Farmington Community Library Heritage Collection (Local Historical and Genealogical Resources)

Description of Resources

Atlases, Maps, and Gazetteers

Farmington Township, Oakland County, Wayne County, and Michigan from 1873 to present. Refer to the Library's online catalog and the Archive Room Inventory.

Assessment Rolls and Tax Records

Farmington Township Tax Rolls, 1841–1897. Refer to transcribed index in Heritage Room, 977.438 F. They are available on microfilm in the Heritage Room.

There is a great deal of information on cemeteries in Farmington Township and other cemeteries in Oakland County, as well as other Michigan counties. Each publication is indexed. For Farmington Township Cemeteries refer to 977.438 O—these records can be found in the FGS publication entitled Oakland County, Michigan—Farmington Township Cemeteries—City, Sexton, Tombstone, Obituary and Historical Records 1824-1998.

This 1999 publication contains tombstone inscriptions and burial records for the cemeteries located in Farmington Township, Michigan. Included is information from city and sexton records, obituaries of the deceased, the Social Security Death Index, and the Robert B. Cook Historical Collection. Also included is a brief history and map for each cemetery.

On the Farmington Genealogical Society web site there is a First Name and Last Name list, and you may use your browser's Edit Menu "Find on this page" feature to look for a name. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Censuses

Available on microfilm are: Federal Census for Oakland County, Michigan (1820–1920), Veterans and Widows Census (1890 and 1894), and the Federal Census for Michigan (every county) for 1930. Some indexes are also available in book form. See also our Digitized Indexes.

Church Records

Records for the First Baptist Church, Universalist Church, German Church 1880–1920 with an index compiled by the Farmington Genealogical Society, and others. Refer to the Library's online catalog and the subject heading Churches in the Vertical Files in Unit 1C of the Heritage Room for information about other churches. The German Church every-name index is searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Robert B. Cook Collection

This collection contains extensive information about Farmington area families such as biographies, marriages and obituaries from the late 1800's to the 1970's. On top of the file cabinet in the Heritage Room is an every-name index to articles typed and assembled into blue notebooks in Unit 1B.See also: the more detailed description below. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes

Directories—Telephone, City and Polk

Farmington and Farmington Hills, 1939–2001 (scattered issues). See also: our extensive digitized and searchable collection of Telephone Directories

Funeral Home Records

Photocopies of death certificates from the Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home (15 volumes) for years 1950–1992. An every-name index is provided. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes. An asterisk after a name indicates there is a death certificate on file in the Heritage Collection.

Genealogical Journals, Periodicals and Publications

Quarterlies and newsletters from some genealogical societies in Michigan, Ohio and New York are filed alphabetically in the file cabinet in the Heritage Room. Genealogical and historical publications published monthly or quarterly are shelved alphabetically in Unit 5B in the Heritage Room. Subscriptions in these categories include:

Detroit Society for Genealogy Research Quarterly. (1963–Curr.)
Everton's Family History. (1993–Curr.)
Heritage Quest. (2001–Curr.)
Oakland Genealogical Society Quarterly (Acorns to Oaks). (1981–Curr.)

Manuscript Collection

Contains family papers, newspaper clippings, diaries, account books, correspondence files, genealogical notes and many other items housed in the Archive Room. These combine to define everyday life within historic periods. Listed in the Archive Room inventory. For assistance, please call (248) 553•0300 to schedule an appointment.

Marriage Records

There are three blue binders of typed articles about many marriages in the Farmington area c.1890–1975 in the Robert B. Cook Collection. The index has been included in the index for the Robert B. Cook Collection. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes

The book Anniversaries, Engagements, Weddings 1940–1959 from Farmington Newspapers is in the Heritage Room. Refer to 977.438A. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Michigan County Histories

Includes: Allegan and Barry, Berrien and Van Buren, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham and Eaton, Macomb, Monroe, Jackson, Lenawee, Manistee, Mason and Oceana, Oakland, Saginaw, St. Joseph, Washtenaw, Wayne.

Michigan Pioneer & Historical Collection, 1874-1908

Please refer to 977.4 M in the Heritage Room.

Newspapers

(See also: Browse / Search Farmington Newspapers.) The library has the following newspapers in its Heritage Collection. Underlined titles are available on microfilm in the Reference area of the library. Newspapers prior to 1969 may not be accessed in hard copy— please use microfilm. Newspapers may not be photocopied, but prints may be made from the microfilm.

Detroit News: January 1976 to present
Farmington Observer (formerly Enterprise, Enterprise Observer, Observer, and Observer Eccentric): on microfilm 1910–present. Scattered issues November 2 , 1888 to 1910.
Farmington Forum: January 1976 to December 1989 (not on microfilm)
New York Times"Sept. 1851 to present. The last 12 months issues are also available online with searchable full-text.
Northwest Gazette: March 8, 1993 to present (not on microfilm)

Oakland County

There is a great deal of information on Oakland County including biographical, cemeteries, census, first landowners, atlases and plat maps. Refer to the Library's online catalog or the Archive Room Inventory.

Obituaries and Death Notices

There are six blue binders of typed obituaries in the Robert B. Cook Collection and are indexed as part of the Collection. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Additionally an index of obituaries found in area newspapers 1890–1999, compiled by the Farmington Genealogical Society can be found in book form 977.483 F and is searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Photocopied obituaries are also available. See Photocopied Obituaries.

Photograph Collection

There are nearly 500 identified photographs of 19th and 20th century sites and families of Farmington Township. Photocopies of these photographs may be viewed.

Photocopied Obituaries

Many obituaries were photocopied from local newspapers and other sources for the time period of 1890 to the present. They are located in nine green volumes in Unit 1B in the Heritage Room. Not all obituaries in the newspapers were included. Searchable from the Library's web site at Farmington Area Genealogical Indexes.

Portrait and Biographical Album of Oakland County (1892)

An every-name index has been compiled for this book. Refer to 977.438 O. This Index is searchable from the Library's Web Site.

Surname Indexes

The following surname indexes were compiled by members of the Farmington Genealogical Society:

Cook Collection
Obituaries
Photocopied Obituaries
Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home Records
Engagement, Anniversary & Weddings 1940–1959
People in the News
Portrait & Biographical Album, Oakland County, MI (1892)

Cook Collection

Robert B. Cook transcribed many articles found in local newspapers, biographies and church records. An every name index has been compiled for the following categories:

typed marriages
typed obituaries
typed biographies
typed family histories
typed wedding and birthday notices
German Church Records

Note: not all articles were typed. Only those of interest to Mr. Cook.

Farmington Community Library Local History & Genealogy Resources