Bedford Branch Local History Room
A collection of local materials such as family histories, abstracts, photographs, school yearbooks, Genealogical Society of Monroe County publications (birth, death, marriage and census records), Microfilm of census, church records and newspapers, database of obituaries from the late 1800’s, maps, Monroe County Directories, and telephone cross indexes for Monroe and Lenawee County. A devoted group of volunteers have helped organize this collection.
Contact the library for further information, opportunities to volunteer, or for donations to the collection.
To request scans from any of the featured collections, please contact the Bedford Branch Library using the Ask A Librarian form or contact us at 734-847-6747.
Check back often for more indexes and collections.
Cemeteries and Deaths
Farnham Funeral Home Records 1921 – 2006 – Archival records in index format from Farnham Funeral Home in Temperance, Michigan, covering records of persons buried between the years 1921-2006.
Jane Eisenmann Obituary Collection – Jane Eisenmann played the organ for funerals from 1968 – 1989, mostly at the Farnham Funeral Home in Temperance, Mich. This collection contains the obituaries for those whom Jane served with her music.
Karcher (Cioroch) Funeral Home Records 1969 – 1981 – An index created from the original ledger. The funeral home was located at 8927 Lewis Ave., Temperance, MI. and was previously Israel Kinney’s home. The Cioroch name was first added to the Karcher name beginning with a record dated 15 December 1970. In February, 1972, the Karcher name was dropped and the business was called Cioroch Funeral Home or John Cioroch Funeral Home.
Lambertville Cemetery Records of Transfer Papers (of Lots) – An Index to the Records of Transfer Papers, of Lots, in the Lambertville Cemetery dated from March 1880 to June 1901 kept by the Clerk of the Board of Health of the Township of Bedford, in the county of Monroe, and State of Michigan. Papers show purchasers of lots in the cemetery.
LeClair Monument Records 1982 – 1993 – Archival records in index format from LeClair Monuments in Lambertville, Michigan, covering records of monuments ordered between the years 1982-1993.
Obituaries of Bedford Township Service Men and Women – A small collection of clippings donated by Trudy Urbani that have been organized into a notebook. It will be updated periodically as new obituaries are added.
Obituaries Index A – L (April 9, 2024) | Obituaries Index M – Z (April 9, 2024) – A listing of Temperance, Lambertville, Whiteford, Samaria, and Erie deceased local residents. This index will be updated frequently to reflect recent deaths.
Reeb Funeral Home Records 1983 – 1997 – Reeb Funeral Home is located just south of the Michigan border in Sylvania, Ohio. Because of its proximity, residents of Bedford Township have sometimes chosen this funeral service for their burial needs. This list is a result of Trudy Urbani’s research into the funeral home’s burials of Bedford Township residents.
Churches
Church Records Microfilm Collection – Includes Monroe County and Toledo churches. Library microfilm reader/printers are available for viewing, printing, and saving images.
First Baptist Church
Annual Reports – Located in the clipping file, the library holds the following annual reports:
1985 – 1992, 1995 – 1997, 1999 – 2001
Methodist Church Records –
Baptisms 1866-1892 – Index lists name and page number. The record shows date, name, adult or child, parent names, mode of baptism, place, minister and remarks.
Baptisms 1876 – 1947 – Index lists name, page and register numbers for the Lambertville United Methodist Church. The records show date of baptism and birth, place of birth and baptism, adult or child, parent names, minister and remarks.
Class Records – Index lists name, page, and register (entry) numbers for the Lambertville United Methodist Church. The register itself contains each person’s “State in Life,” “Residence,” and “Remarks.”
Cookbook Index – Titled Home Cooking Secrets of Lambertville, it was compiled by the Lambertville (Michigan) UMC in 1978.
Epworth League, Lambertville, Secretary’s Book 1919 – 1927 – The Epworth League was an organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The original book contains monthly meeting minutes. The rolls of active members in the beginning of the book have been indexed by year 1919, 1921, Oct 1922 – Oct 1923, Oct 1923 – Oct 1924, June 1 1925
Lambertville Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church Historical Record – A transcription of the original document written September, 1881 by M. J. Scott (Pastor).
Lambertville Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church Ministers 1849 – 1894 – Index to the list of ministers serving the Lambertville Circuit as included on pages 1-3 of the Historical Record.
Lambertville Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church Original Class Members – Index to the list of original members of the Lambertville Methodist Episcopal Church as included on page 1 of the Historical Record.
Lambertville Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church Probationers’ Record – Index to the list of probationers (members). Index includes name, residence, date received, page and register numbers and notes. Additional information found in the ledger (not shown in the index) includes State in life, By whom received, When and how baptized and When and how disposed of.
