Billings County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Billings County

Guide to Billings 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
The Territorial legislature authorized Billings County in 1879, naming it for railroad executive Frederick H. Billings. It was organized seven years later, on May 4, 1886, at a meeting in Medora. The county's area was later reduced by erecting new counties: Golden Valley County in 1912 and Slope County in 1915.

The county seat is Medora.

County Courthouse
Billings County Courthouse 495 4th Street; PO Box 138 Medora, ND 58645-0138 Phone. 701.623.4492 Billings County Website

Clerk of the District Court has marriage records from 1893, burial records from 1922, divorce records, and probate records from 1895, court records from 1890, and land records from 1886.

Billings 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" |1886
 * width="12%" align="center" |1887
 * width="12%" align="center" |1886
 * width="12%" align="center" |1879
 * width="12%" align="center" |1879
 * width="12%" align="center" |1879
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
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 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1879--Billings County was created 10 February 1879 from Howard County and unorganized territory. County seat: Medora
 * 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

City
 * Medora (county seat)

Unorganized Territories
 * North Billings
 * South Billings

Unincorporated Communities
 * Fairfield
 * Gorham
 * Fryburg
 * Scoria Point Corner
 * Six Mile Corner
 * Sully Springs


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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.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records For more information see North Dakota Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * Echoing trails : Billings County history. 1979. Billings County Historical Society. Billings County Historical Society; Medora, North Dakota. ;.

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 $

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


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

Museums
Billings County Historical Society Museum PO Box 364 Medora, ND 58645 Phone: 701-623-4829

Chateau de Mores State Historic Site PO Box 106 Medora, ND 58645 Phone: 701-623-4355 or 701-328-2666 Email: [mailto:histsoc@nd.gov histsoc@nd.gov] 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.
 * Billings County, North Dakota Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)