Dakota County, Minnesota Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Dakota people. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1870, marriage records from 1857, divorce and court records from 1853.

Parent County
1849--Dakota County was created 27 October 1849 from unorganized territory. County seat: Hastings

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

 * Goodhue
 * Hennepin
 * Pierce County, Wisconsin
 * Ramsey
 * Rice
 * Scott
 * Washington

Cemeteries

 * Dakota County Historical Society. Online cemetery records.

Census

 * Dakota County Historical Society. Searchable Dakota County census databases for the years 1857, 1860, 1865, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1900, 1920 (select desired year from dropdown box).
 * Dakota County Historical Society. Native American censuses for Dakota County for the years 1900 and 1910 (select desired year from dropdown box).

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

Catholic

 * Catholic Church records, Dakota County Historical Society

Lutheran
Christiana Free Lutheran Church, Farmington


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

Christiana Free Lutheran Church, Lakeville


 * Records of Christiana Free Lutheran Church, Lakeville, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1912 - 1956 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * Dakota County Historical Society, various local historical topic.

Maps

 * Dakota Historical Society. Interactive maps of Dakota County towns and villages; history maps; early landowner maps.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Dakota 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 Dakota County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry (Mounted Rangers), Companies A and G.
 * - 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company H.
 * - 2nd Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies F and H.
 * - 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies B and F.
 * - 4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company C.
 * - 5th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company G.
 * - 6th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company A.
 * - 7th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.
 * - 8th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Companies F and K.
 * - 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company H.
 * - Brackett's Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Company D.
 * - Hatch's Independent Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies C and F.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1872-1962 - at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Dakota County Newspapers Directory. Links to locations and contact information.

Obituaries

 * 1865-2006 - at FamilySearch— index and images
 * Dakota County Historical Society. Online obituaries.

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

Marriage

 * 1860 - 1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Dakota County Historical Society. Online marriage and divorce records.

Death

 * 1850-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1887-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries

 * Dakota County Historical Society 130 3rd Ave N South St. Paul, MN 55075-2002 Phone: 651-552-7548 Website
 * Dakota County Genealogical Society 130 3rd Ave N South St. Paul, MN 55075-2002 Facebook
 * Dakota City Heritage Village Museum PO Box 73 4008 220th Street West Farmington, MN 55024-0073 Phone: 651-460-8050 Website
 * Farmington Area Historical Society 2890 Pilot Knob Rd Eagan, MN 55121-1146 Phone: 651-454-4056
 * Lakeville Area Historical Society 20195 Holyoke Ave City Hall Lakeville, MN 55044 Phone: 952-469-0373 Website
 * Dakota County Libraries

Family History Centers

 * Lakeville Minnesota Family History Center

Websites

 * Wikipedia for Dakota County
 * Dakota County GenWeb
 * Cyndi's List: Dakota County
 * Cyndi's List: Dakota County