Minnesota Birth Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of an index to births from the Minnesota Department of Health in Minneapolis for the years 1935 to 2002. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Child’s name
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Parent’s names
 * Reference ID - Certificate Number

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection,it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of birth
 * The place where the birth occurred
 * The name of the child's parents

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the birth index, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the birth date along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile birth entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities
 * Consult the Minnesota Record Finder to find other records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Minnesota.
 * Minnesota Guided Research
 * Minnesota Record Finder
 * Minnesota Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Minnesota Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Mary Hawker Bakeman, editor. The genealogist's guide to Minnesota vital records 2 volumes. Roseville, Minnesota : Park Genealogical Books, c2002, c2004. FS Library 977.6 V27g v. 1-2

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Minnesota Births and Christenings, 1840-1980
 * Minnesota, Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916
 * Minnesota, County Birth Records, 1863-1983

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project, Division of Community Service Programs, Work Projects Administration. Guide to public vital statistics records in Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota : Historical Records Survey (Minnesota), 1941

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.