123-460: Saginaw County , officially the County of Saginaw , is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan . As of the 2020 Census , the population was 190,124. The county seat is Saginaw . The county was created by September 10, 1822, and was fully organized on February 9, 1835. The etymology of the county's name is uncertain. It may be derived from Sace-nong or Sak-e-nong (English: Sauk land ), as
246-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
369-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
492-452: A certain set of beliefs within the family that reflect how its members should communicate and interact. These family communication patterns arise from two underlying sets of beliefs. One being conversation orientation (the degree to which the importance of communication is valued) and two, conformity orientation (the degree to which families should emphasize similarities or differences regarding attitudes, beliefs, and values). Blended families
615-475: A child and a parent). Moreover, he argued, kinship terminologies distinguish between relatives by blood and marriage (although recently some anthropologists have argued that many societies define kinship in terms other than "blood"). Morgan made a distinction between kinship systems that use classificatory terminology and those that use descriptive terminology. Classificatory systems are generally and erroneously understood to be those that "class together" with
738-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
861-401: A degree of relative mobility. Typically, societies with conjugal families also favor neolocal residence; thus upon marriage, a person separates from the nuclear family of their childhood (family of orientation) and forms a new nuclear family (family of procreation). Such systems generally assume that the mother's husband is also the biological father. The system uses highly descriptive terms for
984-460: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
1107-592: A high rate of 6.76 children born per woman in Niger to a low rate of 0.81 in Singapore (as of 2015). Fertility is below replacement in all Eastern European and Southern European countries, and particularly high in Sub-Saharan African countries. In some cultures, the mother's preference of family size influences that of the children's through early adulthood. A parent's number of children strongly correlates with
1230-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
1353-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
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#17328516045231476-419: A lawyer, came to make this distinction in an effort to understand Seneca inheritance practices. A Seneca man's effects were inherited by his sisters' children rather than by his own children. Morgan identified six basic patterns of kinship terminologies: Most Western societies employ Eskimo kinship terminology. This kinship terminology commonly occurs in societies with strong conjugal , where families have
1599-496: A marriage with one person while still legally married to another ) in jurisdictions that require monogamous marriages. Polygamy is a marriage that includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny ; and when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry . If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called polyamory , group or conjoint marriage . Polygyny
1722-882: A matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
1845-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
1968-589: A shipping channel down the river to Bay City , and from there, to the Great Lakes . Most of Saginaw County is served by the Saginaw Intermediate School District (SISD), which coordinates the efforts of local boards of education, but has no operating authority over schools. Local school boards in Michigan retain great autonomy over day-to-day operations. A number of charter schools also operate in
2091-552: A single term relatives who actually do not have the same type of relationship to ego. (What defines "same type of relationship" under such definitions seems to be genealogical relationship. This is problematic given that any genealogical description, no matter how standardized, employs words originating in a folk understanding of kinship.) What Morgan's terminology actually differentiates are those (classificatory) kinship systems that do not distinguish lineal and collateral relationships and those (descriptive) kinship systems that do. Morgan,
2214-496: A special interest in the function and status of family forms in stratified (especially capitalist ) societies. According to the work of scholars Max Weber , Alan Macfarlane , Steven Ozment , Jack Goody and Peter Laslett , the huge transformation that led to modern marriage in Western democracies was "fueled by the religio-cultural value system provided by elements of Judaism , early Christianity , Roman Catholic canon law and
2337-557: A swimming beach, picnic shelters, and recreation programs. The largest employers in Saginaw County are: Saginaw County was the destination of a Sauk footpath that became one of the first roads in what is now Michigan, the Saginaw Trail . The trail, first authorized in 1819, was completed to Saginaw in 1841. Since then, Saginaw's access to the outside world has expanded with the development of maritime, rail, air, and freeway links to
2460-521: A woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Fraternal polyandry, where two or more brothers are married to the same wife, is a common form of polyandry. Polyandry was traditionally practiced in areas of the Himalayan mountains, among Tibetans in Nepal , in parts of China and in parts of northern India. Polyandry is most common in societies marked by high male mortality or where males will often be apart from
2583-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
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#17328516045232706-564: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
2829-579: Is November 2024. (information as of April 2021) Saginaw County Parks and Recreation Commission is a county-wide government organization founded by William H. Haithco Sr. in 1969. Haithco then served as chairman from 1972 to 1999. The organization operates six parks throughout the county - Imerman Memorial Park, Veterans Memorial Park, Ringwood Forest, Price Nature Center, William H. Haithco Recreation Area , and The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail. These parks comprise over 550 acres, including 18 miles of hiking trails, two boat launches, four fishing access sites,
