Find Obituaries in Menominee County
Menominee County obituary and death records go back to 1861, providing more than 160 years of documentation for families who settled in this Upper Peninsula county along the Wisconsin border. The County Clerk office in Menominee handles certified death certificates, and the Menominee County Historical Society holds supplemental records and newspaper obituary materials. This page covers how to search for death records in Menominee County, both through official channels and local genealogical resources.
Menominee County Overview
Menominee County Clerk Death Records
The Menominee County Clerk office handles certified death certificates for deaths that occurred in the county. Under MCL 333.2882, Michigan death records are open public records. Anyone can request a certified copy regardless of their relationship to the deceased. The clerk's office is in Menominee and is open Monday through Friday during standard business hours. The fee is $15 per certified certificate. A senior discount may be available on some fees, so calling ahead is worthwhile if that applies to you.
Menominee County sits at the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula, directly across the Menominee River from Marinette, Wisconsin. That border location shaped the county's history. Lumber and shipping were the defining industries in the late 1800s, and many workers crossed between Michigan and Wisconsin, which sometimes makes determining which state's records you need a real question. If a family lived near the river, checking Wisconsin vital records through the Wisconsin Vital Records office may supplement what you find in Michigan.
Death registrations in Menominee County begin in 1861. Michigan's Public Act 194 of 1867 mandated statewide registration, so records from the early 1860s may be sparse. If you are searching for a very early death, church records and cemetery inscriptions from Menominee County may fill gaps in the official register.
| Office | Menominee County Clerk |
|---|---|
| Address | 839 10th Ave., Menominee, MI 49858 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, standard business hours |
| Fee | $15 per certified death certificate (senior discount may apply) |
Menominee County Historical Society Records
The Menominee County Historical Society holds records, photographs, and archival materials that document the county's past from settlement through the 20th century. Their collections include materials related to the lumber era and the shipping industry along the Menominee River. Obituary clippings and newspaper death notices are among the types of records that historical societies in Michigan typically preserve, and the Menominee County society is worth contacting if official records are thin or if you need contextual information about a specific time period.
The Menominee-Marinette border area had strong ties to the newspaper press on both sides of the river. Local papers like the Menominee County Journal and its predecessors covered deaths on the Michigan side. Some of these papers have been microfilmed and may be accessible through local libraries or through interlibrary loan. Because death notices in small-town papers from the late 1800s often included more personal detail than modern obituaries, they can be a valuable genealogical source.
Note: If you are researching a family that lived near the Wisconsin border, it is worth checking records in Marinette County, Wisconsin as well, since families often had ties on both sides of the river.
Online Menominee County Death Record Resources
The MIGenWeb project has a dedicated county page for Menominee that gives researchers a starting point for free online genealogical searching.
The Menominee County MIGenWeb page links to cemetery records, obituary indexes, and other genealogical data for the county contributed by volunteers.
Free death record searching for Menominee County starts at GENDIS on Michiganology, which indexes Michigan deaths from 1897 to 1952. For deaths after 1952, Public Act 73 of 2006 limits online access to images less than 75 years old, so you will need to order through the county clerk or MDHHS. The FamilySearch wiki for Menominee County describes the available record sets and where to find digitized materials.
MDHHS and State Records for Menominee County
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) holds statewide death records that cover Menominee County. MDHHS charges $34 for the first certified copy and $16 for each additional copy ordered together. You can reach the vital records office at 517-335-8666 or order online through VitalChek, which adds a $12.95 service fee. The state route is useful when you are ordering records from multiple Michigan counties at once or when traveling to Menominee is not practical.
For older records, the Michigan Archives in Lansing holds microfilmed vital records for Menominee County. This is the place to check for deaths from the early registration period or for records not easily obtained from the county office. The free Michiganology database covers Menominee County deaths from 1897 to 1952 and is the most accessible free tool for historical research in this county.
Cities in Menominee County
Menominee County is a small Upper Peninsula county. The city of Menominee is the county seat and largest community. No cities in Menominee County meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.
Other communities include Stephenson, Carney, and Faithorn. All death records and vital records for these communities are handled through the Menominee County Clerk or through MDHHS in Lansing.
Nearby Counties
Menominee County borders other Upper Peninsula counties in Michigan and Marinette County in Wisconsin. Verify which county and state has jurisdiction before requesting death records for addresses near the borders.