Michigan History Goes Online

The Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries today announced the launch of the Seeking Michigan Web site, a growing collection of unique historical information that -- through digitized source documents, maps, films, images, oral histories and artifacts -- creatively tells the stories of Michigan's families, homes, businesses, communities and landscapes.

Seeking Michigan's first major project is the digitization of roughly 1 million death records covering the years 1897 through 1920. These records -- never before available electronically -- are indexed for easy searching by name, death date, location and age, and hold tremendous research opportunities for genealogists, historians and students.

The online resource is a collaboration between the Archives of Michigan and the Library of Michigan. Site design and digitization of resources were funded through various grants.

With plans in place to add much more material, Seeking Michigan currently includes:

• More than 100,000 pages of Civil War documents
• Approximately 10,000 photographs
• A variety of Michigan sheet music
• Roughly 1 million death records
• A rich section about Michigan's 44 past governors
• Works Progress Administration data (circa 1936-1942) about land and buildings throughout rural Michigan
• Oral histories with notable Michigan residents.

According to Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan Historical Center, Seeking Michigan boldly moves the archives and library experience outside of the bricks and mortar of the building in which the collections are housed. By employing the latest Web technologies and social media, the site aims for an enhanced user experience. "We want to give visitors historical content and, whenever possible, the context for that content," she explained. "For K-12 educators, there's also a 'teach' page that links up with related resources and grade-level content expectations."

The Archives of Michigan is part of the Michigan Historical Center. The Michigan Historical Center and the Library of Michigan are agencies within the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL). Dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity, HAL also includes the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.