Minnesota, Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Minnesota

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of:


 * Naturalization records
 * Tax records (to 1901)
 * Military records

Records are from the Minnesota Historical Society. Naturalization records are available from 1850 to 1950. Tax records are available from 1867 to 1900, and military records are available from 1917 to 1918.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information in the records varies by record type. You may find any of the following;


 * Name of primary individual
 * Date and place of event
 * Age, gender, and race of individual
 * Names of parents or other family members
 * Current residence
 * Occupation
 * Names of witnesses
 * Dates documents were written and recorded
 * Description and value of property or land
 * Military information such as company, rank and service dates
 * Statistical information about members of the household

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * The age of your ancestor
 * The place where your ancestor lived
 * The names of other family members

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the "Record" ⇒ Select the "County" ⇒ Select the "Record Type, Record Description, and Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in immigration records
 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in census records
 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in church records
 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in land records
 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in additional military records
 * Use the information found in these records to locate the family in additional county and town records

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Image Citation