Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Yellow Medicine County

Guide to Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Granite Falls Organized: February 25, 1874 Parent County(s): Redwood Neighboring Counties Chippewa  • Deuel (SD)  • Lac Qui Parle  • Lincoln  • Lyon  • Redwood  • Renville See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for a plant whose yellow root the native Dakota people used for medicinal purposes. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Yellow Medicine County Courthouse
415 9th Avenue
Granite Falls, MN 56241-1367
Phone: 320-722-7002
Yellow Medicine County Website

Clerk District Court has birth, marriage and naturalization records from 1872, death, divorce, probate and court records. County Recorder has land records.

Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1872	1872	1872	1872	1861	1874	1836
*Statewide registration started for births in 1900 and deaths in 1908. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Created from Redwood County November 7, 1871. Organized date: February 25, 1874 County seat: Granite Falls Interactive Map of Minnesota County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Minnesota county boundary changes Minnesota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Canby Clarkfield Echo	Granite Falls Hanley Falls Hazel Run	Porter St. Leo Wood Lake
Unincorporated communities
Burr Lorne	Normania	Spring Creek
Townships
Burton Echo Florida Fortier Friendship Hammer Hazel Run	Lisbon Minnesota Falls Norman Normania Omro Oshkosh Posen	Sandnes Sioux Agency Stony Run Swede Prairie Tyro Wergeland Wood Lake

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find A Grave Minnesota Gravestones MN GenWeb MN Tombstone Transcription Project USGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	FamilySearch Places Find A Grave
See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information.

 

Census Records

For links to Federal, State, and Territorial censuses, see Minnesota Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	5,884	—
1890	9,854	67.5%
1900	14,602	48.2%
1910	15,406	5.5%
1920	16,550	7.4%
1930	16,625	0.5%
1940	16,917	1.8%
1950	16,279	−3.8%
1960	15,523	−4.6%
1970	14,418	−7.1%
1980	13,653	−5.3%
1990	11,684	−14.4%
2000	11,080	−5.2%
2010	10,438	−5.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1835-1890 Minnesota, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1835-1890 at Ancestry ($)
• 1849-1905 Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 at Ancestry ($)
• 1865 Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1875 Minnesota State Census, 1875 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1885 Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1905 Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information, see Minnesota Church Records.

• FamilySearch Places
  

Lutheran
1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry ($)

Emigration and Immigration

• 1912-1956 Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Land and Property Records

The county register of deeds keeps land records once the land was transferred to private ownership. Abstracts and indexes for these records are generally available at the county courthouse.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Pre-1908 Minnesota, U.S., Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Yellow Medicine County. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Minnesota Local Histories.

• Rose, Arthur P. An Illustrated history of Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota. Northern History Publishing Co, Marshall, MN 1914. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, MNGenWeb.
  

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Minnesota Maps at David Rumsey Map Collection
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
• Minnesota Department of Transportation, Yellow Medicine County municipality and township maps

Military Records

Multiple Wars

• 1861-1917 United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Free index, images ($)
• 1898-1899 Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection at Ancestry; Free index

Civil War

• 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1865 Minnesota, U.S., Civil War Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1865 Minnesota Civil War Soldiers at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1934 U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at Ancestry; Free index

Spanish-American War

• 1898 U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898  at Ancestry; Free index
• 1898-1899 Minnesota, U.S., Spanish American War Muster Rolls and Casualty Lists, 1898-1899 at Ancestry; Free index

World War I

• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1918-1941 Minnesota, World War I Records, 1918-1941 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

World War II

• 1940-1947 Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1940-1947 U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry; Free index

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1849-1985 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Naturalization Index, 1849-1985 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1872-1962 Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1880-1920 Minnesota, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1880-1920 at Ancestry ($)
• 1918 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Alien Registration Index, 1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Newspapers

• Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub at Minnesota Historical Society; narrow to county or city, search for surname, limit by date.

Obituaries

• 1865-2006 Minnesota, Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1891-2003 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Probate Records

Probate records may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. They may include the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. See Minnesota Probate Records for additional information.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1801-1925 Minnesota, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1925 at Ancestry; index and images ($)
• 1849-1985 Minnesota Will Records, 1849-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Three Minnesota counties are not in this collection: Hennepin, Marshall, and St. Louis.

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($); index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Since Minnesota tax records include only persons who owned taxable property, many residents were not included. Still they complement land records and can be used in place of missing censuses or the years between censuses. There may also be gaps. For more information, see the wiki page Minnesota Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.

A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Minnesota Vital Records.

Birth

• 1840-1980 Minnesota, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1840-1980 at Ancestry ($)
• 1870-1910 Yellow Medicine County Birth Records at Yellow Medicine County Museum & Historical Society; transcribed records in downloadable spreadsheet only
• 1900-1934 Minnesota People Records Search - Births at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
• 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage; index ($)
• 1935-2000 Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000 at Ancestry ($)

Marriage

• 1850-2019 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1860-1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1885-present Minnesota Official Marriage System at MOMS.mn.gov; search by county, name or date, and request copy.
• 1970-2003 Minnesota Marriage Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)
• 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage; index ($)

Death

• 1850-2001 Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1872-1910 Yellow Medicine County Death Records at Yellow Medicine County Museum & Historical Society; transcribed records in downloadable spreadsheet only
• 1887-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1904-2001 Minnesota People Records Search - Deaths at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
• 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage; index ($)
• 1908-2017 Minnesota, U.S., Death Index, 1908-2017 at Ancestry ($)

Divorce

• 1970-1995 Minnesota, U.S., Divorce Index, 1970-1995 at Ancestry ($)
• 1970-2003 Minnesota Divorce Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Yellow Medicine County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

• Historical Records Survey (Minnesota), Work Projects Administration. Inventory of the county archives of Minnesota, no. 87, Yellow Medicine County (Granite Falls) 1941. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Hutchinson Minnesota Family History Center
• Sioux Falls South Dakota Family History Center
• Brookings Public Library - an affiliate library.
• Stevens County Historical Society & Museum - an affiliate library.

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Yellow Medicine County. For state-wide library facilities, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

Canby Public Library
110 Oscar Ave N
Canby, MN 56220
Phone: 507-223-5738
Website

Granite Falls Public Library
155 7th Avenue
Granite Falls, MN 56241
Phone: 320-564-3738
Website

City of Clarkfield Library
812 10th Avenue
PO Box 278
Clarkfield, MN 56223
Phone: 320-669-7651
Email: clarkfieldlibrary@gmail.com
Website

Museums

Yellow Medicine County Historical Society and Museum
PO Box 145
HWY 23 and 67
Granite Falls, MN 56241
Phone: 320-564-4479
Email: ymchs@co.ym.mn.gov
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Yellow Medicine County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Minnesota Societies.

Yellow Medicine County Historical Society
PO Box 145
HWY 23 and 67
Granite Falls, MN 56241
Phone: 320-564-4479
Email: ymchs@co.ym.mn.gov
Website

Granite Falls Historical Society
163 9th Avenue
Granite Falls, MN 56241
Email: gfhsociety@netscape.net
Website

Websites

• Yellow Medicine County, a member of The MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• Research at Minnesota Historical Society — links to Records and Indexes; See also MHS Wiki Page
• Iron Range Research Center
• Yellow Medicine at USGenWeb Archives
• Cyndi's List: Yellow Medicine County
• Minnesota Genealogy Trails
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

The collection is free on this subscription website.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.