Blue Earth County, Minnesota Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Blue Earth River. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Blue Earth County Justice Center 401 Carver Rd PO Box 0347 Mankato, MN 56002-0347 Phone: 507-304-4650 Blue Earth County Website Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1870, marriage records from 1865, divorce and court records from 1854 and probate records from 1858. Register of Deeds has land records.

Populated Places
 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

 * Biographies at MNGenWeb.

Census Records
State Census
 * 1835-1890 Minnesota, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1835-1890 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1849-1905 Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1865 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

 * 1798-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
 * 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, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)

Local Histories

 * Minnesota County History Name Index at Ancestry ($)
 * Hughes, Thomas, History of Blue Earth County, (Chicago: Middle West Publishing Company; 1901); Digital image at Internet Archive, HathiTrust.
 * Mankato, its first fifty years: containing addresses, historic papers and brief biographies of early settlers and active upbuilders of the city, (Free Press Printing Col, Mankato, MInn., 1903); FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust, Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Minnesota Maps at David Rumsey Map Collections
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Minnesota Department of Transportation, Blue Earth County municipality and township maps.

Military Records
Civil War Civil War service men from Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County.
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (Free collection)
 * 1861-1865 Minnesota, Civil War Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (Free collection)
 * 1861-1865 Minnesota Civil War Soldiers at Ancestry (Free collection)
 * 1861-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1934 U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at Ancestry (Free collection)


 * -1st Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry (Mounted Rangers), Companies B, E, and H.
 * -1st Regiment, Minnesota Heavy Artillery, Company F.
 * -2nd Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies E and H.
 * -3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company H.
 * -4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company H.
 * -6th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.
 * -9th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies D and E.
 * -Brackett's Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Company B.

Spanish American War
 * 1898-1899 Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection at Ancestry ($)
 * 1898-1899 Minnesota, Spanish American War Muster Rolls and Casualty Lists, 1898-1899 at Ancestry (Free Index)

World War I
 * 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)
 * 1918-1941 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection.
 * 1917-1918 Blue Earth County, Minnesota, in the world war : the story of Blue Earth County's part in the great struggle for democracy, told in story and in picture. Mankato, Minn. : Free Press Co., 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 ($)
 * 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry ($)

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1849-1985 Web: Minnesota, Naturalization Index, 1849-1985 at Ancestry (Free collection)
 * 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1880-1920 Minnesota, Federal Naturalization Records, 1880-1920 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1918 Web: Minnesota, Alien Registration Index, 1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Newspapers

 * Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub at Minnesota Historical Society — narrow to county (55 listed) or city (106 listed), search for surname, limit by date.

Obituaries

 * 1865-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1891-2003 Web: Minnesota, Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1801-1925 Minnesota, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1925 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1849-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

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 ($)
 * 1970-2003 Minnesota Divorce Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Faribault Minnesota Family History Center
 * Mankato Minnesota Family History Center
 * Scott County Historical Society - an affiliate library.
 * Waseca County Historical - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Blue Earth County Historical Society 424 Warren St Mankato, MN 56001 Website University Archives and Southern Minnesota Historical Center Mankato State University Mankato, MN 56001 Phone: 800-722-0544 Website Madison Lake Area Historical Society City Hall 525 Main St Madison Lake, MN 56063 Phone: 507-243-3333 Website

Museums
Rapidan Heritage Society 55466 190th Street Mankato, MN 56001 Phone: 507-995-1185 Email: [mailto:rapidandepot@gmail.com rapidandepot@gmail.com] Website

Societies
Madison Lake Area Historical Society P.O. Box 124 Madison Lake, MN 56001-0124 Phone: 507-243-3755 Email: [mailto:mlfamily@bevcomm.net mlfamily@bevcomm.net] Website

Websites

 * Blue Earth County MNGenWeb Project, a member of The MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Blue Earth County at USGenWeb 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.
 * Minnesota Historical Society
 * Blue Earth County at Cyndi's List
 * – 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.