St. Louis County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

St. Louis County

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

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Duluth Organized: August 12, 1858 Parent County(s): Itasca, Newton Neighboring Counties Aitkin  • Carlton  • Douglas (WI)  • Itasca  • Koochiching  • Lake  • Rainy River District, Ontario, Canada See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for St. Louis River. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse

St. Louis County Courthouse
100 North 5th Avenue West
Duluth, MN 55802-1202
Phone: 218-726-2000
St. Louis County Website

Clerk District Court has birth, death and marriage records from 1870, burial permits from 1938, divorce, court and land records from 1859.
County Court has probate records.

St. Louis 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
1870	1870	1870	1859	1859	Unknown	1836
*Statewide registration started for births in 1900 and deaths in 1908. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

1869-70 Courthouse suffered a county record loss; cause unknown. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

1856--St. Louis County was created 1 March 1856 from Itasca and Newton (Newton eliminated) County. County seat: Duluth Organized Date 12 August 1858 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
Aurora Babbitt Biwabik Brookston Buhl Chisholm Cook Duluth Ely	Eveleth Floodwood Gilbert Hermantown Hibbing Hoyt Lakes Iron Junction Kinney Leonidas	McKinley Meadowlands Mountain Iron Orr Proctor Rice Lake Tower Virginia Winton
Unincorporated communities
Alborn Angora Ash Lake Bassett Bear River Bengal Brimson Britt Burnett Burntside Buyck Canyon Celina Central Lakes Cherry Clover Valley Cotton Crane Lake Culver Cusson Eldes Corner Elmer Embarrass Fairbanks Florenton	Forbes Four Corners French River Gheen Gheen Corner Glendale Gowan Greaney Idington Independence Island Lake Kabetogama Keenan Kelsey Linden Grove Makinen Markham McComber Meadow Brook Melrude Munger Palmers Palo Payne Peary	Petrel Peyla Prosit Ramshaw Robinson Rollins Saginaw Sax Shaw Sherman Corner Side Lake Silica Simar Skibo Sturgeon Taft Toivola Twig Vermilion Dam Wahlsten Wakemup Whiteface Wolf Zim
Census-designated places
Mahnomen	Nett Lake	Soudan
Townships
Alango Alborn Alden Angora Arrowhead Ault Balkan Bassett Beatty Biwabik Breitung Brevator Camp 5 Canosia Cedar Valley Cherry Clinton Colvin Cotton Crane Lake Culver Duluth Eagles Nest Ellsburg	Elmer Embarrass Fairbanks Fayal Field Fine Lakes Floodwood Fredenberg French Gnesen Grand Lake Great Scott Greenwood Halden Industrial Kabetogama Kelsey Kugler Lakewood Lavell Leiding Linden Grove McDavitt Meadowlands	Midway Morcom Morse Ness New Independence Normanna North Star Northland Owens Pequaywan Pike Portage Prairie Lake Sandy Solway Stoney Brook Sturgeon Toivola Van Buren Vermilion Lake Waasa White Willow Valley Wuori
Unorganized territories
Angleworm Lake Bear Head Lake Birch Lake Camp A Lake Crab Lake Dark River Gheen Hay Lake Heikkala Lake Hush Lake	Janette Lake Leander Lake Linwood Lake Marion Lake McCormack Mud Hen Lake Nett Lake Northeast St. Louis Northwest St. Louis Pfeiffer Lake	Picket Lake Potshot Lake Sand Lake Slim Lake Sturgeon River Sunday Lake Tikander Lake Whiteface Reservoir
Ghost towns
Costin Village Elcor	Fermoy	Spina

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of St. Louis County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find A Grave Interment.net Minnesota Gravestones MN Tombstone Transcription Project USGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	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.	%±
1860	406	—
1870	4,561	1023.4%
1880	4,504	−1.2%
1890	44,862	896.0%
1900	82,932	84.9%
1910	163,274	96.9%
1920	206,391	26.4%
1930	204,596	−0.9%
1940	206,917	1.1%
1950	206,062	−0.4%
1960	231,588	12.4%
1970	220,693	−4.7%
1980	222,229	0.7%
1990	198,213	−10.8%
2000	200,528	1.2%
2010	200,226	−0.2%
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
  

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records

• Duluth

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 St. Louis 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.

• Van Brunt, Walter. Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota : their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with, Vol. 2. American Historical Society, Chicago, 1921. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Woodbridge, Dwight Edwards., Pardee, John Stone. History of Duluth and St. Louis county, past and present; v. 01 and 02. C.F. Cooper and Company, Chicago, 1910. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library Vol 1; FamilySearch Digital Library Vol 2.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Louis 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 ($)
• 1898-1899 Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection at Ancestry ($)

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, images ($)
• 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, Images($).
• 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)
• 1948-Present - Duluth Public Library has an Index to Obituaries printed in the Duluth News Tribune newspaper from 1948 to the present.

