and original register answer different questions; do not treat them as interchangeable.
RESEARCH STOP 03
Pine River Township justice dockets and chattel mortgages
Collection details
The state county guide places Pine River Township records, RG 76-93, at Clarke: justice-court dockets, 1871–1920; civil dockets, 1886–1891; criminal dockets, 1883–1906; and chattel mortgages, 1873–1907. These can help test local residence, property dealings or associates between census years.
What to confirm
The asterisk in the state guide identifies Clarke as custodian, not Lansing. Township coverage is not countywide, and the listed spans do not establish a particular person’s inclusion.
RESEARCH STOP 04
An Ithaca building-supply and fuel account book from 1893
Collection details
W. O. Town account book, c.00424, is one volume dated 1893. The finding aid describes itemized sales of building supplies and fuel from Town’s Ithaca office. A customer or transaction may supply a local connection to test against other records.
What to confirm
The collection is open for research, but the finding aid is not a digitized ledger. The 1893 date is a single-volume description, not a continuing business series. A purchase does not by itself establish residence or kinship.
RESEARCH STOP 05
Kelly Searle legal correspondence
Collection details
The inventory separately lists Searle, Kelly legal correspondence for 1901–1903 and 1905–1906, stored in the basement.
What to confirm
1904 is not covered by these listed ranges. The inventory does not establish every correspondent or a searchable online transcription.
RESEARCH STOP 06
Fraternal minutes and householders’ group records
Collection details
The inventory lists Ithaca RAM #70 minutes for 1881–1909 and 1909–1922, plus New Haven Householders Extension Group material for 1950–1990.
What to confirm
These are organizational records, not complete population lists. The listed spans do not establish uninterrupted membership or meeting coverage.
RESEARCH STOP 07
St. Louis street photographs and city memorabilia
Collection details
The society describes old photographs of Mill Street activities, city artifacts and memorabilia at its former railroad-depot museum.
What to confirm
The depot’s 1873 construction date is not a date range for the photographs. No item-level collection inventory is published on the cited page.
RESEARCH STOP 08
Alma College student newspapers
Collection details
The digitization partner lists Almanian, 1897–1907, and The Weekly Almanian, 1907–1929, in the college’s free community-history archive.
What to confirm
These are listed digitized spans, not a guarantee of every issue. The archive viewer could not be independently loaded during this check; the collection listing and ranges were verified.
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 Gratiot 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
Broad decade groups / partly unindexed
Ithaca High School Fortnight Growler newsletters
Listed years: 1930–2009.
Source, access and coverage limits
Use the inventory number in a request to info.gchgs@gmail.com or 989-875-6232. The genealogy library at 228 W. Center Street, Ithaca, welcomes onsite research without an admission charge; staff research and copies have fees. Confirm current hours and availability before traveling.
Keep in mind: Inventory decade groups are not a guarantee of every issue. The decade labels are broad holdings descriptions, not a promise of every issue. Bethany dates are not specified. Ask for the issue or volume and inspect its original wording.
Use the inventory number in a request to info.gchgs@gmail.com or 989-875-6232. The genealogy library at 228 W. Center Street, Ithaca, welcomes onsite research without an admission charge; staff research and copies have fees. Confirm current hours and availability before traveling.
Keep in mind: Confirm the item’s format, completeness and any restrictions. A church history, directory and original register answer different questions; do not treat them as interchangeable.
Use the inventory number in a request to info.gchgs@gmail.com or 989-875-6232. The genealogy library at 228 W. Center Street, Ithaca, welcomes onsite research without an admission charge; staff research and copies have fees. Confirm current hours and availability before traveling.
Keep in mind: Confirm the item’s format, completeness and any restrictions. A church history, directory and original register answer different questions; do not treat them as interchangeable.
Contact clarke@cmich.edu with RG 76-93, record type and year. The public may consult material in the reading room, and research appointments are available. Ask for the detailed finding aid and copying options before traveling.
Keep in mind: The asterisk in the state guide identifies Clarke as custodian, not Lansing. Township coverage is not countywide, and the listed spans do not establish a particular person’s inclusion.
Contact clarke@cmich.edu with RG 76-93, record type and year. The public may consult material in the reading room, and research appointments are available. Ask for the detailed finding aid and copying options before traveling.
Keep in mind: The asterisk in the state guide identifies Clarke as custodian, not Lansing. Township coverage is not countywide, and the listed spans do not establish a particular person’s inclusion.
Request c.00424, volume 1, folder 1. MSU requires a research account and a reading-room appointment at least three business days ahead. Contact archives@msu.edu about retrieval or remote reference assistance; public consultation is at the Main Library reading room.
Keep in mind: The collection is open for research, but the finding aid is not a digitized ledger. The 1893 date is a single-volume description, not a continuing business series. A purchase does not by itself establish residence or kinship.
Give staff both the exact inventory title and the years; ask about retrieval and copying before visiting.
Keep in mind: 1904 is not listed. Basement retrieval; inventory not digitized contents. 1904 is not covered by these listed ranges. The inventory does not establish every correspondent or a searchable online transcription.
Request the named series through the society’s library. Ask which volumes or folders are available and whether an appointment is needed.
Keep in mind: Organizational minute books; not complete population lists. These are organizational records, not complete population lists. The listed spans do not establish uninterrupted membership or meeting coverage.
Request the named series through the society’s library. Ask which volumes or folders are available and whether an appointment is needed.
Keep in mind: Inventory date range; folder-level completeness unknown. These are organizational records, not complete population lists. The listed spans do not establish uninterrupted membership or meeting coverage.
Follow the archive link from the partner’s collection page. Search a name and then inspect the dated newspaper page for context. Contact the library if the viewer does not open.
Keep in mind: Partner confirms digitized span; viewer could not load during check, no completeness claim. These are listed digitized spans, not a guarantee of every issue. The archive viewer could not be independently loaded during this check; the collection listing and ranges were verified.
Follow the archive link from the partner’s collection page. Search a name and then inspect the dated newspaper page for context. Contact the library if the viewer does not open.
Keep in mind: Partner confirms digitized span; viewer could not load during check, no completeness claim. These are listed digitized spans, not a guarantee of every issue. The archive viewer could not be independently loaded during this check; the collection listing and ranges were verified.
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.