BY CONSUELO MCABOY
Michigan residents interested in researching their family tree now have access to some lost "branches" from the late 1800s.
State census records for the years 1884 and 1894 have been recovered after being "lost" for a period of time.
Many of Michigan's census records have been difficult to recover because they have been lost over the years or destroyed in a state office building fire in 1951.
The Archives of Michigan now has more than 62,000 of the records for 1884 and 1894.
Archivist Jessica Miller said the records will help family history researchers track important data, like more extensive information about women and children.
"These records are interesting because 1884 and 1894 were the first years that Michigan state census collected information about everybody in the community. Prior to that, the state conducted censuses but they only collected information about men so there were counts of women and children, but they were never given names or any other information."
Miller said the records will tell the person's name, their occupation, and the number of years they've lived in Michigan and the United States.
She said the records will help fill gaps in Michigan's and personal family's histories