Steele County, Minnesota Genealogy
Guide to Steele County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Steele County, Minnesota | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Minnesota, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Minnesota in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 20, 1855 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Owatonna |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Steele County Courthouse 111 E Main Street Owatonna, MN 55060 Phone: 507.444.7450 Steele County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places/Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Franklin Steele, a prominent early resident of the state. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.[1]
Steele County, Minnesota Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1870 | 1855 | 1870 | 1858 | 1858 | 1858 | 1836 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1870,
marriage records from 1855, divorce, probate and court records
from 1858. County Recorder has land records from 1858. [3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
- 1855--Steele County was created 20 February 1855 from Rice, Blue Earth, and Le Sueur Counties.
County seat: Owatonna [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
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:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| MNGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| MNGenWeb Archives | FamilySearch Places | |
| Tombstone Project | ||
| MNInterment | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 2,863 | — |
| 1870 | 8,271 | 188.9% |
| 1880 | 12,400 | 49.9% |
| 1890 | 13,232 | 6.7% |
| 1900 | 16,524 | 24.9% |
| 1910 | 16,146 | −2.3% |
| 1920 | 18,061 | 11.9% |
| 1930 | 18,475 | 2.3% |
| 1940 | 19,749 | 6.9% |
| 1950 | 21,155 | 7.1% |
| 1960 | 25,029 | 18.3% |
| 1970 | 26,931 | 7.6% |
| 1980 | 30,328 | 12.6% |
| 1990 | 30,729 | 1.3% |
| 2000 | 33,680 | 9.6% |
| 2010 | 36,575 | 8.6% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
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[edit | edit source]
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.
Lutheran[edit | edit source]
- Records of First Lutheran Church, Blooming Prairie, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1912 - 1956 - Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[edit | edit source]
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, Steele – LAND AND PROPERTY
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Steele 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[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men from Steele County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Steele County.
- - 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company G.
- - 2nd Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, Company C.
- - 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.
- - 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company A.
- - 2nd Minnesota Company Sharpshooters, Second Company only.
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — index and images
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1872-1962 - Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Steele County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat
- FamilySearch. Do a Steele County, Minnesota Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
- Owatonna People's Press ( February 1969- Current; Daily)
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1865-2006 - Minnesota, Clay and Steele County Obituaries, 1865-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1865-2006 - Minnesota Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch— index and images
Probate[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
- 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage($) — index
- 1900-1934 Minnesota Births, 1900-1934 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2019 WEB: Minnesota, Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry($) — index
- 1860 - 1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2001 - Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1887-2001 - Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage($) — index
- 1904-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1904-2001 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Steele County Historical Society
1448 Austin Road
Owatonna 55060
Website
Family History Centers
[edit | edit source]
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 Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Steele County, Minnesota" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steele_County,_Minnesota accessed 15 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Steele County, Minnesota. Page 362-370 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 362-365.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Steele County, Minnesota page 368, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Steele County, Minnesota," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steele_County,_Minnesota, accessed 02 March 2020.
- ↑ "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.