2952-432: Is [the] great importance of communication and equality in families, in order to avoid role strain. Historically, the most common family type was one in which grandparents, parents, and children lived together as a single unit. For example, the household might include the owners of a farm, one (or more) of their adult children, the adult child's spouse, and the adult child's own children (the owners' grandchildren). Members of
3075-522: Is a form of plural marriage, in which a man is allowed more than one wife. In modern countries that permit polygamy, polygyny is typically the only form permitted. Polygyny is practiced primarily (but not only) in parts of the Middle East and Africa; and is often associated with Islam , however, there are certain conditions in Islam that must be met to perform polygyny. Polyandry is a form of marriage whereby
3198-507: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Family Family (from Latin : familia ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms
3321-505: Is commonly used to refer to conjugal families. A " conjugal " family includes only the spouses and unmarried children who are not of age. Some sociologists distinguish between conjugal families (relatively independent of the kindred of the parents and of other families in general) and nuclear families (which maintain relatively close ties with their kindred). Other family structures – with (for example) blended parents , single parents , and domestic partnerships – have begun to challenge
3444-482: Is complex, ranging from stepfamilies to cohabitating families (an individual living with guardians who are not married with step or half siblings). While it is not too different from stepfamilies, cohabiting families pose a prevalent psychological effect on youths. Some adolescents would be prone to "acts of delinquency," and experiencing problems in school ranging from a decrease in academic performance to increased problematic behavior. It coincides with other researches on
3567-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
3690-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
3813-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
Saginaw County, Michigan - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-769: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
4059-449: Is not accidental, but indicative of the familial ideology of capitalist , western countries that pass social legislation that insists members of a nuclear family should live together, and that those not so related should not live together. Despite the ideological and legal pressures, a large percentage of families do not conform to the ideal nuclear family type. The total fertility rate of women varies from country to country, from
4182-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
4305-557: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
4428-430: Is traced through his or her father's lineage . It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names, or titles by persons related through male kin. A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors that are traced only through males. One's patriline is thus a record of descent from a man in which the individuals in all intervening generations are male. In cultural anthropology ,
4551-501: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
4674-524: Is water. It is part of the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Mid-Michigan . The median elevation in Saginaw County, Michigan is 620 feet (190 m) above sea level. The 2010 United States Census indicates Saginaw County had a 2010 population of 200,169. This is a decrease of -9,870 people from the 2000 United States Census . Overall, the county had a -4.7% growth rate during this ten-year period. In 2010 there were 79,011 households and 52,287 families in
4797-634: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
4920-454: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
5043-597: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
Saginaw County, Michigan - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-552: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
5289-530: The Protestant Reformation ". Much sociological, historical and anthropological research dedicates itself to the understanding of this variation, and of changes in the family that form over time. Levitan claims: Times have changed; it is more acceptable and encouraged for mothers to work and fathers to spend more time at home with the children. The way roles are balanced between the parents will help children grow and learn valuable life lessons. There
5412-559: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
5535-629: The Sauk (French: Sac ) tribe is believed by some to have once lived there. A more likely possibility is that it comes from Ojibwe words meaning "place of the outlet" – sag (English: an opening ) and ong (English: place of ). See List of Michigan county name etymologies . Saginaw County comprises the Saginaw, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Combined Statistical Area ,
5658-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
5781-569: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
5904-671: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
6027-466: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
6150-473: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
6273-501: The nuclear family ), avuncular (a man, his sister, and her children), or extended (in addition to parents , spouse and children , may include grandparents , aunts , uncles , or cousins ). The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics . The word "families" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community , nationhood , and global village . One of
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#17328516045236396-429: The removal is the difference between the number of generations from each cousin to the common ancestor (the difference between the generations the cousins are from). Cousins of an older generation (in other words, one's parents' first cousins), although technically first cousins once removed, are often classified with "aunts" and "uncles". English-speakers mark relationships by marriage (except for wife/husband) with
6519-445: The "normal" familial structure like having a father, a mother, and children. This is family as a group of people that rely on each other like a family of origin would. This terminology stems from the fact that many LGBT individuals, upon coming out , face rejection or shame from the families they were raised in. The term family of choice is also used by individuals in the 12 step communities, who create close-knit "family" ties through
6642-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
6765-454: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