Lambertville M.E. Church Baptisms 1893-1904 – Index to the list of baptisms including name, date and place of baptism. Date of birth and parent names also included if recorded.
Lambertville M.E. Church Marriages 1893-1904 – Index to marriages in the church including names of the bride and groom, both alphabetical, witnesses, date of marriage and residence.
Lambertville M.E. Church Members 1893-1904 – Index to the list of members including name, date received and date removed.
Lambertville M.E. Church Officials 1893-1904 – Index to the list of officials in the church including name, date elected and date the position ceased.
Lambertville M.E. Church Pastors 1893-1904 – Index to the list of pastors including name and date appointed. Some removal dates and notes if recorded.
Lambertville M.E. Church Probationers 1893-1904 – Index to the list of probationers including name, residence, date received and date of baptism (if recorded).
Lambertville M.E. Church Baptism 1905-1914 – Index to the list of baptisms including name, date and place of baptism. Date of birth and parent names also included (if recorded).
Lambertville M.E. Church Marriages 1905-1914 – Index to marriages in the church including names and ages of the bride and groom, both listed alphabetical, witnesses, date of marriage and residence.
Lambertville M.E. Church Members 1905-1914 – Index to the list of members including name, date received and date removed.
Lambertville M.E. Church Officials 1905-1914 – Index to the list of officials in the church including name, date elected and date the position ceased
Lambertville M.E. Church Pastors 1905-1914 – Index to the list of pastors including name and date appointed.
Lambertville M.E. Church Probationers 1905-1914 – Index to the list of probationers including name, residence, date received and date of baptism (if recorded).
Lambertville M.E. Church Baptisms 1913-1945 – Index to the list of baptisms including name, date and place of baptism. Date of birth and parent names also included if recorded.
Lambertville M.E. Church Marriages 1913-1945 – Index to marriages in the church including names and ages of the bride and groom, both listed alphabetical, witnesses (if recorded), date of marriage and residence.
Lambertville M.E. Church Members 1913-1945 – Index to the list of members including name, date received and date removed.
Lambertville M.E. Church Officials 1913-1945 – Index to the list of officials in the church including only name, date elected and date the position ceased were not recorded for this date range.
Lambertville M.E. Church Pastors 1913-1945 – Index to the list of pastors including name and date appointed.
Marriages 1865-1892 – Index lists name and page number. The record shows date, names, residences, places of birth, ages, occupation of male, minister and remarks.
Members in Full 1865-1893 – Index lists name and page number. The record is an alphabetical listing of members, listing name, state in life (single, married, widowed), date received, how received, by whom received, Number of class, and remarks
Monroe Circuit of the MI Conference Evangelical Association Index – This large ledger lists Records of Members between the years 1870-1912 and 1942-1945. Members are residents of many Monroe County municipalities including the south county areas of Bedford, Erie, Lambertville, Samaria, Temperance and Whiteford, as well as residents from areas in Lucas County, Ohio.
Obituary Notices 1863 – 1883 Lambertville Circuit – The index to this valuable source of information about members lists name of member, birth date and location, death date and location, spouse and marriage date. Unfortunately pages 172-179 of the ledger are missing.
Official Member Committee Appointments 1881 – 1886 – Located in the Appendix of the ledger, the index lists member’s name, position/committee, location, page, and date of appointment.
Official Members 1866-1886 – Index lists name and page number. The record is a chronological record of official members listing name of member, office held, when appointed, when removed, how removed, and remarks.
Pastoral and Statistical Record 1865-1893 – Index lists name and page number. The record shows pastor’s name, when appointed and removed, salary information, number of members and baptisms by pastor, value of church property, benevolent contributions under each pastor and Sunday school statistics.
Samaria Methodist Episcopal Baptisms 1947-1968 – Index lists name, dates of birth and baptism, parent names and place of birth.
Samaria Methodist Episcopal Deaths 1963-1968 – Index show the name of the deceased, dates of death and burial, cemetery, and cemetery location.
Samaria Methodist Episcopal Marriages 1963-1967 – Index is sorted by both groom and bride and shows name, residence and date of marriage
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church
St. Anthony’s Cook Book 1950 Surname Index – Index lists names of recipe submitters, as well as officers of the Christian Mother’s Society and the Entertainment Committee.
St. Anthony’s Cook Book 1950 Advertiser’s Index – Index lists the names of local businesses that placed ads in, or sponsored, the creation of the Cook Book in 1950.
United Brethren
South Whiteford and Silica Evangelical United Brethren Church Records – The first 8 pages include explanations of the entries to be included in the records of the church, and conference notes called the Historical Record, for the years1874-1896, 1911-1912, 1929 and 1937-1938. This is a rich history of the church from it’s beginnings in the Monroe MIssion with congregations in S. Raisinville and LaSalle. The notes go on to discuss additional and merged congregations, and end with the congregations at South Whiteford and Silica.
