"Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history." 
- Abraham Lincoln

Michigan County Histories
URL: http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/micounty/
The Michigan County Histories collection is a collaborative effort of Michigan's Council of Library Directors. The collection is projected to provide access to 192 histories dating from 1866 to 1926. There are 172 volumes in 146 titles currently online.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BEGINNINGS OF MICHIGAN
A Study of the Settlement of the Lower Peninsula during the
Territorial Period 1805-1837
Lansing: Wynhoop, Hallenbeck & Crawford Co
SOURCES AND CHARACTER OF POPULATION

BAY COUNTY HISTORY

Indian and Pioneer History of the Saginaw Valley, with Histories of
East Saginaw, Saginaw City and Bay City,
From Their Earliest Settlements, also Pioneer Directory and
Business Advertiser, for 1866 and 1867.
Compiled and Published by Thomas & Galatian, East Saginaw
Lewis & Lyon, Book and Job Printers, 1866.

History of Tuscola and Bay Counties, Michigan
With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers
Published in 1883
Contents:
Map of Tuscola County
History of Tuscola County
Township and Village History
Biographies of Tuscola County
Map of Bay County
History of Bay County
Biographies of Bay County
Index

History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Chicago, H. R. Page & Co. 1883
History of Bay County - 1883 - Index
Churches and Church History - pages 84 to 91

History of the Lake Huron Shore, by H R Page & Co, c 1883
History of the Lake Huron Shore - Bay County Index by The Huron Shore Genealogical Society.
Some of the Early Comers - pages 72 through 78; includes biographies of those in Bay County by 1850:
Israel Catlin, William Catlin, Patrick J. Perrott, Charles S. Munger, Julius B. Hart, B. B. Hart, Edwin Park, Jonathan Smith Barclay, Thomas Carney, Alexander McKay, The McEwans, Charles B. Cottrell, Col. Henry  Raymond, James Watson, Dr. George E. Smith, Jesse M. Miller, Charles E. Jennison, John Drake, George Lord, Phillip Simon, Christopher Heinzman, W. L. Fay, Richard Padley, and Joseph Trombley.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Northern Michigan containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens... (Chicago: Record Publishing Co., 1895). 552 pages.   Scanned pages from the Clarke Historical Library. Index to Portrait and Biographic Record  Northern Michigan,       Copyright c 2003 by the The Huron Shore Genealogical Society. (HSGS), c/o The Robert J Parks Public Library, 6010 N Skeel Ave, Oscoda MI 48750, 989-739-9581.

Gansser, Capt. Autgustus H., Bay City, Michigan, editor and compiler
History of Bay County, Michigan and Representative Citizens
Published by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, Illinois, 1905

Entire book of scanned pages:
Author: Gansser, Augustus H., ed. 1872-

Title: History of Bay County, Michigan: and representative citizens / ed. and comp. by Augustus H. Gansser.

Publication date: 1905.

list of all pages  |  view first page  |  add to bookbag

Columbus Avenue - 1937 - This is a "memory" by DFD of the Columbus Avenue Historical District.

Electric Autolite Plant - contains photos of workers at the plant, also a file from 8-D of the seniority dates,
job categories, name and addresses of the workers.  If you have any association with this factory please contact me.

Wenona Beach - images and history of the "the Beach" by Jim Wilson.

The Valley That Would Not Stay Down Is Full Of History
by J. George O'Brien, Michigan Motor News,  June 25, 1931

History of Bay City from Bay City On-Line

The Coal Fields of Bay County, Michigan
Publisher: Bay County, Michigan: Charles B. Schaefer, ca. 1890.
History of the coal fields and mines in Bay County, Saginaw County and Michigan.

Variety of Interests Marked Success Story of 50 Year Old Robt. Gage (Coal) Co.
Bay City Times, Sunday, April 16, 2950

Coal Mining in Bay County, Michigan
The history of coal mining in Bay County, Michigan.  Written by Kay Heath, it includes information about the first recorded death in a Bay County Coal Mine, pictures of the Monitor and Auburn Coal Mines and "A Coal Miner's Story", by Alfred Begick.

Address of the Chiefs of the Chippewa Nation, 1797

Early French Missions on the Saginaw by Fred Carlisle
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, 22:244-246
Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1899.

Fifty-Two Years of Itinerant Life in the Michigan Conference of the M.E. Church
by Rev. R. C. Crawford
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, 16:266-281
Lansing, Michigan: The Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1893.

A MISSIONARY AMONG THE INDIANS REMINISCENCE OF REV. M. HICKEY AS A MINISTER & MISSIONARY OF THE MICHIGAN ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
MICHIGAN PIONEER & HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOL 6, 1922

Death and Burial of "Injun Jim". An Incident in the Lives of Two Alpena County Pioneers by James A. Case
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, 35:73-77
Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1912.

