Hennepin County, Minnesota Genealogy

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

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Father Louis Hennepin. The County is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clerk District Courth has birth and death records from 1870, marriage, divorce and court records.

Parent County

 * 1852--Hennepin County was created 6 March 1852 from Dakota County. County seat: Minneapolis
 * For a brief history of how Hennepin County was named, click here. Then select Hennepin County.

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Anoka
 * Carver
 * Dakota
 * Ramsey
 * Scott
 * Wright

Cemeteries

 * Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a name search.
 * 1860-1926 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Census
State Census


 * 1865 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — index and images

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Minneapolis

Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran Church, Minneapolis


 * Records of the Bethany Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis


 * Records of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Gethsemane Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis


 * Records of Gethsemane Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Minneapolis


 * Records of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Liberty Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Records of Liberty Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
 * FamilySearch Places

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1912 - 1956 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Directories

 * Fold3.com ($) has Minneapolis City Directories 1865-1923 (4 yrs. missing) available online.
 * Minneapolis City Directories 1859-1944 Free
 * St. Louis Park City Directories 1933-1977 Free

Maps

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places


 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.


 * Simple map of Hennepin County Communities and Townships

Civil War
Civil War service men from Hennepin 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 Hennepin County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry (Mounted Rangers), Company A.
 * - 1st Battalion, Minnesota Infantry Volunteers, Company B.
 * - 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company E.
 * - 2nd Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, Company D.
 * - 2nd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies G and I.
 * - 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company A.
 * - 4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company C.
 * - 6th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies B, C, and D.
 * - 8th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies A and K.
 * - 9th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies A and B.
 * - 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company K.
 * - Brackett's Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies B and C.
 * - Hatch's Independent Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies A, B, C and E.
 * - 1st Minnesota Company Sharpshooters, First Company only

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1872-1962 - at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Newspaper Links - Minnesota Historical Society
 * Chronicling America (Library of Congress) This freely accessible website, available from any Internet connection, hosts historic newspapers (1860-1922) from across the United States for noncommercial, educational and research purposes. Currently the following Minnesota titles are available on Chronicling America, with more to follow:


 * The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis, Minn.) – 1901

The appeal. (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1889-19?? African-American newspaper. More than 1,500 issues between 1889 and 1922 have been digitized and are fully searchable on-line at the Library of Congress, Chronicling America website.

Obituaries

 * 1865-2006 - at FamilySearch— index and images

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth

 * 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage($) — index
 * 1900-1934 Minnesota Births, 1900-1934 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)

Marriage

 * 1850-2019 WEB: Minnesota, Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry($) — index
 * 1860 - 1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage($) — index

Death

 * 1850-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1887-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage($) — index
 * 1904-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1904-2001 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)

Societies and Libraries
Hennepin History Museum Hennepin County Historical Society 2303 3rd Ave S Minneapolis MN 55404-3505 Telephone: 612-870-1329 Website

Brooklyn Historical Society 5600 85th Ave Brooklyn Center MN 55443 Telephone: 763-392-5356 Website

Champlin Historical Society 11955 Champlin Drive Champlin MN 55316

Eden Prairie Historical Society Eden Prairie City Center 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie MN 55344 Telephone: 952-949-8580 Website

Golden Valley Historical Society 6731 Golden Valley Rd Golden Valley MN 55427 Telephone: 763-588-8578 Website

Hopkins Historical Society Hopkins Activity Center 33 14th Ave North Hopkins MN 55343 Telephone: 952-548-6480 Website

Plymouth Historical Society 3400 Plymouth Blvd Plymouth MN 55447-1448 Website

Richfield Historical Society 6901 Lyndale Avenue S. Richfield, MN 55423 Telephone: 612-798-6140 Website

St. Louis Park Historical Society 3700 Monterey Drive St Louis Park MN 55416-4902 Telephone: 952-924-2538 Website

Wayzata Historical Society, at the Depot 402 Lake St E Wayzata MN 55391-1651 Telephone: 952-473-3631 Website

Westonka Historical Society Westonka History Museum 5341 Maywood Road Mound, MN 55364 Telephone: 952-472-9800 Website

Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) University of Minnesota Elmer L. Andersen Library Suite 311 222 21st Ave S Minneapolis MN 55455-0439 Telephone: 612-625-4800 Website

James K. Hosmer Special Collections Hennepin County Library Minneapolis Central Library 300 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis MN 55401 Telephone: 612-543-8200 Website

Family History Centers

 * Anoka Minnesota Family History Center
 * Bloomington Minnesota Family History Center
 * Minneapolis Minnesota Family History Center

Websites

 * Hennepin County MNGenWeb
 * Hennepin County US Gen Web Archives Site
 * ancestry.com Hennepin County Resource Page ($ need ancestry.com subscription)
 * Hennepin County MN Genealogy (LDS Genealogy)
 * Hennepin County MN Genealogy (LDS Genealogy)