Cook County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States Minnesota Cook County

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

Cook County, Minnesota
Map
Location in the state of Minnesota
Location of Minnesota in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	November 3, 1874
County Seat	Grand Marais
Courthouse
Address	Cook County Courthouse 411 West 2nd Street Grand Marais, MN 55604 Phone: 218-387-3610 (Administration) Phone: 218-387-3000 Cook County Website

County Information

Cook County, Minnesota Record Dates

Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1897	1897	1897	1850

County Courthouse

County Recorder has birth and death records from 1900,
marriage records from 1901, land records from 1886
and military records from 1919
Court Administrator has divorce, court and probate records.

History

Parent County

• 1874--Cook County was created 3 November 1874 from Lake County. County seat: Grand Marais
• For a brief history of how Cook County was named, click here, then select Cook County.

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Minnesota County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Minnesota County Boundary Maps" (1849-1960) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

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

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Cities

Grand Marais

Townships

Lutsen Township | Schroeder Township | Tofte Township

Unincorporated Communities

Hovland

Unorganized

East Cook | Grand Portage | West Cook

Neighboring Counties

• Lake

Resources

Cemeteries

• Cook County cemeteries from rootsweb.

Land

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.

Land records for Minnesota are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

MINNESOTA, Cook – LAND AND PROPERTY

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Cook County, Minnesota Genealogy. 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

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Cook County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Cook County, Minnesota Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Probate

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 Records

• 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Taxation

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.

Societies and Libraries

Cook County Historical Society
P.O. Box 1293
Grand Marais 55604-1293
Phone: 218 387-2883
Website

Johnson Heritage Post
PO Box 35
Grand Marais MN 55604-0035
Phone: 218 387-2314 or 218 388-0575

North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum & Tofte Historical Society
PO Box 2312
Tofte MN 55615-2312
Phone: 218 663-7804
Website

Schroeder Area Historical Society
PO Box 337
7932 West Highway 61
Schroeder MN
Phone: 218 663-770

See also a List of Minnesota Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History 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

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• Cook County, MN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Minnesota Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Minnesota Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Cook County, MN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
• Family History Library Catalog
• Cook County GenWeb
• Cyndi's List: Cook County

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)