“Vital Records Information Minnesota” [Internet site] N.p., 1999– [cited 26 October 1999]. Available at: www.vitalrec.com/mn.html. Shows state and county records office addresses, fees, and years covered.

County Records of Births and Deaths

Some counties began recording births as early as 1864 (Redwood County), but most counties began in 1870. Benton County death records were kept from 1867, but 1870 was the general starting date for most counties. Compliance was not good in the early years. The Family History Library has been acquiring microfilms of these county records from the earliest dates to about 1925. For examples, see the following:

Minnesota. District Court (Hennepin County). Birth Records, 1870–1915. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983. (On 5 FHL films beginning with 1309389; computer number 258276.)

Minnesota. Division of Vital Statistics. Delayed Birth Records, ca. 1942–1981. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. (On 3 FHL films beginning with 1314525 item4; computer number 32548.) Contains delayed birth records for Ramsey County and the city of St. Paul.

Mower County (Minnesota). County Recorder. Death Records, 1870–1993; Index, 1870–1993. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993. (On 26 FHL films beginning with 1902894; computer number 749415.)

For information about early county birth and death records, write to the court administrator of the district court or county recorder in the county.

County Records of Marriages

There is no centralized registration for Minnesota marriage records. The state has kept a statewide index to marriages from 1958 to present. Each county generally began keeping marriage records soon after the creation of the county. Some county marriage records begin in the late 1840s. The Family History Library has been acquiring microfilms of these records. For example, marriage records of Ramsey County (including St. Paul) are in:

Minnesota. District Court (Ramsey County). Marriage Indexes, 1850–1917; Marriage Records, 1850–1916. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. (On 54 FHL films beginning with index film 1314520 item3; computer number 160272.)

There is an index to many pre-1850 Minnesota marriage records on compact disc:

Marriage Records Early–1850. Orem, Utah: Automated Archives, 1992. (FHL compact disc no.9, pt. 227, computer number 683380.) Although incomplete, this disc has many marriage records for various states west of the Mississippi.

There are also some Bureau of Indian Affairs marriage records on microfilm. An example is:

United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Red Lake Agency. Marriage Licenses, 1902–1922. Kansas City, Mo.: Federal Archives and Records Center, 1977. (FHL film 1204883 item3; computer number 68411.)

For copies of marriage records, write to the district court administrator’s office in the county in which the license was recorded. This office also has files for divorces. For information about Hennepin County marriages, write to:

Vital Records Office
Public Service Level Government Center
300 South 6th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55487