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 3, Stop 6, Stop 7: Capital Area District Libraries Local History Center 2175 University Park Drive, Okemos, MI 48864
Ask Local History staff to identify surviving membership, minutes or other relevant series before visiting the Okemos center.
Stop 4, Stop 5: Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections 366 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824
Use UA 17.258 and the collection title when contacting archives@msu.edu. Explain the person's possible connection, approximate years and whether you need school context or a specific image. Ask for the current folder list and reproduction options before reserving a reading-room appointment at MSU's Main Library.
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.
FOLLOW THE RECORD
Find the yearbook behind the catalog entry
STEP 01
Choose the school
Use CADL’s yearbook list. For example, the 1925 volume under Dansville is its predecessor, Ingham Township High School.
STEP 02
Choose an available year
Open the catalog entry and follow its Link(s) field to the scanned yearbook. Large PDFs may load slowly.
STEP 03
Inspect and cite the page
Read the caption and surrounding entries. Record the actual school, volume title, year and page.
Evidence check: Listed years are uneven; “coming soon” is not a digitized volume. A yearbook is not a complete enrollment register.
Research-route diagram, not an original record or a completed person search. Based on the linked repository instructions. Checked October 31, 2026.
Collection and access sources reviewed October 31, 2026. These are selected research routes, not complete county holdings or completed name-level searches.
RESEARCH STOP 01
Township ledgers, tax books and municipal collections
Collection details
CADL identifies Ingham County Township Ledgers, 1856-1938 (2018-08-003); Ingham County Tax Ledgers, 1907-1939 (2018-12-003); Lansing Tax Ledgers, 1894-1939 (2018-12-002); and the Meridian Township Collection, 1880-1975 (2019-08-006). These are useful leads for placing a family in a township and developing property or neighborhood research.
What to confirm
These are collection-level spans, not proof that every township or year survives. The linked detailed catalog did not load during verification, so ledger contents, gaps and digitization require staff confirmation.
RESEARCH STOP 02
School yearbooks and Lansing education records
Collection details
The digitized yearbook collection covers CADL service communities with uneven holdings. Dansville High School examples include 1925, 1945-1946 and 1949-1963, plus many later individual years. For institutional context, CADL separately lists Lansing Board of Education Minutes, 1902-1977 (2018-11-005), and the Ingham County Council of Parents and Teachers, 1925-1940 (2016-10-005).
What to confirm
A collection date range does not promise a continuous run. Large yearbook PDFs can load slowly. Yearbooks provide leads to classmates, activities and teachers; they are not complete enrollment registers or proof of family relationships.
RESEARCH STOP 03
Real-estate listing files: find the house behind an address
Collection details
The Stebbins Real Estate Collection contains nearly 400 boxes arranged by street address for greater Lansing and Ingham County. Advance Realty operated from the mid-1920s into the 1970s. Files can contain exterior photographs, negatives, listings and advertisements. The complementary Belon collection, from an agency operating 1952–1970, contains listing cards often accompanied by exterior photographs.
What to confirm
Agency operating dates do not establish a complete record for every property in every year. Stebbins does not include interior photographs. CADL warns that early Lansing street numbers changed, especially before 1906; compare maps and directories before equating an old address with a modern building.
RESEARCH STOP 04
Allan S. Thompson photographs: factories and the surrounding city
Collection details
The Allan S. Thompson Photographs collection, 00186, covers 1898–1913. MSU identifies images of the Lansing Wheelbarrow Company, including workers, manufacturing processes, buildings and incoming materials. Other documented businesses include Severance Tank Works, Oldsmobile Motor Car Company and Capitol Electrical Engineering Company. Local homes, churches, civic events and streetscapes provide additional context.
What to confirm
The collection description establishes subject coverage, not a named employee roster or identification of every photographed person. Do not identify an ancestor solely because the photograph shows their workplace. The older direct finding-aid link failed during this review; use the current portal or request assistance with the collection identifier.
RESEARCH STOP 05
Spartan Nursery School: a small school collection outside the yearbook route
Collection details
Betty Garlick papers, UA 17.258, span 1948–1977 and comprise four folders. MSU's official local-history guide identifies correspondence, newspaper clippings and photographs concerning Spartan Nursery School in East Lansing. Garlick directed the school during 1967–1973. This is a narrowly defined school-history lead, distinct from a countywide education series.
What to confirm
The description does not promise enrollment registers, individual pupil files or identification of everyone in the photographs. Collection dates also extend beyond Garlick's directorship. The older linked PDF did not load during this review, so confirm folder-level coverage and any restrictions with staff before relying on it for a particular child or year.
RESEARCH STOP 06
Trinity AME memorial cards and family material
Collection details
CADL lists African-American Memorial Cards associated with Trinity AME Church, 1960-1979 (1992-01-002), and the Nora Newsome Collection, 1880s-1940s (2016-05-023).
What to confirm
These are selected memorial and family materials, not complete congregation registers. The Newsome decades are approximate.
RESEARCH STOP 07
Women’s associations beyond household records
Collection details
Named collections include the Cosmopolitan Charity Club, 1922-1966 (2010-11-001), and Ingham County Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1895-2010 (2015-05-008). These offer association-based research paths.
What to confirm
The category list establishes collection titles and spans, not the presence of a particular member or uninterrupted annual records.
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 Ingham 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
Selected collection / verified interval
Allan S. Thompson photographs, 00186
Listed years: 1898–1913.
Source, access and coverage limits
Search MSU's finding-aid portal for collection 00186 or its full title. Ask archives@msu.edu about images relevant to a named employer, building or street, available digital copies and reproduction terms. Physical materials are consulted by appointment in the Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room at MSU's Main Library.
Keep in mind: The collection description establishes subject coverage, not a named employee roster or identification of every photographed person. Do not identify an ancestor solely because the photograph shows their workplace. The older direct finding-aid link failed during this review; use the current portal or request assistance with the collection identifier.
Use UA 17.258 and the collection title when contacting archives@msu.edu. Explain the person's possible connection, approximate years and whether you need school context or a specific image. Ask for the current folder list and reproduction options before reserving a reading-room appointment at MSU's Main Library.
Keep in mind: The description does not promise enrollment registers, individual pupil files or identification of everyone in the photographs. Collection dates also extend beyond Garlick's directorship. The older linked PDF did not load during this review, so confirm folder-level coverage and any restrictions with staff before relying on it for a particular child or year.
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.