McHenry County, North Dakota Genealogy

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

Description
McHenry County name comes from James McHenry, an early settler of Vermillion, South Dakota. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
McHenry County Courthouse 407 Main Street Towner, ND 58788 Phone: 701.537.5729 McHenry County Website District Court Clerk has marriage records from 1903, divorce, probate and court records from 1900; Registrar of Deeds has land records.

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

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

 * McHenry County Biographies on North Dakota Genealogy Trails website - alphabetical list of early settlers and prominent individuals from county histories
 * North Dakota Biography Index at North Dakota State University Archives - Index only; gives references to publications containing information on North Dakotans, living and deceased
 * North Dakota, Biography Records at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Cemeteries

 * Odessa Digital Library has cemetery transcriptions for cemeteries in McHenry County, providing name, date of birth, and date of death where available.
 * 1877-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Census Records

 * 1925 McHenry County School Census (USGenWeb Archives)

Territory and State Census Records

 * 1836 1836 Wisconsin Territory Census – index only; North Dakota was included in the 1836 Wisconsin Territory Census
 * 1840 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1840 Iowa Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1850 Minnesota Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 1860 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1860 Dakota Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 1870 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1870 Dakota Territory Census - How to Use this Collection


 * 1880 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1880 Dakota Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 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 - How to Use this Collection
 * 1925 at FamilySearch Historical Records] — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for the state of North Dakota starting in 1890, although no records survived. The 1900 Census is the next Federal Census available. For links to Federal census indexes, see North Dakota Census.
 * 1890 Special Schedule, 1890 Veterans Census, McHenry County (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 McHenry County Census Records (USGenWeb Archives)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Online Church Records Lutheran Church
 * 1875-1940 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 at Ancestry — ($); Index and images; Dates vary for each county

Directories

 * 1902 McHenry County, Anamoose Medical Directory 1902 (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1909 McHenry County Attorneys, 1909 (USGenWeb Archives)

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1800-1953 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Funeral Homes

 * Anderson Funeral Home in Towner
 * Nelson Funeral Home in Drake

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records For more information see North Dakota Land and Property
 * Index to McHenry County BLM Land Records (Genealogy Trails)
 * 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 - 1908 U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1908 at Ancestry - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * McHenry County; its history and its people. 1985?. By Corabelle Brown. Towner, North Dakota: Midwest Printing, . Online at: ;.
 * Our town, Balfour, North Dakota. 1989?. By Evan Clifford Stone, Jr. Grand Forks, N.D: Evan Clifford Stone. Online at: ;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Maps at NDGenWeb -historical maps

Online Collections
These collections are unique to North Dakota. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and North Dakota Military Records.

Civil War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War For further information see North Dakota Military Records.
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1890 at FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1890 1890 Veterans Census, McHenry County (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1917-1918 North Dakota Military Men 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1917-1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * World War I Casualties, McHenry County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * World War II Army Casualties, McHenry County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * World War II Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Casualties, McHenry County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * Korean War Casualties, McHenry County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * Vietnam War Casualties, McHenry County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1868-1924 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1870-1968 North Dakota, Naturalizations, 1870-1968 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * 1889-1955 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index, images
 * 1902-1956 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1905-1952 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index, images
 * North Dakota Naturalization Records Index at NDSU Archives – index only, covers various dates and counties

Newspapers
North Dakota Newspaper Catalogs North Dakota Newspapers Online
 * State Historical Society of North Dakota - contains inventory and catalog of all known ND newspapers
 * 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
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some North Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * GenealogyBank ($)
 * Newspaper Archive ($)
 * Papers from the Past at Community History Archives

Obituaries

 * McHenry County Obituaries and Death Notices from newspapers. (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to McHenry County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1878–1928 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1878-1928 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)

School Records

 * McHenry County School Records (USGenWeb Archives)

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

 * Index to McHenry County Vital Records. Scroll down to "Vital Records." (USGenWeb Archives)

Marriage

 * 1872-1958 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1872-2017 North Dakota, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1872-2017 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * McHenry County Marriage Announcements from newspapers. (Genealogy Trails)

Death

 * 1892-present NDDH Public Death Index, 1892-present at North Dakota Dept. of Health – index only
 * 1908-2007 North Dakota, U.S., State Death Certificates, 1908-2007 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * McHenry County Obituaries and Death Notices (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to McHenry County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Grand Forks North Dakota FamilySearch Center
 * Minot North Dakota FamilySearch Center
 * Williston North Dakota FamilySearch Center


 * Lake Region Public Library - an affiliate library

Museums
McHenry County Historical Society Museum Towner, ND 58788 815-923-2267

Societies
McHenry County Historical Society c/o Dallas Knudson 6491 Berwick Lane Towner, ND 58788-3100 701-537-5541

Mouse River Loop Genealogy Society PO Box 1391 Minot, ND 58702-1391 Website

Websites

 * McHenry County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * McHenry County at Genealogy Trails — volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
 * McHenry County at North Dakota USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * McHenry County at North Dakota USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
 * McHenry County, North Dakota at Linkpendium - genealogy and family history
 * McHenry County, North Dakota Genealogy at LDSGenealogy.com - collection of links by state, county, city, and record type
 * 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.