Records of Baptisms 1947-1975 – Index lists name of child, father, mother, date of birth, and date and location of baptism. Ledger includes the name of the officiating minister and his remarks, and states whether the subject was infant, child, youth or adult.
Records of Baptism by Father 1947-1975 – Index is sorted by father’s name and also lists the child and mother, date of birth, and date and location of baptism. Ledger includes the name of the officiating minister and his remarks, and states whether the subject was infant, child, youth or adult.
Record of Deaths 1945 – 1973 – Index lists name of deceased, DOB, DOD, date and location of burial, and funeral director. Ledger includes location of death and in some cases, location of birth.
Marriages by Bride 1874-1945 – Index is sorted by Bride and lists Groom, the ages of both and the date of marriage. Ledger includes residences, places of birth, occupation of the male, officiating minister, witnesses and remarks.
Records of Marriage by Bride 1945-1975 – Index is sorted by Bride and lists Groom, the ages of both, and the date of the marriage. Ledger includes residences of the couple, officiating minister and his remarks, and the witnesses.
Marriages by Groom 1874-1945 – Index is sorted by Groom and lists Bride, the ages of both and the date of marriage. Ledger includes residences, places of birth, occupation of the male, officiating minister, witnesses and remarks.
Records of Marriage by Groom 1945-1975 – Index is sorted by Groom and lists Bride, the ages of both, and the date of the marriage. Ledger includes residences of the couple, officiating minister and his remarks, and the witnesses.
Record of Members 1933-1943 – Index lists name of member, how received, when received, residence, church, page and entry numbers. Ledger entries include minister and remarks, if any
Record of Official Members 1873-1942 – Index lists name of Official Member, Office held, when elected/appointed, page number and church. Ledger includes date removed from office, how removed and remarks, if any.
Records of Official Members 1937-1951 – Index lists name of Official Member, when elected/appointed, when official relation ceased, church, and notes. Ledger includes the position held by the member.
Church Officials 1941-1944 – Index lists name of Official Member, Position, when elected/appointed, when official position expired and church. Ledger includes remarks, if any. Page numbers differ from the above Records of Official Members ledger.
Records of Pastors 1937-1962 – Index lists name of Pastor, the year appointed and the year removed.
Whiteford Circuit Record of Funerals 1937-1945 – Index lists name of deceased, date and locatioin of birth, date and location of death and date of burial. The ledger occassionally lists cause of death and funeral home.
Universalist of Lambertville
Genealogy & Local History
Bedford Township Land Abstracts Alphabetical or by Section Number – A collection of Bedford Township land abstracts donated/shared by local families, these abstracts will trace property from the original land patent owner. Indexed by section number as well as property owner.
Family Histories and Genealogies Index – A collection of local family histories, interviews and genealogical information including many of the pioneer families of Bedford Township
Mary Lutz Doty Genealogy Collection Surname Index – A 32 binder genealogy collection created by Mary Lutz Doty with emphasis on the Bedford Township families of Bolton, Hungerford, Klinck, and Lutz. Donated to Trudy Urbani by Robert Doty and donated to the Bedford Library Local History Collection by Trudy Urbani. Many local surnames are inter-related, so check the Index to see if your surnames are included.
Native American Artifacts Collection of Ted Beck – Many of the artifacts in the displays below were found in the Little Lake area, Section 15 of Bedford Township, Monroe County, MI. Ted, a 1945 Temperance High School graduate donated the collection to the Local History Room at the Bedford Branch Library in May 2014.
Ruby Mae Whitmill Straus Digital Collection – This two-volume collection of original photos and articles of Whitmill and related families was collected by Ruby Mae (Whitmill) Straus, a granddaughter of the immigrant ancestor who crossed from England in 1855. The Whitmill family were early settlers of the Bedford Township area. They lived in a log home right on the border of Bedford Township and Ohio and raised 12 children. The collection was given to Donald R. Adams upon Ruby’s death in 1999. Don researched and organized the collection and donated it to the Bedford Branch Library’s Local History collection. Check out the digitized images at the Monroe County Library System’s digital collection.
Toledo/Lucas County Vital Records – Microfilm rolls of Toledo/Lucas County area birth, death and marriage indexes housed in the Local History Collection. Library microfilm reader/printers are available for viewing, printing, and saving images.
Whiteford Township Chattel Mortgages Index 1848-1880 – Indexed from the original, handwritten ledger, located in the Archive Room of the Local History Collection. Informataion includes date of filing and whether the person was the mortgager or the mortgagee. Note that the paging system within the ledger was not numbered but used letters from the alphabet that repeated over and over again.
