Minnesota Vital Records

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Vital Records

Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Minnesota Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Vital Records Reference Dates Minnesota's vital records start the following years: Births Marriages Deaths Earliest 1870 1870* 1870 Statewide Registration 1900 1958 1908 General Compliance 1915 1958 1910 Most counties started recording marriages much earlier.

Online Minnesota Birth, Marriage and Death Records

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Minnesota Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Most online resources for Minnesota Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.

Birth Indexes:

• 1840-1980 Minnesota Births and Christenings, 1840-1980 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Incomplete
• 1900-1934 Minnesota Birth Certificates Index, 1900-1934 - Free
• 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1935-2002 Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002 - $; Incomplete

Marriage Indexes:

• 1849-1950 Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Incomplete
• 1850-2019 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1860-1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1860-1932 United States Marriages – Minnesota, 1860-1932 ($) index, some images
• 1958-2001 Minnesota Marriage Collection, 1958-2001- $; Incomplete
• 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976 - 2003 Index only ($)

• Minnesota Official Marriage System - MOMS- Free; Incomplete

Death Indexes:

• 1835-1990 Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 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 Death Index, 1904-2001- Free
• 1908-2002 Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002 - $; Incomplete

Order a copy of the certificate:

• Order Minnesota Certificates online

More Online Minnesota Vital Records Links

Birth Records

Early - 1908

1908 - Present Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org/genealogy for indexes to birth records 1900 to 1934,

State Records of Births

In Minnesota, the state registration of births began in 1900 and was generally complied with by 1915. Death records have been registered by the state since 1908.

For copies of state records, write to:

Minnesota Department of Health
Minnesota Department of Health
Attention: Office of the State Registrar
P.O. Box 64882
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0882
Telephone: 612-623-5121
Fax: 651-291-0101
Internet: Minnesota Department of Health

For an idea of fees for obtaining copies of the state’s records, check:

VitalRecords.com. The vitalrec.com site also shows state and county records office addresses, fees, and years covered and has some links to other internet resources.

Minnesota Birth Certificate Index 1900-1934. There are approximately 2700 records indicated as "Pre 1900". 
  Delayed and supplemental filings have been added. These include Pre 1900 records.

Minnesota Death Certificate Index 1904-2001. This database indexes the death cards from 1904 to 1907 and the death certificates from 1908 to 2001.

County Records of Births

Some counties began recording births as early as 1864 (Redwood County), but most counties began in 1870. Compliance was not good in the early years. The FamilySearch Library has been acquiring microfilms of these county records from the earliest dates to about 1925. For examples, see the following:

• Minnesota. District Court (Hennepin County). Birth Records, 1870–1915.
• Minnesota. Division of Vital Statistics. Delayed Birth Records, ca. 1942–1981. Contains delayed birth records for Ramsey County and the city of St. Paul.

For information about early county birth records, write to the court administrator of the district court or county recorder in the county.

Marriage Records

County Records of Marriages

There is no centralized registration for Minnesota marriage records. The state has kept a statewide index to marriages from 1958 to present. Each county generally began keeping marriage records soon after the creation of the county. Some county marriage records begin in the late 1840s. The FamilySearch Library has been acquiring microfilms of these records. For example, marriage records of Ramsey County (including St. Paul) are in:

• Minnesota. District Court (Ramsey County).Marriage Indexes, 1850–1917; Marriage Records, 1850–1916.

There is an index to many pre-1850 Minnesota marriage records on compact disc:

• Marriage Records Early–1850. Although incomplete, this disc has many marriage records for various states west of the Mississippi.

There are also some Bureau of Indian Affairs marriage records on microfilm. An example is:

• Marriage Licenses, 1902–1922.

For copies of marriage records, write to the district court administrator’s office in the county in which the license was recorded. This office also has files for divorces. For information about Hennepin County marriages, write to:

Vital Records Office
Public Service Level Government Center
300 South 6th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55487
Hennepin County, Minnesota Vital Records - Marriages

For other birth, death, and marriage records, check the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

MINNESOTA, [COUNTY] – VITAL RECORDS

Death Records

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:

• Minnesota Deaths and Burials - FamilySearch Historical Records
  
• Minnesota Death Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
• Minnesota Municipal Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

County Records of Deaths

Benton County death records were kept from 1867, but 1870 was the general starting date for most counties. Compliance was not good in the early years. The FamilySearch Library has been acquiring microfilms of these county records from the earliest dates to about 1925. For examples, see the following:

• Mower County (Minnesota). County Recorder. Death Records, 1870–1993; Index, 1870–1993.

For information about early county death records, write to the court administrator of the district court or county recorder in the county.

Online Records

Early - 1908

• 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

1908 - Present

Miscellaneous Death Records and Obituaries: Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org/genealogy for indexes to birth records 1900 to 1934, some pre 1900, and records from death cards 1904 to1907 and death certificates 1908 to 1891.

• Online Searchable Death Indexes for the USA.
• Minnesota Death Records & Indexes (deathindexes.com)
• Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Death Search 1997 to Present

Cause of Death

• Causes of Death - use this resource when trying to interpret a disease or medical condition listed on a death record or certificate

Divorce Records

Online Index:

• Minnesota Divorce Index, 1970-1995 - $, Index only
• 1970-2003 Minnesota, Divorces, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Divorce and annulment records for each county are found with the civil cases of the district courts. The district courts have handled these cases since 1849. You can write to the court administrator of the district court at the county courthouse for copies or information. For a summary of the types of courts, see the “Minnesota Court Records” article.

A wiki article describing an online collections found at:

Minnesota Divorce Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

The Minnesota Department of Health has a divorce index from 1970 to the present.

Additional Helps

Tips

• Information listed on vital records is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
• If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial.  A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths. Other substitute records.
• Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records.  Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
  

Burned, Lost, or Missing Records

For a list of record loss in Minnesota counties see the following:

• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Alternative Records

These links will take you to wiki pages describing alternate sources for birth, marriage and death records.

• Church Records: Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death.

• Cemetery Records: Cemetery records are a rich source of birth and death information. These records may also reveal family relationships.

• Census Records: Census records are a valuable source for birth and marriage information. You may also determine approximate time of death when the individual disappear from the census. This is a good place to begin a search.

• Newspapers: Besides obituaries, local newspapers may contain birth and marriage announcements and death notices. Also check newspaper social columns for additional information.

• Obituaries: Obituaries found in newspapers can list the age of the deceased, birth date and place, death date and place, and names of living relatives and their residences.

• Periodicals: Local genealogical and historical societies often publish periodicals which may contain abstracted early birth, marriage and death information.

• Military Records: Military pension records can give birth, marriage and death information, In addtion, soldiers' homes records can included this same information.

• Probate Records: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date.

• History: Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the FamilySearch Catalog.

More Online Minnesota Vital Records Links

• USGenWeb.org Minnesota Site - Free
• German Roots Links for Minnesota Birth & Marriage and Death Records - Free/$ This site includes all vital records, not just those of German descent.
• Minnesota_Marriages_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
• Minnesota Vital Records Indexes & People Finding Aids  Helpful resources for adoption searches and genealogy research

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:

• Minnesota Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Minnesota County Births - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Minnesota Deaths and Burials - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Minnesota Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Minnesota Municipal Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Record)
• Minnesota County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Minnesota Municipal Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

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