Waseca County, Minnesota Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Dakota word meaning "rich," a reference to the fertile soil in the area. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Waseca County Courthouse 307 North State Street Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-0630 Waseca County Website Clerk of the District Court has birth, death, probate, and court records from 1870, marriage records and divorce records from 1858.

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:

Biographies

 * Grable, Suzanne Malmquist. William and Mary Matz of Waseca County, Minnesota; all of their descendants and some of their ancestors. 1980. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Sheeran, Betty Brown. Ancestry, descendants and biographies of Johan Larsson : b. 1 Dec. 1863, Kvistbro, Orebro, Sweden, a former resident Bjurtjarn, Varmland, Sweden and Iosco Township, Waseca County, Minnesota and Waseca, Minnesota : of Lena Marie Edvartsdotter Olsen Sheeran of Stonegate Press, Fall City, WA, 2000. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Glamm, Carl. The Glamm and Zastrow families of Pine Island, Minnesota, Columbus, Wisconsin, and Ixonia, Concord, and Golden Lake, Jefferson County, Wisconsin : plus the Glamm families of St. Clair, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Janesville, Waseca County, MI. Pine Island, MI, 1982. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Census Records
State Census
 * 1835-1890 U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1835-1890 at ($)
 * 1849-1905 U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 at ($)
 * 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1875 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

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

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Pre-1908 Minnesota, U.S., Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)

Local Histories

 * Child, James E. (James Erwin). Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers. 1905. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archive; Database at Ancestry ($).
 * Vicotry, Waseca County, Minnesota in the World War The Journal Radical, Waseca, MN, May 1919. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust
 * Fostveit, Donna M. Waseca County, Minnesota, landowners of record - 1879 : a special project in commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Waseca county, Minnesota The Waseca Historical Society, 1982. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * History of Steele and Waseca counties, Minnesota : an album of history and biography, history of Minnesota. Union Publishing Co, Chicago, 1887. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust, Internet Archive; Database available at Ancestry($).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Minnesota Maps at David Rumsey Map Collection
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * Minnesota Department of Transportation, Waseca County municipality and township maps

Military Records
Multiple Wars
 * 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 Wars Civil War service men from Waseca 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 Waseca County.
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 at Ancestry; Free index
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Records, 1861-1865 at ; 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
 * - 4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.
 * - 5th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.
 * - 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.

Spanish-American War
 * 1898 U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898  at ; Free index
 * 1898-1899 U.S., Spanish American War Muster Rolls and Casualty Lists, 1898-1899 at ; 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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
 *  1917-1918 Waseca County in the World War.Minneapolis, Minnesota : Augsburg Pub. House, 1920?

World War II
 * 1940-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and 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 Minnesota, U.S., Naturalization Index, 1849-1985 at (Free collection)
 * 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1880-1920 U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1880-1920 at ($)
 * 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.

Obituaries

 * 1865-2006 at  — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1891-2003 Minnesota, U.S., Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at (Free collection)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1801-1925 U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1925 at ; index and images ($)
 * 1849-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Three Minnesota counties are not in this collection: Hennepin, Marshall, and St. Louis.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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.

Birth

 * 1840-1980 U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1840-1980 at ($)
 * 1900-1934 Minnesota People Records Search - Births at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
 * 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage; index ($)
 * 1935-2000 U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000 at ($)

Marriage

 * 1850-2019 Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at (Free collection)
 * 1860-1949 at  — How to Use this Collection; index and 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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and 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 U.S., Death Index, 1908-2017 at ($)

Divorce

 * 1970-1995 U.S., Divorce Index, 1970-1995 at ($)
 * 1970-2003 Minnesota Divorce Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)

Family History Centers

 * Faribault Minnesota Family History Center
 * Mankato Minnesota Family History Center
 * Cannon Falls Library - an affiliate library.
 * Waseca County History Center - an affiliate library.

Libraries

 * Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System 408 N State St Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-2910 Email: [mailto:libtlr@tds.lib.mn.us libtlr@tds.lib.mn.us] Website

Museums

 * Waseca County Historical Society Museum P.O. Box 314 315 Second Ave NE Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-7700 Email: [mailto:info@historical.waseca.mn.us info@historical.waseca.mn.us] Website
 * Farmamerica 7367 360th Avenue Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-2052 Email: [mailto:info@farmamerica.org info@farmamerica.org] Website

Societies

 * Waseca County Historical Society P.O. Box 314 315 Second Ave NE Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-7700 Email: [mailto:info@historical.waseca.mn.us info@historical.waseca.mn.us] Website

Websites

 * Waseca 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
 * Waseca County, a member of MN USGenWeb Archives, an affiliate ofGenWeb 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.
 * – 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.