Stearns County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Stearns County

Guide to Stearns 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: St. Cloud Organized: March 3, 1855 Parent County(s): Cass, Nicollet, Sibley, Pierce (extinct) Neighboring Counties Benton • Douglas • Kandiyohi • Meeker • Morrison • Pope • Sherburne • Todd • Wright See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for Charles Thomas Stearns who was a member of the Territorial Council. The county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Stearns County Courthouse
705 Courthouse Sq
St. Cloud, MN 56303
Phone: 320-656-3620
Stearns County Website

Court Administrator has divorce, probate and court records.
County Recorder has land records.
License Center has birth, marriage and death records.

Stearns 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
1870	1870	1870	1857	1855	1859	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

1855--Stearns County was created 20 February 1855 from Cass, Nicollet, Pierce (Eliminated 20 Feb 1862), and Sibley Counties. County seat: St. Cloud 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
Albany Avon Belgrade Brooten Clearwater Cold Spring Eden Valley Elrosa Freeport Greenwald Holdingford	Kimball Lake Henry Meire Grove Melrose New Munich Paynesville Richmond Rockville Roscoe St. Anthony St. Augusta	St. Cloud St. Joseph St. Martin St. Rosa St. Stephen Sartell Sauk Centre Spring Hill Waite Park
Unincorporated communities
Collegeville Farming Five Points Georgeville	Jacobs Prairie Marty Opole Padua	St. Anna St. Francis St. Nicholas St. Wendel
Census-designated places
Fairhaven
Townships
Albany Ashley Avon Brockway Collegeville Crow Lake Crow River Eden Lake Fair Haven Farming Getty Grove	Holding Krain Lake George Lake Henry Le Sauk Luxemburg Lynden Maine Prairie Melrose Millwood Munson North Fork	Oak Paynesville Raymond St. Joseph St. Martin St. Wendel Sauk Centre Spring Hill Wakefield Zion

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Stearns County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave Interment.net MN Tombstone Transcription Project USGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library 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	4,505	—
1870	14,206	215.3%
1880	21,956	54.6%
1890	34,844	58.7%
1900	44,464	27.6%
1910	47,733	7.4%
1920	55,741	16.8%
1930	62,121	11.4%
1940	67,200	8.2%
1950	70,681	5.2%
1960	80,345	13.7%
1970	95,400	18.7%
1980	108,161	13.4%
1990	118,791	9.8%
2000	133,166	12.1%
2010	150,642	13.1%
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
  

Court Records

• Marriage Licenses : Source: The St. Cloud Journal, January 7, 1869; St. Cloud Area Genealogists (Series) - V.17, No.7 Apr 1990. By Barnes, N. F. and St. Cloud Area Genealogists. St. Cloud, MN : St. Cloud Area Genealogists, 1990. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Directories

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

• 1931 Stearns County Farmers' Directory; St. Cloud Area Genealogists (Series) - V.17, No.5 Feb 1990. By St. Cloud Area Genealogists. St. Cloud, MN : St. Cloud Area Genealogists, 1990. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Farmers' Directory : 1931 Stearns Co. Farmers' Directory; St. Cloud Area Genealogists (Series) - V.17, No.6 Mar 1990. By St. Cloud Area Genealogists. St. Cloud, MN : St. Cloud Area Genealogists, 1990. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Emigration and Immigration

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

Funeral Homes

• Benson Funeral Home in St. Cloud.
• Daniel Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Clearwater, Paynesville, Sartell, St. Cloud and St. Joseph.
• Harvey Anderson and Johnson Funeral Home in Belgrade and Paynesville.
• Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Brooten.
• Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes in Albany, Holdingford and St. Cloud.
• Patton-Schad Funeral and Cremation Services in Freeport, Grey Eagle, Melrose and Sauk Centre.
• Wenner Funeral Home in Cold Spring and Richmond.
• Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes in Avon, Eden Valley and St. Cloud.

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

Online Books

• Stearns County, Minnesota, 1896 plat book index online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Stearns 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.

