Minnesota State Census, 1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

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For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Collection Time Period
This census covers the residents of Minnesota in 1865.

How to Use the Records
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the census index. Use the locator information in the index (such as page number or family number) to locate your ancestors in the census. Compare the information in the census to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination. Be aware that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

When you have located your ancestor in the census, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.


 * If they are subject to military service they may have military files in the State or National Archives.

It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.

Be sure to extract all families before you look at other records. The relationships given will help you to organize family groups. The family groupings will help you identify related families when you discover additional information in other records.

Some other helpful tips to keep in mind are:


 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even a county.


 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child.


 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents.


 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census.

You should also be aware that the census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.

Record Description
The census information was handwritten on preprinted sheets.

Record Content


The 1865 census contains the following information:


 * Name of every person whose usual residence was in the family on June 1, 1865
 * Sex
 * Race
 * Whether deaf, dumb, blind, or insane
 * Whether the person was a soldier in service on June 1, 1865

Record History
Minnesota became a territory in 1849 and took territorial censuses in 1849, 1853, 1855, and 1857. After statehood in 1858, Minnesota took state censuses in 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The census was compiled to obtain a count of the population of the state to determine how many representatives the state would send to Congress.

Record Reliability
Reliability of the information in the census is determined by the accuracy of the knowledge of the informant, which could have been any member of the family or even a neighbor.

Related Web Sites
Minnesota State Census

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Related Wiki Articles
Minnesota Census, State, Territorial, and Colonial Censuses

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
It is recommended that you cite the sources of information as you search genealogical records. Citing sources will allow you to avoid duplicate searches later and share your sources with other researchers. A citation with specific details about the source document should allow yourself or others to easily find the source document at a later time. You should cite all sources searched, whether new information is found, to avoid duplicating searches without findings. Suggested Format:

A suggested format for citations created to document information found in FamilySearch Record Search is: Collection title, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: date accessed or downloaded), items of interest. Items of Interest Include:


 * Name of the person mentioned in the document
 * File, folder or jacket number
 * Locality
 * Record type
 * Page number
 * Line number
 * Date of entry
 * Digital identification number
 * Film number

You are Invited to Add Source Citations for a Record in This Collection: Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines listed above.


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of information for This Collection
“Minnesota State Census 1865,” database, FamilySearch; from State Library and Records Service, St. Paul. FHL microfilm, 3 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A full bibliographic record is available in the Family History Library Catalog.