Newspapers
Courier Scrapbook Index – Written as a feature column about Bedford Township people and places by Sue Potter, and published in the local Bedford Township newspaper from 10 Feb 1970 through 4 Sep 1973
Newspaper Clipping File Index – A collection of articles clipped from Monroe County and Bedford Township newspapers relating to local events, organizations, schools, people, and noteworthy pieces spanning the 1960s through current times.
Newspaper Microfilm Collection – Includes local Bedford Newspapers, Monroe and Toledo Newspapers, and a number of other small local newspapers. Library microfilm reader/printers are available for viewing, printing, and saving images.
Organizations
Bedford Township Senior Citizens
1776 Bicentennial Cook Book – The cookbook was a project of the Bedford Township Senior Citizens to recognize the country’s Bicentennial. It contains over 300 recipes, including a recipe from Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States, and a recipe submitted to the committee from Betty Ford, who was the First Lady in 1976 when the cookbook was published. The index lists names of recipe submitters who were members of the Bedford Township Senior Citizen Center. It was indexed by Darla Hall.
People
Bedford Township Anniversary Index – The index includes anniversary notices clipped from local newspapers by Local History Room volunteers as well as clippings from the Trudy Urbani Collection. Couples are residents, or former residents, of Bedford and Whiteford Townships. This is an ongoing project. Clippings are added when published in the local newspapers, and the index will be updated frequently. It is sorted by Husband’s Surname and also by the Maiden Name of the WifeMaiden Name of the Wife
Biography File Index – The file includes newspaper articles clipped by volunteers about Bedford Township residents, both past and present.
Oral History Index – An index of oral histories recorded on cassette tape or CD that captures memories of people and places in the Bedford area. The recordings mostly occurred in the 1990s, although some are dated earlier, and some are dated later. Many of the recordings are from the Trudy Urbani Collection.
Schools
Bedford Township Schools Yearbook Collection– From 1936 to current, the index includes yearbooks for Bedford Junior High and High Schools, as well as Lambertville and Temperance schools.
Scrapbooks
Newcombe Family Scrapbooks Index – Created by Alice Marian (Tuttle) Newcombe, 1885-1982 and Mabel (Orr) Newcombe, 1914-1994, this set of 15 scrapbooks were passed through the Newcombe relatives and finally donated to Donald R. Adams, who donated them to the Bedford Library. They were indexed by Sue (Porter) Moon and are housed in the Archive Room. Note that there is not a #14 scrapbook.
Trudy Urbani Family And Local History Collections
Contains inventories of the 40-year boxed collections of Bedford Township author and historian, Trudy Urbani. Please check back frequently as this is an ongoing project.
Bedford Township
Kimble Collection – Box F020, Box F021
Smith Collection – Smith Box F001, Smith Box F002, Smith Box F003, Smith Box F004, Smith Box F005, Smith Box F006, Smith Box F007, Smith Box F008, Smith Box F009, Smith Box F010: Hitchcock – Smith, Smith Box F011: Family Reunions, Smith Box F012, Smith Box F013: Smith-Pickard-Eighmey-Brunt
Lambertville
Deland – Zimmerman – Tucker Collection
Lambertville Families Collection 1
Lambertville Families Collection 2
Lambertville Families Collection 3
Lambertville Families Collection 4
Opdyke – Nogar – Spalding Collection
Powlesland – Southard Collection
Richardson – Holey – Myers Families Collection
Van Gunten and Wonnacott Collection
Liberty Corners
Liberty Corners Families Collection
Curson/Zimmerman/Straus Collection
Samaria
Bell Collection – The Bell Collection contains 5 binders with many photographs and several folders. The binders have been indexed and are sorted by the surname of person/people or by location. Assistance identifying some of the unidentified photos was given by Bradley Bell, Kimberly (Bell) Koberstein, and Noel Bell.
- Bell-Hitchcock Collection – This binder contains photos and documents as well as genealogy and written memories of family members
- Hattie Mason’s 1882 Photo Album – This binder contains copies of Hattie’s photographs
- Jason Bell Collection – This binder contains mostly photographs with a few documents
- Jennie Bell Photo Collection – This binder contains Jennie Whiting Bell’s photographs
- Mary Lou Bell Henry Collection – This binder contains photographs and documents from the research of Mary Lou Bell Henry
Samaria Family Genealogies Collection – This box contains folders with genealogy information from a variety of Samaria families.
Temperance
Kinney/Corl/Goldsmith Collection Box A
Kinney/Corl/Goldsmith Collection Box B
Temperance Business Families Collection
Temperance Families
Whiteford
Interested in Local History?
Reference Librarians from the Monroe County Library System are happy to help you find information about the local history of your community.