Aitkin County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Aitkin County

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

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Aitkin Organized: Feb 6, 1885 Parent County(s): Pine, Ramsey Neighboring Counties Carlton • Cass • Crow Wing • Itasca • Kanabec • Mille Lacs • Pine • St. Louis See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for William Alexander Aitken, a fur trader for the American Fur Company, under John Jacob Astor. The county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Aitkin County Courthouse
209 2nd Street NW
Aitkin, MN 56431-1297
Phone: 218-927-7336
Aitkin County Website

Clerk District Court has birth records from 1883, marriage records from 1885, death records from 1887, divorce records from 1886, probate, court and naturalization records from 1885.
County Recorder has land records.

Aitkin 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 Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1883	1885	1887	1885	1872	1885	1836
*Statewide registration started for births in 1900 and deaths in 1908. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Created from Pine and Ramsey Counties 23 May 1857. County seat: Aitkin Minnesota Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Minnesota Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Minnesota county boundary changes

Populated Places

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
Aitkin Hill City	McGrath McGregor	Palisade Tamarack
Unincorporated communities
Arthyde Ball Bluff Bennettville Cutler Dads Corner East Lake Giese Glen Glory Hassman	Haypoint Jacobson Kimberly Lawler Libby Malmo Minnewawa Nichols Rabey Red Top	Ronald Rossburg Sandy Lake Sheshebee Shovel Lake Swatara Thor Waukenabo Wealthwood
Townships
Aitkin Ball Bluff Balsam Beaver Clark Cornish Farm Island Fleming Glen Haugen Hazelton Hill Lake Idun Jevne	Kimberly Lakeside Lee Libby Logan Macville Malmo McGregor Millward Morrison Nordland Pliny Rice River Salo	Seavey Shamrock Spalding Spencer Turner Verdon Wagner Waukenabo Wealthwood White Pine Williams Workman
Unorganized territories
Davidson Jewett	Northeast Aitkin	Northwest Aitkin

Minnesota Department of Transportation, Aitkin County municipality and township maps.

History Timeline

• Crow Wing County was formed later same day from Aitkin County.
• Sometime between 1857 and 1871, the county acquired the out-lands of Itasca and Pine Counties to its north and east.
• The county was reorganized in 1871, taking the lands from Cass and Itasca counties and losing a point located in southwest corner to Crow Wing county.

Resources

Biographies

• Biographies at Aitkin MNGenWeb

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Aitkin County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave MN GenWeb MN Interment Tombstone Transcription Project
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.	%±
1870	178	—
1880	366	105.6%
1890	2,462	572.7%
1900	6,473	162.9%
1910	10,371	60.2%
1920	15,043	45.0%
1930	15,009	−0.2%
1940	17,865	19.0%
1950	14,327	−19.8%
1960	12,162	−15.1%
1970	11,403	−6.2%
1980	13,404	17.5%
1990	12,425	−7.3%
2000	15,301	23.1%
2010	16,202	5.9%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1835-1890 Minnesota, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1835-1890 at Ancestry ($)
• 1849-1905 Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 at Ancestry ($)
• 1865 Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1885 Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1895 1895 Minnesota State Census at MyHeritage($) — index & images
• 1905 Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & 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
  

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

• 1912-1956 Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Funeral Homes

• Sorenson-Root-Thompson Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Aitkin and McGregor.
• Willim St Onge Family Funeral Homes in Aitkin.

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, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Aitkin 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.

• Minnesota County History Name Index at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Minnesota Maps at David Rumsey Map Collections
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Multiple Wars

• 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 collection)
• 1861-1865 Minnesota, Civil War Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1861-1865 Minnesota Civil War Soldiers at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1861-1917 United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1934 U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Spanish American War

• 1898-1899 Minnesota, Spanish American War Muster Rolls and Casualty Lists, 1898-1899 at Ancestry (Free Index)

World War I

• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 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 & images
• 1940-1947 U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 at Ancestry ($)
• 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry ($)

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1849-1985 Web: Minnesota, 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 & images
• 1880-1920 Minnesota, Federal Naturalization Records, 1880-1920 at Ancestry ($)
• 1918 Web: Minnesota, Alien Registration Index, 1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Newspapers

• Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub at Minnesota Historical Society — narrow to county (55 listed) or city (106 listed), search for surname, limit by date.
• 1800s-Current Minnesota, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

• 1813-Onward Minnesota Obituaries at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1865-2006 Minnesota Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1891-2003 Web: Minnesota, Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• Obituary Directory at Aitkin MNGenWeb

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 ($)
• 1849-1985 Minnesota Will Records, 1849-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1884-1979 Minnesota, Aitkin County, Wills, 1884-1979(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

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.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

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 ($)
• 1935-2000 Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000 at Ancestry ($)
• Minnesota, Births at MyHeritage — index ($)

Marriage

• 1850-2019 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1850-Onward Minnesota, Marriages at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1860-1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1885-present Minnesota Official Marriage System at MOMS.mn.gov; search by county, name or date, and request copy.
• 1970-2003 Minnesota Marriage Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)
• 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 & images
• 1887-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & 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 Aitkin County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Askov Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Brainerd Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Great River Regional Library - Staples - an affiliate library.
• Jessie F. Hallett Memorial Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries

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

Aitkin County Library
110 1st Ave NE
Aitkin, MN 56431
Phone: 218-927-2339
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Aitkin County Historical Society
20 Pacific St SW
PO Box 215
Aitkin, MN 56431
Phone: 218-927-3348
Email: achs@aitkincohs.org
Website
Facebook

Websites

• The Aitkin County MNGenWeb Project, a member of The MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• USGenWeb Archives for Aitkin County.
• PeopleFINDER (Family History) at Minnesota Historical Society
• Aitkin County at Cyndi's List
• Genealogy Trails
• 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.
• 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.