Lake County, Minnesota Genealogy
Guide to Lake County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Lake County, Minnesota | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Minnesota | |
 Location of Minnesota in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 20, 1855 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Two Harbors |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Lake County Courthouse 601 3rd Ave Two Harbors, MN 55616 Phone: 218.834.8347 Lake County Website |
Contents
County Information
Lake County, Minnesota Record Dates
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1891 | 1888 | 1891 | 1850 | ||
County Courthouse
County Register has birth records from 1898, marriage and death from 1891, divorce and court records from 1892. Probate Judge has probate records. City Clerk has burial records. [2]
History
Parent County
- 1855--Lake County was created 20 February 1855 from Itasca County. The names were changed in 1855 to Newton and St. Louis. Names were changed again in 1856 with St. Louis becoming Lake and Newton becoming St. Louis.
County seat: Two Harbors [3]
- For a brief history of how Lake County was named, clickhere, then select Lake County.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
1904 Courthouse destroyed by fire; however, most county records were rescued.
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
- Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
- Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
- Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Cities
Beaver Bay | Silver Bay | Two Harbors
Townships
Beaver Bay Township | Crystal Bay Township | Fall Lake Township | Silver Creek Township | Stony River Township
Unincorporated Communities
Castle Danger | East Beaver Bay | Finland | Illgen City | Isabella | Knife River | Larsmont | Lax Lake | Little Marais | Murphy City
Unorganized
Lake No. 1 | Lake No. 2
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Cemeteries
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| USGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| Tombstone Project | ||
| 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.
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, Lake – LAND AND PROPERTY
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Lake 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 Lake County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat
- FamilySearch. Do a Lake 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
Lake County Historical Society
PO Box 128
520 South Ave
Two Harbors MN,
Telephone: 218-834-4898
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
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), Lake County, Minnesota page 365, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
