Cottonwood County, Minnesota Genealogy
Guide to Cottonwood County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Cottonwood County, Minnesota | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Minnesota | |
 Location of Minnesota in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | May 23, 1857 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Windom |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Cottonwood County Courthouse 900 3rd Avenue Windom, MN 56101 Phone: 507-831-5669 Phone: 507-831-1458 Cottonwood County Website |
Contents
County Information
Cottonwood County, Minnesota Record Dates
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | 1850 | 1871 | 1871 |
County Courthouse
Clerk District Court has birth, marriage, death, divorce and court records from 1871.[2]
History
Parent County
- 1857--Cottonwood County was created 23 May 1857 from Brown County. County seat: Windom [3]
- For a brief history of how Cottonwood County was named, click here. Then select Cottonwood County.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Cities
Bingham Lake | Comfrey | Jeffers | Mountain Lake | Storden | Westbrook | Windom
Townships
Amboy Township | Amo Township | Ann Township | Carson Township | Dale Township | Delton Township | Germantown Township | Great Bend Township | Highwater Township | Lakeside Township | Midway Township | Mountain Lake Township | Rose Hill Township | Selma Township | Southbrook Township | Springfield Township | Storden Township | Westbrook Township
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Cemeteries
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| MNGenWeb Archives | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| Tombstone Project | ||
| MNInterment | ||
| EPodunk | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census
State Census
- 1865 - Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1885 - Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1905 - Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — index and images
Church
Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information about these major repositories, see Minnesota Church Records.
Lutheran
Highwater Lutheran Church, Lamberton
- Records of Highwater Lutheran Church, Lamberton, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[4]
Court
Emigration and Immigration
- 1912 - 1956 - Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land
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.
Land records for Minnesota are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
MINNESOTA, Cottonwood – LAND AND PROPERTY
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Cottonwood County, Minnesota Genealogy. 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.
Maps
Military
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Cottonwood County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat
- FamilySearch. Do a Cottonwood County, Minnesota Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Obituaries
- 1865-2006 - Minnesota Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch— index and images
Probate
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 Records
- 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Taxation
Minnesota tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. 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 State Registrar of Vital Records, the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred], order electronically online ($) or download an application for Minnesota Birth Certificate and Death Certificates Applications to mail.
See also Minnesota Vital Records or How to order Minnesota Vital Records. For information about restrictions and costs for certificates, see the CDC Where to Write for Vital Records site.
Birth
Marriage
- 1860 - 1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
Death
Societies and Libraries
Cottonwood Area Historical Society
PO Box 106
Cottonwood 56229
Cottonwood County Historical Society
812-4th Avenue
Windom 56101
Website
Southwest Minnesota Historical Center
Social Science 141
Southwest Minnesota State University
1501 State Street
Marshall, MN 56258
Telephone: 507-537-7373
Website
Family History Centers
Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.
Websites
- Cottonwood County, MN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Cottonwood County GenWeb
- Cyndi's List: Cottonwood County
References
- ↑ Alice Eichholz, Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Revised ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992), 385-403. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Cottonwood County, Minnesota page 363, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An Inventory of Selected Congregational Records of the American Lutheran Church in Minnesota at the Minnesota Historical Society," Collection Finding Aids, Minnesota Historical Society, http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01009.xml, accessed 10 June 2013.