The Indians of Michigan and the Cession of Their Lands to the United States by Treaties

Sketch of John Tanner, Known as the "White Indian"
By Judge Joseph H. Steere
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, 22:246-254
Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1899.

The Treaty of Saginaw in the Year 1819 by William L. Webber
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1895.

Saginaw One Hundred Years Ago: And the Origin of a Band of Indians, and of the name of a Locality in Genesee County By Judge Albert Miller
From Michigan Pioneer & History Collection in Annual Meeting of 1890

NEW ENGLAND INFLUENCE IN MICHIGAN by Rev. Wolcott B. Williams
From Michigan Pioneer and History Collection Annual Meeting 1890

The Press Of Michigan - A Fifty Years' View
By S. B. McCracken, read at the annual meeting of the Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Society, June 3, 1891

A Story of Midland by Lawrence H. Conrad
[Author of “Temper,” “The Author’s Mind,” Etc.]
MICHIGAN HISTORY MAGAZINE VOL XI APRIL, 1927 WHOLE No. 39

INDIANS AND PIONEER LIFE  By Miss Minnie B. Waite
From Vol. # 38 MICHIGAN PIONEER & HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS

VOL: 10 PIONEER COLLECTIONS
REMEMBRANCES OF EARLY DAYS:
INDIANS AND AN INDIAN TRAIL– A TRIP FROM PONTIAC TO GRAND BLANC
AND THE SAGINAWS 
BY EPHRAIM S. WILLIAMS, OF FLINT

FIRST SOCIAL REUNION
PIONEER SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN, Vol. 1, pgs 18-22
In compliance with the invitation of the President, Hon. Albert Miller, and the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the State Pioneer Society met at Saginaw and proceeded down the river to Bay City, for a social reunion, on Wednesday, June 24^th, 1874.  Includes a short history of Bay City.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF “UNCLE HARVEY WILLIAMS”
By Hon. C. D. Little of Saginaw
PIONEER SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN, Vol. 1, pgs 22-27

INDIAN MISSIONS
By Martin Heydenburk, of Marshall
Pioneer Society of Michigan, Read February 5, 1880
Vol. 3, 1883, 2nd Edition, 1903

History of the Great Lakes. Volume I
by J. B. Mansfield, ed.
A transcription for the Maritime History of the Great Lakes site by Walter Lewis and Brendon Baillod, Halton Hills, ON, Canada : Maritime History of the Great Lakes 2003
based on the original document:
J. B. Mansfield, ed., History of the Great Lakes. Volume I, Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1899

History of the Great Lakes. Volume II
by J. B. Mansfield, ed.
A transcription for the Maritime History of the Great Lakes site by Brendon Baillod Halton Hills, ON, Canada : Maritime History of the Great Lakes 2003
based on the original document:
J. B. Mansfield, ed., History of the Great Lakes. Volume II, Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1899

Great Lakes Shipwreck Research

Marine Captains Biographies

Downward Bound - a guide to shipping on the Great Lakes, both ships and the people who sailed them.

MichiganRailroads.com - extensive history of Michigan railroads.

Discovery and Development of the Salt Interest in the Saginaw Valley.
By Hon. William L. Webber, of East Saginaw.
Pioneer Society of Michigan, Vol. 4, pgs. 13 - 22.

Memorials of A Half-century
By Bela Hubbard, 1814-1896.
Collection of essays by a noted writer, explorer, and Detroit civic leader offers detailed descriptions of Michigan's geography, geology, and local history. Hubbard discusses the natural history of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron; topographical and geological features of Michigan; a geological expedition to the salt springs of the Grand and Saginaw river valleys with the new state's geologist, Dr. Houghton (1837); local factors and the 1837-38 financial panic; and land speculation and settlement. In addition Hubbard writes about Michigan Indians and Indian antiquities; flora and fauna, animal behavior; climatology; and the world of Michigan's French-speaking inhabitants, especially Detroit habitants, rural farmers, and voyageurs (who paddled the waterways as guides, trappers, and tradesmen), comparing the life-styles of French speakers and Yankees. The book is heavily illustrated with sketches of Indian artifacts, landscapes, folk architecture, trees, and diagrams representing the Mound-Builders' ancient garden beds.

