Cass County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Cass County

Guide to Cass County, North Dakota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

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Description
Cass County dates back to the days of the Dakota Territory. It was one of the original counties defined in 1872, and was organized on October 27, 1873, at a meeting in Fargo. It is named in honor of a railroad executive George Washington Cass.

It is the most populous county in North Dakota.

County Seat: Fargo.

County Courthouse
Cass County Courthouse 211 9th Street South PO Bo 2806 Fargo, ND 58103-1833 Phone: 701.241.5646 Cass County Website Clerk District Court has divorce and court records from 1885

Cass County, North Dakota Record Dates

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 * width="84%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1872
 * width="12%" align="center" |1884
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
 * }
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
 * }
 * }

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

Boundary Changes
1873--Cass County was created 4 January 1873 from Pembina County. County seat: Fargo
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places
The following are locations in the county

Cities


 * Alice
 * Amenia
 * Argusville
 * Arthur
 * Ayr
 * Briarwood
 * Buffalo
 * Casselton
 * Davenport
 * Enderlin
 * Fargo (County seat)
 * Frontier
 * Gardner
 * Grandin
 * Harwood
 * Horace
 * Hunter
 * Kindred
 * Leonard
 * Mapleton
 * North River
 * Oxbow
 * Page
 * Prairie Rose
 * Reile’s Acres
 * Tower City
 * West Fargo

Townships


 * Addison
 * Amenia
 * Arthur
 * Ayr
 * Barnes
 * Bell
 * Berlin
 * Buffalo
 * Casselton
 * Clifton
 * Cornell
 * Davenport
 * Dows
 * Durbin
 * Eldred
 * Empire
 * Erie
 * Everest
 * Fargo
 * Gardner
 * Gill
 * Gunkel
 * Harmony
 * Harwood
 * Highland
 * Hill
 * Howes
 * Hunter
 * Kinyon
 * Lake
 * Leonard
 * Maple River
 * Mapleton
 * Noble
 * Normanna
 * Page
 * Pleasant
 * Pontiac
 * Raymond
 * Reed
 * Rich
 * Rochester
 * Rush River
 * Stanley
 * Tower
 * Walburg
 * Warren
 * Watson
 * Wheatland
 * Wiser

Census-designated places
 * Brooktree Park
 * Embden
 * Erie
 * Wheatland

Other communities
 * Absaraka
 * Chaffee
 * Wild Rice


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State Census Records

 * 1885 Dakota Territory 1885 Census Index at NDSU Archives – index only
 * 1885, 1915, 1925 North Dakota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1885, 1915, 1925 at Ancestry.com – ($), index and images
 * 1915 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images
 * 1925 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for North Dakota starting in 1910. For links to Federal census indexes, see North Dakota Census.

Church Records
Lutheran

''Enderlin


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Enderlin, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''Fargo


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Enderlin, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''First Lutheran Church, Fargo


 * Records of First Lutheran Church, Fargo, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''Hickson


 * Records of the Lutheran Church, Hickson, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''Zion Lutheran Church, Harwood


 * Records of Zion Lutheran Church, Harwood, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * 1822 - 1995 U.S. City Directories 1822-1995 at Ancestry ($) - collection for the City of Fargo

Local Histories

 * Centennial; first one hundred years : centennial project of the Fargo Genealogy Society. 1975. Fargo, North Dakota: Fargo Genealogy Society;
 * Vol. 1
 * Vol. 2

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Maps at NDGenWeb -historical maps

Military Records
Civil War World War I
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.
 * 1917 - 1918 North Dakota Military Men 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1917 - 1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * For further information see North Dakota Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * North Dakota Naturalization Records Index at NDSU Archives – index only, covers various dates and counties

Newspapers
 North Dakota Newspapers Online North Dakota Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some North Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper
 * State Historical Society of North Dakota - contains inventory and catalog of all known ND newspapers

Probate Records
'''Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1985 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Cass County, N.D., Probate Records (1876-1949)

Marriage

 * Cass County, N.D. Marriage Licenses (1870-1944)

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1892-present - NDDH Public Death Index, 1892-present at North Dakota Dept. of Health – index only

Divorce

 * Cass County, N.D. Divorce and Civil Cases Records (1870-1942)

Family History Centers

 * Fargo North Dakota Family History Center

Societies
Cass County Historical Society 1351 Main Ave W West Fargo 58078-1321 Telephone: 701-282-2822 E-mail: [mailto:mwarren@bonanzaville.com mwarren@bonanzaville.com] Website

Casselton Historical Society PO Box 86 Casselton, ND 58012 Telephone: 701-347-4163

Red River Valley Genealogy Society c/o Linda Zeutschel PO Box 9284 Fargo, ND 58106 Telephone: 701-239-4129 or 701-282-2076 Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * 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.
 * Cass County, North Dakota Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)