Iosco County, Michigan Paupers, 1869-1934

Iosco County, Michigan lies on the shores of Lake Huron. This database is a listing of all individuals who filed for relief from poverty while in that county. The first proceedings of the Superintendents of the Poor were recorded in November 1869. This office held monthly or quarterly meetings, and the proceedings were recorded in four large ledgers currently located in the Iosco County Register of Deeds Office. This database contains information essential for locating an individual in those ledgers. Researchers will find the name of the pauper, the date he or she appeared before the superintendents, and the volume and page number for those proceedings. If an asterisk (*) appears following an entry, it indicates that the distributed funds were used for death and funeral expenses.

Several common occurrences/conditions contributed to the need for relief, including sickness or death of a husband or wife and the inability of some injured and elderly people to work to support themselves and their families. Most of the names in this index are of people who lived in their own homes, although a few lived on the county poor farm.

Adoptions were arranged through the court for some pauper children, and other children were sent to the state school in Coldwater, Michigan. Several people were declared insane and were taken to a state asylum at Kalamazoo, Pontiac, or Traverse City.

A copy of this index, or additional research on any individual appearing in the index, may be purchased from the Huron Shores Genealogical Society, c/o Robert J. Parks Public Library, 6010 N. Skeel Avenue, Oscoda, MI 48750.