Morrison County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Morrison County

Guide to Morrison 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: Little Falls Organized: May 1, 1856 Parent County(s): Benton, Stearns Neighboring Counties Benton • Cass • Crow Wing • Mille Lacs • Stearns • Todd See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for fur trading brothers, William and Allan Morrison. The county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Morrison County Courthouse
213 1st Avenue SE
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: 320-632-0296
Morrison County Website

County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and some cemetery records, land and military records.
Court Administration has divorce, probate and court records.

Morrison 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	1866	1870	1857	1856	1860	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

1856--Morrison County was created 25 February 1856 from Benton and Stearns Counties. Organized Date: May 1, 1856 County seat: Little Falls 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
Bowlus Buckman Elmdale Flensburg Genola Harding	Hillman Lastrup Little Falls Motley Pierz Randall	Royalton Sobieski Swanville Upsala
Unincorporated communities
Center Valley Cushing Freedhem Gregory Lincoln	Little Rock Morrill North Prairie Platte Ramey	Shamineau Park Sullivan Vawter
Townships
Agram Belle Prairie Bellevue Buckman Buh Culdrum Cushing Darling Elmdale Granite	Green Prairie Hillman Lakin Leigh Little Falls Morrill Motley Mount Morris Parker Pierz	Pike Creek Platte Pulaski Richardson Ripley Rosing Scandia Valley Swan River Swanville Two Rivers
Ghost towns
Rail Prairie

Resources

Biographies

• Fuller, Clara K.; History of Morrison and Todd Counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions: ... (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1915) Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archive.
• WPA Biographies Index at Morrison County Historical Society; copies can be requested by calling the Morrison County Historical Society at 320-632-4007 or e–mail contactstaff@morrisoncountyhistory.org.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Morrison County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave Interment.net MNGenWeb 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.	%±
1860	618	—
1870	1,681	172.0%
1880	5,875	249.5%
1890	13,325	126.8%
1900	22,891	71.8%
1910	24,053	5.1%
1920	25,841	7.4%
1930	25,442	−1.5%
1940	27,473	8.0%
1950	25,832	−6.0%
1960	26,641	3.1%
1970	26,949	1.2%
1980	29,311	8.8%
1990	29,604	1.0%
2000	31,712	7.1%
2010	33,198	4.7%
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
  

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

• Brenny Family Funeral Chapel and Cremation Services in Randall.
• Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls and Pierz.
• Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes in Upsala.
• Shelley Funeral Chapels in Little Falls.

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 Morrison 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.

• Fuller, Clara K.; History of Morrison and Todd Counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions: ... (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1915) Volume 1 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books.

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, Morrison 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 Morrison 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 Morrison County.

- 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company E.

- 7th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.

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, 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

• Newspaper Listings at Morrison County Historical Society; copies can be requested by calling the Morrison County Historical Society at 320-632-4007 or e–mail contactstaff@morrisoncountyhistory.org. Research and copy fees will apply.
• 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
• 1875-1982 Minnesota, Morrison County, Will Records, 1875-1982(*); 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 Morrison 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
• Brainerd Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Princeton Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• St Cloud Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• Great River Regional Library - multiple branches - an affiliate library.

Libraries

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

Little Falls Carnegie Library
108 NE Third St
PO Box 244
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: 320-632-9676
Email: info@cityoflittlefalls.com
Website
Website

Morrison County Historical Society
Archives and Library
2151 S Lindbergh Dr
PO Box 239
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: 320-632-4007
Email: contactstaff@morrisoncountyhistory.org
Website

Museums

Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum
2151 S Lindbergh Dr
PO Box 239
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: 320-632-4007
Email: contactstaff@morrisoncountyhistory.org
Website
Facebook

Royalton Historical Museum
12 N Birch St
PO Box 276
Royalton, MN 56373
Phone: 320-584-5900
Website

Societies

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

Military Historical Society of Minnesota
Camp Ripley
15000 Hwy 115
Little Falls, MN 56345-4173
Email: connect@mnmilitarymuseum.org
Website
Facebook

Morrison County Historical Society
2151 S Lindbergh Dr
PO Box 239
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: 320-632-4007
Email: staff@morrisoncountyhistory.org.
Website
Facebook

Motley Area Historical Society
316 Hwy 10 S
PO Box 7
Motley, MN 56466
Phone: 218-352-6137
Email: sherrymillerfrisk@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Royalton Historical Society
Center St
PO Box 196
Royalton, MN 56373
Phone: 320-584-5641, 320-584-5417

Websites

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

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

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Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

The collection is free on this subscription website.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

Due to contractual agreements, some images and/or databases on FamilySearch.org may only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.