EARLY LUMBERING IN THE VALLEY.
Excerpt From “The Saginaw Valley” by Judge Albert Miller in Pioneer Society of Michigan 1884 Vol. 7

The Autobiography of David Ward.
This privately-printed narrative, written by a self-made millionaire for his descendants, provides a personal mirror of Michigan's development during the nineteenth century. Born in 1822 in Essex County, New York, Ward moved with his family in 1836 to a farm on the St. Clair River near Newport, Michigan, and spent the next thirteen years working at a variety of jobs while recovering from respiratory ailments. Trained by his father as a surveyor, he used his skill to benefit himself and others, laying claims to the best stands of Michigan pine as soon as they became available. By the late 1850s, he had run his own lumbering operation in Sumner township on the Pine River (where he served as town supervisor), and set up residence in Saginaw with his wife, Elizabeth Perkins Ward, and their children. In 1863, when his vigorous prosecution of "log thieves" caused his children to be harassed, the family moved to a farm at Orchard Lake (Oakland County), near Pontiac, and lived there year-round until business responsibilities obliged them to winter in Detroit. From this new base, Ward began lumbering on the Tobacco and Chippewa rivers and, later, the Manistee. He expanded his forest holdings in Wisconsin as well as the Upper Peninsula and served for two years as president of the First National Bank of Pontiac. During the 1870s and 1880s, Ward traveled extensively, describing his impressions of West Coast forests, and journeying to the Southern Appalachian region where he purchased land containing forests and coal and iron deposits. He also purchased extensive stands of California redwood. In his later years, he continued to make trips into the woods and actively supervised such operations as grading railroad beds for lumber transport. Throughout his career, Ward had to contend with sharp business practices and unscrupulous associates--some within his family. It seems that he wrote this autobiography in part as a warning and as a compendium of good advice.

RESIDENTS OF BAY COUNTY IN 1847.
BY JUDGE ALBERT MILLER
Annual Meeting of the Pioneer Society of Michigan, 1891, pgs. 433 - 445.

BAY COUNTY.  A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ITS ORGANIZATION.
BY GEN. B. F. PARTRIDGE
Read at the meeting of the Bay County Pioneer Society, Jan. 13, 1876
Published in the Michigan Pioneer Record, 1876, Volume I, pgs. 102 - 110.

BAY COUNTY HISTORY, - ITS PIONEER RECORD AND WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT.
A PAPER BY GEN. B. F. PARTRIDGE.
Read at the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Pioneer Society, February 5, 1890.
Published in the Michigan Pioneer Record, 1891, pgs. 316 - 338.

MEMOIRS OF DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE BAY COUNTY BAR
BY A. C. MAXWELL
From the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Pioneer Society, 1893.
Published in the Michigan Pioneer Record, 1893, pgs. 226 - 235


RECOLLECTIONS OF A PIONEER OF EARLY MICHIGAN
BY JUDGE ALBERT MILLER
From the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Pioneer Society, 1893
Published in the Michigan Pioneer Record, 1893, pgs. 461-463

EARLY FRENCH MISSIONS ON THE SAGINAW
BY FRED CARLISLE.
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, 22:244-246
Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, 1899.

First Presbyterian Church, Bay City, 1881 -
from the Pioneer Society of Michigan Reports, Vol. 4
TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL
[Extracts from a Sermon by Rev. J. Ambrose Wight, D. D., Pastor, May 1, 1881.]
Includes original scanned images from the publication.  (Hint: If you are searching for a particular surname, load up the page and then use your browser's Find function [Ctrl-F in Microsoft Explorer] to search for the name on that page).  This document is courtesy of Pat Hamp. (August 1999)

A RESPONSE TO DR. WIGHT'S ANNIVERSARY SERMON
BY JUDGE ALBERT MILLER
Published in the Bay City Tribune, June 16, 1885.

THE LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE OF THE NEW FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BAY CITY
CONTRIBUTED BY JUDGE ALBERT MILLER, includes a short history of the church and the pastors who served.
From the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Pioneer Society, 1893
Published in the Michigan Pioneer Record, 1893, pgs. 466 - 470

Letter to a Friend, November 10, 1875 - Bill Carney found a letter written on November 10, 1875 from a newly engaged gentleman in Kawkawlin to a friend in Ohio.  He also mentions some common acquaintances, which might make this of value to genealogists as well.  Some of the names mentioned are:  Brown, Brisbo, Cooper, Dunns, Durby, Howe, Hurbeck, Maloney, McGuiness, Osborn, Smith, Sutherland. (Added November 16, 1999)

First Flight - A special letter sent on July 17, 1928 commemorating the first Airmail flight from Bay City to Chicago. (Added November 16, 1999)

There's a bear over there! - A postcard from Pinconning, featuring a bear, circa 1910. (Added November 16, 1999)

Michigan's Historic Sites Online
This is a wonderful searchable database of the various designated historical landmarks in the State of Michigan. Almost all of them have pictures, explanations of the historical importance of the place or building, and often the text of the plaque at the location. There is a search wizard that will help you narrow down your selections, as well as a photo tour.