Pembina County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Pembina County

Guide to Pembina County, North Dakota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

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Description
Pembina County was formed on August 12, 1867. Various indigenous peoples inhabited the area along the Pembina and Red rivers. At the time of European contact in the 16th century, the dominant tribes were the Assiniboine and the Lakota (or Sioux, as the French colonists called them). The Ojibwe, also known as Chippewa, a branch of the Anishinaabe-speaking language group, gradually migrated west along both sides of the Great Lakes.

The city of Pembina was the county seat from 1867 to 1911 when it was moved to Cavalier.

The word "Pembina" is derived from the Chippewa Indian term for high bush cranberry which grew in abundance along the Pembina River.

County Courthouse
Pembina County Courthouse 301 Dakota St W #6 Cavalier, ND 58220 Phone: 701.265.4275 Pembina County Website District Court Clerk has birth and death records from 1893, marriage records from 1882, divorce, court, and probate records from 1883, military records from 1945, and burial records from 1943; Register of Deeds has land records.

Pembina County, North Dakota Record Dates

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 * width="84%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="12%" align="center" |1893
 * width="12%" align="center" |1872
 * width="12%" align="center" |1893
 * width="12%" align="center" |1867
 * width="12%" align="center" |1867
 * width="12%" align="center" |1867
 * width="12%" align="center" |1870
 * colspan="7"|
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 * width="12%" align="center" |1870
 * colspan="7"|
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1867--Pembina County was created 9 January 1867 from unorganized territory. County seat: Cavalier
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

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State Census Records

 * 1885 Dakota Territory 1885 Census Index at NDSU Archives – index only
 * 1885, 1915, 1925 North Dakota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1885, 1915, 1925 at Ancestry.com – ($), index and images
 * 1915 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images
 * 1925 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for North Dakota starting in 1910. For links to Federal census indexes, see North Dakota Census.

Church Records

 * Records of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, Drayton, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
 * Thingvalla Lutheran Church (Icelandic)

Land and Property Records
For more information see North Dakota Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * The Icelandic settlement of Pembina County, Johnson, Sveinbjorn
 * City of Pembina history and links
 * The Dakota Icelanders Project
 * The Emigration from Iceland to North America
 * Early history of Carlisle pioneers. 2001. By Allen Eastman. PubPl: PubCo. Online at:;.
 * Fondly we remember : a history of Hamilton, Carlisle and Glasston communities. 1980. By fname lname. Grafton-Grand Forks, North Dakota : Associated Printers. Online at:;.
 * Heritage '76; Pembina County, North Dakota, "Then and now", 1776-1976. 1975. By Pembina County Historical Society (Cavalier, North Dakota). Cavalier, North Dakota : Pembina County Historical Society. Online at:;.
 * Heritage '89; Pembina County, North Dakota, "Then and now", 1889-1989. 1988. By Pembina County Historical Society (Cavalier, North Dakota). Cavalier, North Dakota : Pembina County Historical Society. Online at: ;.
 * A History of Pembina County. 1967. By Pembina Centennial Committee. [S.l.] : Pembina Centennial Committee. Online at: ;.
 * The Icelandic settlement of Pembina County. n.d. By Sveinbjorn Johnson. n.p.: n.p. Online at:.
 * Pembina settlement heritage : a history of the Pembina, North Dakota area. 1976. By Pembina Settlement Heritage Book Committee. [Pembina] : Pembina Settlement Heritage Book Committee. Online at: ;.
 * Proudly we speak; a history of Neche, Bathgate, Bruce and Hyde Park. 1974?. Neche, North Dakota : Neche/Bathgate History Book Committee. Online at:;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Maps at NDGenWeb -historical maps

Military Records
Civil War World War I
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.
 * 1917 - 1918 North Dakota Military Men 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1917 - 1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * For further information see North Dakota Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * North Dakota Naturalization Records Index at NDSU Archives – index only, covers various dates and counties

Newspapers
 North Dakota Newspapers Online North Dakota Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some North Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper
 * State Historical Society of North Dakota - contains inventory and catalog of all known ND newspapers

Probate Records
''Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1985 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records
 * 1892-present - NDDH Public Death Index, 1892-present at North Dakota Dept. of Health – index only

Societies
Pembina County Historical Society 13571 Hwy. 5 Cavalier, ND 58220 Telephone: 701-265-8196 or 701-265-4941

Fort Pembina Historical Society 163 Chippewa Street West Pembina, ND 5827

Ox Cart Trails Historical Society Inc. 709 Dakota Court Pembina, ND 58271-0456 Telephone: 701-454-6103

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * 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.
 * Pembina County, North Dakota Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)