6888-551: The 5th largest metropolitan area in Michigan. The name Saginaw is widely believed to mean "where the Sauk were" in Ojibwe , from Sace-nong or Sak-e-nong (Sauk Town), due to the belief that the Sauk once lived there. But it is more likely that the name means "place of the outlet", from the Ojibwe sag (opening) and ong (place of). When Natives told Samuel de Champlain that the Sauk nation
7011-973: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
7134-491: The Human Family , anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan (1818–1881) performed the first survey of kinship terminologies in use around the world. Although much of his work is now considered dated, he argued that kinship terminologies reflect different sets of distinctions. For example, most kinship terminologies distinguish between sexes (the difference between a brother and a sister) and between generations (the difference between
7257-517: The Sauk at one time lived in the area and were driven out by Ojibwe (Chippewa), before the area was first visited by Europeans. The Saginaw region includes an extensive network of many rivers and streams which converge into the Saginaw River and provided a means for easy travel for the Native American population among numerous settlements and hunting areas, as well as access to Lake Huron. Saginaw
7380-644: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
7503-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
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#17328516045237626-475: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
7749-683: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
7872-722: The US living in a multigenerational family as of 2016. The increasing popularity is partly driven by demographic changes and the economic shifts associated with the Boomerang Generation . Multigenerational households are less common in Canada, where about 6% of people living in Canada were living in multigenerational families as of 2016, but the proportion of multigenerational households was increasing rapidly, driven by increasing numbers of Aboriginal families, immigrant families, and high housing costs in some regions. The term " nuclear family "
7995-627: The United States In the United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as
8118-484: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
8241-724: The actual composition and conception of families. Historically, extended families were the basic family unit in the Catholic culture and countries (such as Southern Europe and Latin America ), and in Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern Orthodox countries. The term family of choice , also sometimes referred to as "chosen family" or "found family", is common within the LGBT community , veterans, individuals who have suffered abuse, and those who have no contact with their biological parents. It refers to
8364-404: The age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were husband and wife families , 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non-families, and 28.2% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, 23.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.3%
8487-437: The aid of local Euro-American settlers. In 1853 the Ojibwe and Ottawa both established large hunting camps along the Saginaw River, although Euro-American settlers were beginning to establish saw mills and farms in the area by that point. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 816 square miles (2,110 km), of which 800 square miles (2,100 km) is land and 16 square miles (41 km) (1.9%)
8610-477: The basis for social order . Ideally, families offer predictability , structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment , nurturance, and socialization . Anthropologists classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children), patrifocal (a father and his children), conjugal (a married couple with children, also called
8733-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
8856-530: The brother of one's spouse. The terms "half-brother" and "half-sister" indicate siblings who share only one biological parent. The term " aunt-in-law " refers to the aunt of one's spouse. " Uncle-in-law " is the uncle of one's spouse. " Cousin-in-law " is the spouse of one's cousin, or the cousin of one's spouse. The term " niece-in-law " refers to the wife of one's nephew. " Nephew-in-law " is the husband of one's niece. The grandmother and grandfather of one's spouse become one's grandmother-in-law and grandfather-in-law;
8979-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
9102-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
9225-457: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
9348-569: The county was $ 21,025. About 12.4% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 24.1% of those under the age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is the controlling regional body for the Catholic Church . The county government operates the jail , maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records , administers public health regulations, and participates with
9471-411: The county. School districts in the county (including any with any territory, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administration are in other counties) include: Former school districts include: There are twenty eight recognized historical markers in the county: They are: 43°20′N 84°03′W / 43.33°N 84.05°W / 43.33; -84.05 Counties of
9594-479: The county. The population density was 250.2 per square mile (96.6 per square kilometer). There were 86,844 housing units at an average density of 108.5 per square mile (41.9 per square kilometer). The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 70.5% White, 18.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 7.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. There were 79,011 households, out of which 30.5% had children under
9717-565: The divorce rate climbing drastically during the years 1965–1995, and about half of all children in the United States will live in a single-parent family at some point before they reach the age of 18. Most single-parent families are headed by a mother, but the number of single-parent families headed by fathers is increasing. A "matrifocal" family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children occurs in nearly every society. This kind of family occurs commonly where women have
9840-413: The extended family are not included in this family group. Sometimes, "skipped" generation families, such as a grandparents living with their grandchildren, are included. In the US, this arrangement declined after World War II , reaching a low point in 1980, when about one out of every eight people in the US lived in a multigenerational family. The numbers have risen since then, with one in five people in
