Washtenaw County Obituaries and Death Records

Washtenaw County obituaries and death records go back to the county's founding in 1826, with some of Michigan's richest genealogical collections housed right here in Ann Arbor. The County Clerk issues certified death certificates, while the Ann Arbor District Library OLD NEWS archive and the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan hold decades of digitized newspaper obituaries that you can search for free. Whether you need an official document or want to trace a family line, Washtenaw County has resources that few Michigan counties can match.

Washtenaw County Clerk Office

The Washtenaw County Clerk is the official keeper of death records filed in the county. Under MCL 333.2882, anyone can request a certified copy of a death certificate; you do not need to be a family member or show a legal reason. The clerk's office in Ann Arbor processes these requests and can search records going back to when the state began tracking deaths in a formal way.

Michigan started requiring statewide death registration under Public Act 194 of 1867. That law put the obligation on local clerks to collect and report deaths. Washtenaw County has records from that era forward, though some very early entries are incomplete. The clerk can search by the name of the deceased and the approximate year of death. If you know the case number from a probate file, that can speed the search considerably.

Walk-in service is available at the Ann Arbor office. You can also mail a request with a check and a copy of your ID. The fee is $15 for the first certified copy and $5 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. For the fastest service, visit the clerk's office in person or check the Washtenaw County Clerk website for current hours and any online ordering options.

AADL OLD NEWS: Digitized Washtenaw County Newspapers

The Ann Arbor District Library runs one of the most useful free resources in the state for finding Washtenaw County obituaries. The OLD NEWS project has digitized more than ten local newspapers spanning 1841 through 2009. That covers well over a century and a half of death notices, funeral announcements, and family tributes printed in Ann Arbor papers. You can search the full text from your computer without paying anything or visiting in person.

Titles in the OLD NEWS collection include early papers like the Michigan Argus and the Ann Arbor Courier, as well as 20th-century editions of the Ann Arbor News. The digitized text is fully searchable, so you can type a name and pull up every mention across all covered papers. Obituaries from this era often include birth dates, hometowns, surviving family members, church affiliations, and cause of death. That kind of detail is hard to find anywhere else. Visit the AADL OLD NEWS portal to start a search.

The collection also includes the Signal of Liberty, a Washtenaw County abolitionist newspaper from the 1840s. Digitized copies are available through the library. While that paper was not an obituary publication, it named many local residents and is a unique resource for families tracing ancestors from that period.

The OLD NEWS archive is free and does not require a library card. Results link to page scans. You can read the original page in context, which helps confirm you have the right person when names overlap.

The Washtenaw County MIGenWeb page is a good starting point for genealogical research in the county, with links to additional record sets, cemetery transcriptions, and volunteer-compiled indexes.

The MIGenWeb page for Washtenaw County connects researchers to cemetery records, local history files, and links compiled by volunteers across many years. It is free to use and updated periodically.

The MIGenWeb site above indexes many Washtenaw County records that are not available through state databases, including some pre-1867 death information compiled from church registers and early newspapers.

The AADL OLD NEWS interface above shows the search tool that lets you pull obituaries from over a century of Washtenaw County newspapers in a single query.

Bentley Historical Library and University of Michigan Resources

The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor holds the U-M Alumni Files Index covering 1841 through 1968. This index records deaths of University of Michigan alumni and often includes detailed obituary clippings from papers across the country, not just Washtenaw County. If the person you are researching attended U-M, the Bentley is worth a visit or a written inquiry.

Bentley also holds broader Michigan historical records, including materials from local families, churches, and civic organizations. The library is open to the public for research. You do not need to be a U-M student or employee. Some collections require an appointment. Their finding aids are online at bentley.umich.edu, which lets you plan your visit before arriving. For families with deep Washtenaw County roots, a Bentley visit can turn up documents that no online search will find.

The Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County has compiled an obituary index spanning from the 1840s through the 1930s and beyond. This index covers death notices and obituaries clipped from local papers and is particularly useful for the period before many records moved online. The FamilySearch Washtenaw County wiki page lists this index and other local genealogical resources along with guidance on how to access each one.

FamilySearch itself holds Michigan death records in digital form. Many Washtenaw County deaths from 1897 through 1952 are indexed and viewable for free through Michiganology, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services digital archive available at michiganology.org. That site also hosts the GENDIS database at michiganology.org/gendis, which covers early death records before the formal statewide system was fully established.

Michigan State Death Records and Washtenaw County

Washtenaw County deaths from 1897 through 1952 are searchable for free through the Michigan GENDIS system and Michiganology. These are official state records, not scans of newspapers. They show name, date of death, place of death, age, and county of residence. For deaths in that range, start with the free state system before ordering a certified copy from the clerk.

Deaths after 1952 are handled differently. Under Public Act 73 of 2006, images of death records less than 75 years old cannot be posted online. That privacy rule means you must contact the clerk or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services directly for more recent records. The MDHHS vital records office in Lansing handles state-level requests. Their fee is $34 for the first copy and $16 for each additional copy. You can order through VitalChek at vitalchek.com, though that service adds a $12.95 processing fee on top of the state fee. For Washtenaw County records specifically, the local clerk at $15 per copy is often less expensive if you can reach that office.

MCL 333.2882 makes death certificates public records in Michigan. Any person can request one. You need the name of the deceased and the approximate date of death. The clerk will search the index and provide a certified copy if the record exists.

Cities in Washtenaw County

Ann Arbor is the county seat of Washtenaw County and the largest city in the county. All death records for residents of Ann Arbor and surrounding Washtenaw County communities are filed through the county clerk's office in Ann Arbor.

Other communities in Washtenaw County include Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea, Manchester, Milan, and Dexter. These cities and townships file death records at the Washtenaw County Clerk's office in Ann Arbor.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Washtenaw County. If you are searching for a person who may have lived near a county line, check the neighboring county's records as well. Death certificates list the county of residence, which may differ from the county where a person died.