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 ($)
• 1900-1934 Minnesota People Records Search - Births at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
• 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
• 1870-2000 St. Louis County Death Certificate Index at Duluth Public Library
• 1870-2000 St. Louis County Death Record Index (Rootsweb)
• 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 St. Louis County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

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

• Duluth Minnesota Family History Center
• Virginia Minnesota Family History Center

Libraries

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

Duluth Public Library
Main Library
520 W Superior St
Duluth, MN 55802
218-730-4200
Website

Arrowhead Library System
Main Library
5528 Emerald Ave
Mountain Iron, Mn 55768
218-741-3840
E-mail:als@alslib.info
Website

Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota
416 Library Dr
Duluth, MN 55812
218-726-8102
E-mail:libaskus@d.umn.edu
Website

Museums

St. Louis County Heritage and Arts Center
506 W Michigan St
Duluth, MN 55802
218-727-8025
E-mail: kenbuehler@aol.com
Website

Minnesota Discovery Center
1005 Discovery Dr
Chisholm, MN 55719
218-254-7959
E-mail: info@mndiscoverycenter.com
Website

Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
902 East 1st Street
Duluth, MN
Website

Dorothy Molter Museum
2002 E Sheridan St
Ely, MN 55731
218-365-4451
Email: info@rootbeerlady.com
Website

Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate
3300 London Rd
Duluth, MN 55804
218-726-8910
Email: info@glensheen.org
Website

Minnesota Museum of Mining
PO Box 271
701 Lake St W
Chisholm, MN 55719
218-254-5543
Email: info@mnmuseumofmining.org
Website

Wirtanen Pioneer Farm
Friends of the Wirtanen Pioneer Farm
3322 Vermilion Trail
Makinen, MN 55763
218-638-2859
Email: info@wirtanenfarm.org
Website

Societies

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

St. Louis County Historical Society
506 W Michigan St
Duluth, MN 55802-1505
218-733-7580
Website

Canosia Historical Society
5508 Martin Road
Duluth, MN 55811
218-729-8963
E-mail: wwsIII@msn.com
Website

Twin Ports Genealogical Society
PO Box 16895
Duluth MN 55816-0895
218-206-7880
E-mail: contact@proctorhistory.org
Website

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
Duluth Public Library
500 Superior St
Northshore Room
Duluth, MN
E-mail: edwardcnewman@juno.com
Website

Britt Community Historical Society
Box 154
Virginia, MN 55792
Email: info@britthistory.org
Website

Ely-Winton Historical Society
1900 Camp St E
Ely, MN 55731
218-365-3226
Email: ewhs@vcc.edu
Facebook

Eveleth Heritage Committee
PO Box 555
Eveleth, MN 55734
Email: evelethheritagecommittee@gmail.com
Website

Hermantown Historical Society
5255 Maple Grove Rd
Hermantown, MN 55811
218-499-5966
Facebook

Hibbing Historical Society
400 East 23rd Street
Hibbing, MN 55746-1923
218-263-8522
Email: hibbinghistory@mchsi.com
Website

Iron Range Historical Society
5454 Grand Ave
McKinley, MN 55741
218-749-3150
Email: ironrangehistsoc@gmail.com
Website

Proctor Area Historical Society
100 Pionk Drive
Proctor, MN 55810
218-206-7880
Email: contact@proctorhistory.org
Website

SISU Heritage, Inc.
PO Box 127
Embarrass, MN 55732
218-984-3012
Email: info@sisuheritage.org
Website

Tower-Soudan Historical Society
PO Box 465
404 Pine St
Tower, MN 55790
218-753-5021
Email: tshistory@accessMN.com
Website

Virginia Area Historical Society
800 Ninth Ave N
PO Box 736
Virginia, MN 55792
218-741-1136
Email: virginiamnhistory@gmail.com
Website

Websites

• St Louis County, a member of MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of USGenWeb Project.
• Research at Minnesota Historical Society — links to Records and Indexes; See also MHS Wiki Page
• Iron Range Research Center The Iron Range Research Center contains one of the largest collections of genealogical and local history research materials in the Upper Midwest and includes census, naturalization records, passenger arrival records, mining company newsletters, and a survey of Women in Industry taken in 1919, among many others.
• St. Louis County, a member of MN USGenWeb Archives, an affiliate of USGenWeb Archives.
• 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.