9963-415: The family; in societies with a sexual division of labor , marriage , and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household . C. C. Harris notes that the western conception of a family is ambiguous and confused with the household , as revealed in the different contexts in which the word is used. Olivia Harris states this confusion
10086-429: The former family into the new family. Also in sociology, particularly in the works of social psychologist Michael Lamb , traditional family refers to "a middle-class family with a bread-winning father and a stay-at-home mother, married to each other and raising their biological children," and nontraditional to exceptions to this rule. Most of the US households are now non-traditional under this definition. Critics of
10209-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
10332-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
10455-622: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
10578-403: The group of people in an individual's life that satisfies the typical role of family as a support system. The term differentiates between the "family of origin" (the biological family or that in which people are raised) and those that actively assume that ideal role. The family of choice may or may not include some or all of the members of the family of origin. This family is not one that follows
10701-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
10824-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
10947-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
11070-576: The major cities of Michigan and neighboring states and nations. Scheduled airline service is available from MBS International Airport near Freeland, Michigan and Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan . Harry Browne Airport in Buena Vista Charter Township also serves the region. The Saginaw River is maintained by the Corps of Engineers , and from time to time, dredged to maintain
11193-617: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
11316-514: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
11439-474: The nieces and nephews of a spouse are nieces and nephews. With further removal by the subject for aunts and uncles and by the relative for nieces and nephews the prefix "grand-" modifies these terms. With further removal the prefix becomes "great-grand-," adding another "great-" for each additional generation. For large numbers of generations a number can be substituted, for example, "fourth great-grandson", "four-greats grandson" or "four-times-great-grandson". When
11562-735: The normality of the nuclear family. A single-parent family consists of one parent together with their children, where the parent is either widowed, divorced (and not remarried), or never married. The parent may have sole custody of the children, or separated parents may have a shared-parenting arrangement where the children divide their time (possibly equally) between two different single-parent families or between one single-parent family and one blended family . As compared to sole custody, physical, mental and social well-being of children may be improved by shared-parenting arrangements and by children having greater access to both parents. The number of single-parent families have been increasing due to
11685-515: The nuclear family and progressively more classificatory as the relatives become more and more collateral. The system emphasizes the nuclear family. Members of the nuclear family use highly descriptive kinship terms, identifying directly only the husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and sister. All other relatives are grouped together into categories. Members of the nuclear family may be lineal or collateral. Kin, for whom these are family, refer to them in descriptive terms that build on
11808-469: The number of children that their children will eventually have. Although early western cultural anthropologists and sociologists considered family and kinship to be universally associated with relations by "blood" (based on ideas common in their own cultures) later research has shown that many societies instead understand family through ideas of living together, the sharing of food (e.g. milk kinship ) and sharing care and nurture . Sociologists have
11931-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
12054-430: The old family may not transfer well within the new family for adolescents. A monogamous family is based on a legal or social monogamy . In this case, an individual has only one (official) partner during their lifetime or at any one time (i.e. serial monogamy ). This means that a person may not have several different legal spouses at the same time, as this is usually prohibited by bigamy laws, (the act of entering into
12177-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
12300-444: The primary functions of the family involves providing a framework for the production and reproduction of persons biologically and socially. This can occur through the sharing of material substances (such as food); the giving and receiving of care and nurture ( nurture kinship ); jural rights and obligations; also moral and sentimental ties. Thus, one's experience of one's family shifts over time. There are different perspectives of
12423-554: The recovery process. As a family system, families of choice face unique issues. Without legal safeguards, families of choice may struggle when medical, educational or governmental institutions fail to recognize their legitimacy. If members of the chosen family have been disowned by their family of origin, they may experience surrogate grief, displacing anger, loss, or anxious attachment onto their new family. The term blended family or stepfamily describes families with mixed parents: one or both parents remarried, bringing children of
12546-578: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
12669-437: The resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women. As a definition, "a family or domestic group is matrifocal when it is centred on a woman and her children. In this case, the father(s) of these children are intermittently present in the life of the group and occupy a secondary place. The children's mother is not necessarily the wife of one of the children's fathers." The name, matrifocal,
