Ransom County, North Dakota Genealogy

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

Description
Ransom County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Ransom County Courthouse 204 5th Ave West Lisbon, ND 58054 Phone:701.683.5823 Ransom County Website Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1943, marriage records from 1882, divorce, probate and court records; Clerk District Court Register 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

 * Index to Ransom 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

 * 1877-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Census Records

 * 1880, 1885 Ransom County Mortality Index (Genealogy Trails)
 * Ransom County Census Records (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 Dakota Territory 1885 List of Names (four links). (Genealogy Trails)
 * 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.

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 — ($); Index and images; Dates vary for each county
 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Enderlin, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Lisbon, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * 1902 Enderlin Medical Directory (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1909 Ransom County Attorneys (USGenWeb Archives)

Emigration and Immigration

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

Funeral Homes

 * Armstrong Funeral home in Enderlin and Lisbon
 * Ransom County Funeral Home Records at USGenWeb Archives

Land and Property Records
For more information see North Dakota Land and Property
 * Index to Ransom County BLM Land Records by Surname (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 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
 * 1863 - 1908 U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * County History, including early settlers (Genealogy Trails)
 * Various Historical Records of Ransom County (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Early history of Ransom County : including references to Sargent County, 1835-1885. [19--?]. Salem, Massachusetts : Higginson Book Co.. Online at:Hathitrust;.
 * Fort Ransom area history, 1878-1978. 1978?. By Loubert Rufsvold. S.l. : s.n. Online at: ;.
 * The Skånings revisited, 1882-1982 : including the history of Aliceton, biographical sketches of early Aliceton residents, genealogy of the Skånings, and a reprint of The Skånings of Aliceton. 1982. By Ardis Taylor. [Lisbon, New Dakota] : Taylor, R. J. Jr. Foundation. 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 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
 * 1883 Pensioners on the Rolls as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1917-1918 North Dakota Military Men 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1917-1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1918 Congressional Medal Of Honor Citation, Frederick Eliphaz Smith (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Picture of Lisbon WW1 Soldiers, not identified. (Genealogy Trails)
 * World War I Casualties, Ransom County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * World War II Army Casualties, Ransom County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * World War II Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Casualties, Ransom County, North Dakota (Genealogy Trails)
 * Vietnam War Casualties, Ransom 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
 * 1881-1943 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — General index, images
 * 1885-1921 - (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — General index, images
 * 1885-1946 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — General index, images
 * 1907-1927 - (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — 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

 * Ransom County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)

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

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.

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, ($)
 * Ransom County Marriage Announcements (Genealogy Trails)

Death

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Detroit Lakes Minnesota FamilySearch Center
 * Fargo North Dakota FamilySearch Center
 * Wahpeton North Dakota FamilySearch Center


 * Lake Agassiz Regional Library - Moorhead Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Lisbon Public Library 409 Forest Street PO Box 569 Lisbon ND 58054 701-683-5174 Email: [mailto:LISBONPL@ND.GOV LISBONPL@ND.GOV] Website

Museums
Enderlin Historical Society and Museum, Inc. 315 Railway Street Enderlin, ND 58027 Telephone:701-799-0725 Email to: [mailto:info@enderlinmuseum.org info@enderlinmuseum.org] Website Facebook

Societies
Enderlin Historical Society and Museum, Inc. 315 Railway Street Enderlin, ND 58027 701-437-3205 or 701-799-0725 Email to: [mailto:info@enderlinmuseum.org info@enderlinmuseum.org] Website Facebook

Ransom County Historical Society Box 5 101 Mill Road Fort Ransom, ND 58033-9740 701-678-2045 Email to: [mailto:rbauer@northpro.net rbauer@northpro.net] Website

Websites

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