• William Bell Mitchell, History of Stearns County, Minnesota. Chicago H.C. Cooper, Jr., 1915. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library Vol 1; FamilySearch Digital Library Vol 2, Vols. 1 and 2 at HathiTrust, Volume 1 at Google Books, Volume 2 at Google Books.
  
• Charles S Bryant, History of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Co., 1881. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, HathiTrust, Internet Archive.
  
• Historical Records Survey, United States. Work Projects Administration. Inventory of the county archives of Minnesota, no. 73, Stearns County, 1940 Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

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, Stearns 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

Civil War service men from Stearns 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 Stearns County.

- 1st Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry (Mounted Rangers), Company D.

- 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies D and E.

- 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.

- 4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies D and G.

- 7th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.

- 9th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company G

- Hatch's Independent Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Company E.

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 & 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 & 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.

All newspapers are available on microfilm at Stearns History Museum

• St. Cloud Times, 1861-2011 (weekly and daily)
• Der Nordstern, 17 Feb 1876 - 27 Aug 1931 (1886 is missing)
• 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
• 1864-1982 Minnesota, Stearns County, Will Records, 1864-1982(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1870-1956 Probate Case Files, ca. 1870-1915; Indexes to Probate Cases, ca. 1871-1956(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & 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 Stearns 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

• Alexandria Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Princeton Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• St Cloud Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Great River Regional Library - multiple locations - an affiliate library.
• Sherburne History Center - an affiliate library.

Libraries

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

St. Cloud Public Library
Great River Regional Library
1300 W St Germain St
St. Cloud, MN 56301
Phone: 320-650-2500, 833-438-4775
Email: reference@grrl.lib.mn.us
Website
Facebook

St. Cloud State University Library
400 6th St S
St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498
Phone: 320-308-3083
Email: library@stcloudstate.edu
Website
Facebook

Museums

HMML Hill Museum and Manuscript Library
Saint John’s University
2835 Abbey Plaza
PO Box 7300
Collegeville, MN 56321-7300
Phone: 320-363-3514
Email: hmml@hmml.org
Website
Facebook

Stearns History Museum
235 33rd Ave S
St. Cloud, MN 56301-3752
Phone: 320-253-8424
Email: info@stearns-museum.org
Website
Facebook

St. Joseph Area Historical Society Museum
25 1st St NW
Box 434
St. Joseph, MN 56374
Email: stjosephhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Societies

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

Albany Heritage Society
400 Railroad Ave
Box 25
Albany, MN 56307
Phone: 651-260-6077
Email: jmkloos@yahoo.com
Website

Cold Spring Area Historical Society
411 Main St
Cold Spring, MN 56320
Phone: 320-248-5044
Email: hennenrc@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Kimball Area Historical Society
5 Main St
PO Box 55
Kimball, MN 55353-0100
Phone: 320-398-5743
Email: kimballhistory@meltel.net
Facebook

Melrose Area Historical Society
518 E Second St S
Melrose, MN 56352-1414
Phone: 320-256-4996
Email: rpaschke@meltel.net
Website

Paynesville Area Historical Society
251 Ampe Dr
PO Box 35
Paynesville, MN 56362
Phone: 320-243-7547
Email: paynesvillehistoricalsociety@hotmail.com
Website
Facebook

Sartell Historical Society
PO Box 1907
Sartell, MN 56377
Phone: 320-258-7324
Email: historicalsartell@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Sauk Centre Area Historical Society
430 Main St S
Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1509
Phone: 320-351-8777
Email: scahs@mainstreetcom.com
Website
Facebook

Stearns Historical Society
235 33rd Ave S
St. Cloud, MN 56301-3752
Phone: 320-253-8424
Email: info@stearns-museum.org
Website
Facebook

St. Joseph Area Historical Society
25 1st St NW
Box 434
St. Joseph, MN 56374
Email: stjosephhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Research at Minnesota Historical Society — links to Records and Indexes; See also MHS Wiki Page
• Stearns County,a member of MN USGenWeb Archives, an affiliate of USGenWeb Archives
• 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.
• Stearns County, a member of MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of USGenWeb Project.
• 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.