I am having no luck trying to obtain a death certificate for a relative John O'Donnell who died in Norway, MI on 18 Dec 1890. I have exact information from the death and funeral announcements published in the Norway "Current" newspaper BUT what I am seeking is the names of his parents which will only appear on the certificate. I have applied to Dickinson County for years 1890 & 1891 with full range of spelling variations >> they found NO death record. I applied to Menominee County in the same way >> they found NO death record. I then applied to the State of Michigan >> they also found NO death record.

So... Is this just a hopeless quest? Do I need to accept defeat and move on? Has anyone else had similar problems with vital records in the (then) newly-created county?