12792-481: The rest of the family for a considerable period of time. A first-degree relative is one who shares 50% of your DNA through direct inheritance, such as a full sibling, parent or progeny. There is another measure for the degree of relationship, which is determined by counting up generations to the first common ancestor and back down to the target individual, which is used for various genealogical and legal purposes. In his book Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of
12915-402: The state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships. From 1988 to 2012, Saginaw County
13038-541: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
13161-410: The subject and the relative have an additional removal they are cousins. A cousin with minimal removal is a first cousin, i.e. the child of the subjects uncle or aunt. Degrees of collaterality and removals are used to more precisely describe the relationship between cousins. The degree is the number of generations subsequent to the common ancestor before a parent of one of the cousins is found, while
13284-416: The subject has the additional removal, the relative is the subject's parents' siblings, the terms Aunt and Uncle are used for female and male relatives respectively. When only the relative has the additional removal, the relative is the subjects siblings child, the terms Niece and Nephew are used for female and male relatives respectively. The spouse of a biological aunt or uncle is an aunt or uncle, and
13407-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
13530-411: The tag "-in-law". The mother and father of one's spouse become one's mother-in-law and father-in-law; the wife of one's son becomes one's daughter-in-law and the husband of one's daughter becomes one's son-in-law. The term " sister-in-law " refers to two essentially different relationships, either the wife of one's brother, or the sister of one's spouse. " Brother-in-law " is the husband of one's sister, or
13653-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
13776-551: The term "traditional family" point out that in most cultures and at most times, the extended family model has been most common, not the nuclear family, though it has had a longer tradition in England than in other parts of Europe and Asia which contributed large numbers of immigrants to the Americas. The nuclear family became the most common form in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. In terms of communication patterns in families, there are
13899-419: The term 'family', from the perspective of children , the family is a "family of orientation": the family serves to locate children socially and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a "family of procreation ", the goal of which is to produce, enculturate and socialize children. However, producing children is not the only function of
14022-462: The terms used within the nuclear family as most are not traditionally members of the household. These terms do not traditionally differentiate between a collateral relatives and a person married to a collateral relative (both collateral and aggregate). Collateral relatives with additional removals on each side are Cousins . This is the most classificatory term and can be distinguished by degrees of collaterality and by generation ( removal ). When only
14145-457: The terms used within the nuclear family or use the nuclear family term directly. Nuclear family of orientation Nuclear conjugal family Nuclear non-lineal family A sibling is a collateral relative with a minimal removal. For collateral relatives with one additional removal, one generation more distant from a common ancestor on one side, more classificatory terms come into play. These terms ( Aunt , Uncle , Niece , and Nephew ) do not build on
14268-404: The trajectories of stepfamilies where some experienced familyhood, but others lacking connection. Emotional detachment from members within stepfamilies contributes to this uncertainty, furthering the tension that these families may establish. The transition from an old family to a new family that falls under blended families would also become problematic as the activities that were once performed in
14391-443: The wife of one's grandson becomes one's granddaughter-in-law and the husband of one's granddaughter becomes one's grandson-in-law. In Indian English , a sibling in law who is the spouse of your sibling can be referred to as a co-sibling (specificity a co-sister or co-brother ). Patrilineality , also known as the male line or agnatic kinship , is a form of kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and
14514-431: Was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males. The 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimate indicates the median income for a household in the county was $ 41,938 and the median income for a family was $ 52,243. Males had a median income of $ 27,691 versus $ 16,488 for females. The per capita income for
14637-515: Was a consistently Democratic county at the Presidential level. However, in recent elections it has become increasingly competitive, with Donald Trump narrowly winning the county in 2016 by slightly over 1,000 votes while narrowly losing it in 2020 by about 300 votes. Trump won it back in 2024 , this time with an outright majority of the vote. All countywide officers are elected for four-year terms. The next scheduled election for these offices
14760-536: Was also a frequent meeting location for councils of the Ojibwe, Pottawatomi, and Ottawa—the Three Fires of the Anishnabeg. What is today Saginaw County was inhabited by the Ojibwe at the time of the arrival of Euro-Americans. The Ojibwe were still the dominant force in the area in the 1820s, and in 1827 they were attacked by a two groups of Winnebago people coming from Wisconsin. The Ojibwe prevailed in this fight with
14883-515: Was coined in Guiana but it is defined differently in other countries. For Nayar families, the family have the male as the "center" or the head of the family, either the step-father/father/brother, rather than the mother. The term " extended family " is also common, especially in the United States. This term has two distinct meanings: These types refer to ideal or normative structures found in particular societies. Any society will exhibit some variation in
15006-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
15129-606: Was on the western shore of Lake Michigan , Champlain mistakenly placed them on the western shore of Lake Huron . This mistake was copied on subsequent maps, and future references identified this as the place of the Sauks. Champlain himself never visited what is now Michigan. The area was inhabited from about 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. by the Native American Hopewell culture , followed by the Anishnabeg . Some historians believe that
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