Marshall County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Marshall County

Guide to Marshall 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: Warren Organized: February 28, 1881 Parent County(s): Kittson Neighboring Counties Beltrami • Grand Forks (ND) • Kittson • Pembina (ND) • Pennington • Polk • Roseau • Walsh (ND) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for William Rainey Marshall, 5th Governor of Minnesota. The county is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Marshall County Courthouse
208 E Colvin Ave
Warren, MN 56762
Phone: 218-745-4851
Marshall County Website

Court Administrator has birth, marriage and death records from 1882, divorce and probate records from 1891 and court records.
County Recorder has land records from 1883 and military records from 1919.

Marshall 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
1882	1882	1882	1882	1883	1891	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 Kittson County February 25, 1879. Organized date: February 28, 1881 County seat: Warren 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

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
Alvarado Argyle Grygla Holt	Middle River Newfolden Oslo Stephen	Strandquist Viking Warren
Unincorporated communities
Big Woods Englund Espelie	Florian Gatzke Luna	March Radium Rosewood
Townships
Agder Alma Augsburg Big Woods Bloomer Boxville Cedar Como Comstock Donnelly Eagle Point East Park East Valley Eckvoll Espelie Excel	Foldahl Fork Grand Plain Holt Huntly Lincoln Linsell Marsh Grove McCrea Middle River Moose River Moylan Nelson Park New Folden New Maine New Solum	Oak Park Parker Rollis Sinnott Spruce Valley Tamarac Thief Lake Valley Vega Veldt Viking Wanger Warrenton West Valley Whiteford Wright
Unorganized territories
Mud Lake

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Marshall County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave Interment.net MN 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.	%±
1880	992	—
1890	9,130	820.4%
1900	15,698	71.9%
1910	16,338	4.1%
1920	19,443	19.0%
1930	17,003	−12.5%
1940	18,364	8.0%
1950	16,125	−12.2%
1960	14,262	−11.6%
1970	13,060	−8.4%
1980	13,027	−0.3%
1990	10,993	−15.6%
2000	10,155	−7.6%
2010	9,439	−7.1%
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 & images.
• 1875 Minnesota State Census, 1875 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1885 Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; 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
  

Lutheran

• 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry ($)

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

• Collins Funeral Homes and Cremation Services in Middle River.
• DuBore Funeral Home in Warren.

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 ($)
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Marshall 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.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Minnesota Maps at David Rumsey Map Collection
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
• Minnesota Department of Transportation, Marshall 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; Free index

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
• 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; Free index
• 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 & 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.
• 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, U.S., Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at Ancestry (Free collection)

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
• 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 Marshall 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

• Bemidji Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Grand Forks North Dakota FamilySearch Center
• Lake Region Public Library - North Dakota - an affiliate library.
• Park Rapids Minnesota Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries

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

Godel Memorial-Warren Library
314 E Johnson Ave
Warren, MN 56762
Phone: 218-745-5465
Email: warren@gsuite.nwrlib.org
Website
Facebook

Grygla Public Library
127 Main Ave
Grygla, MN 56727
Phone: 218-294-6612
Email: grygla@gsuite.nwrlib.org
Website

Karlstad Public Library
104 1st St S
Karlstad, MN 56732
Phone: 218-436-7323
Email: karlstad@gsuite.nwrlib.org
Website
Facebook

Marshall-Lyon County Library
201 C St
Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: 507-537-7003
Email: library@marshalllyonlibrary.org
Website
Facebook

Museums

Old Home Town Museum
610 5th St
PO Box 9
Stephen, MN 56757
Phone: 218-478-2456
Website
Facebook

Settler's Square Hisotrical Museum
808 E Johnson Ave
PO Box 103
Warren, MN 56762
Phone: 218-745-4803
Email: MCHS@wiktel.com
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Argyle Historical Society
PO Box 338
Argyle, MN 56713
Phone: 218-437-6640
Website

Marshall County Historical Society
808 E Johnson Ave
PO Box 103
Warren, MN 56762
Phone: 218-745-4803
Email: MCHS@wiktel.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Research at Minnesota Historical Society — links to Records and Indexes; See also MHS Wiki Page
• Iron Range Research Center
• Marshall County MNGenWeb
• USGenWeb Archives for Marshall County.
• Marshall County at Cyndi's List
• Genealogy Trails
• 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.