MIGEN-D-request(a)rootsweb.com wrote:
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MIGEN-D Digest Volume 06 : Issue 2
Today's Topics:
#1 Suggestions on obtaining Wayne Co. [mlh <mhendersona2(a)yahoo.com>]
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Subject:
Suggestions on obtaining Wayne Co. divorce records, please
From:
mlh <mhendersona2(a)yahoo.com>
Date:
Thu, 5 Jan 2006 20:04:36 -0800 (PST)
To:
MIGEN-L(a)rootsweb.com
To:
MIGEN-L(a)rootsweb.com
Hi, all!
Does anyone have any experience getting copies of
Wayne Co. divorce records? I know what records I want
(thanks to a lookup by another member of this list),
but Wayne Co. is a little overwhelming to deal with.
I'm interested in two divorce records for someone with
the same name - I think it is probably the same
person, divorced twice. But before I pay a lot of
money for the divorce copies, I'd like to confirm the
spouses' names. I've put in calls to Wayne Co. twice
in the past, and gotten voice mail. I left the
docket/page # and name of the record and asked if they
could confirm the spouse, but never heard back - I
realize it's a huge county, though, and they probably
don't have time to do that.
I see that the Vital Records Office in Lansing has a
verification form to verify info on a given divorce
record - is that my best bet for confirming the wife's
name?
And once I'm positive I want that particular record,
do I order it through the Wayne Co. Clerk, Wayne Co.
Probate, or through the Vital Records Office in
Lansing? The Vital Records Office has an application
for a certified copy of a divorce record at a cost of
$26 - but does that include the entire file? I
definitely want to get the entire file, but am
wondering if the $26 just covers a certified
one-pager. If it really includes the whole document,
I might skip the $10 to verify the spouse's name, and
just order the divorce record for $26. Or would I be
better off with Wayne Co. in terms of being sure of
getting the complete file?
Thanks very much for any suggestions!
Mary
Hello Mary,
What are the dates of the divorce files?
If after 1940, you can go to the basement level of the Coleman Young
Municipal Center and look at the files on microfilm.
If you decide you want copies, they will make them while you wait. Cost
$2.25 per page. You can make notes for free.
The $26 fee at the state vital records only gets you a copy of the final
decree. The state does not have the divorce file, only the county.
If before 1940 the files were destroyed by Wayne County and they only
have the decrees. You have to order the file from storage (takes one
day) and you have to pay for the copy of the decree.
Ruth McMahon AG
Professional Genealogist
Detroit MI area