Minnesota, County Birth Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection covers the years 1863 to 1983. However, most of the county’s records end before 1950.

The collection consists of digital images of birth records from various county courthouses.

Notes about this collection:


 * The year range will vary by county
 * Confidential information (illegitimate births and adoptions) has been masked from this collection
 * Some of the records in this collection may be duplicated in the collection “Minnesota City and Township Birth Records 1871-1947.”

Some counties and towns began recording births as soon they were incorporated with some as early as 1864. However because there was no law requiring births to be recorded, compliance was not good in the early years.

In 1901, Congress passed a resolution asking states to gather information about the births and deaths that occur within their borders. Many states responded, but because Congress did not fund the request, it took several years until all the states were keeping these records consistently. Birth records were usually filled out by a witness, midwife, or a medical professional. The certificate was then sent to the county, and the county sent a copy to the state.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Birth entries usually include the following information:


 * Date and place of birth
 * Full name and gender of child
 * Legitimacy
 * Father's name
 * Mother's maiden name
 * Parents' residence, age and race
 * Parents' birth place
 * Parents' occupation
 * Number of births for mother
 * Number of children living
 * Name of person attending birth such as midwife or doctor

How to Use the Record
To search the collection, ⇒Select Browse through images on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Child's name
 * Other identifying information such as birth date and place or parent's names

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible ancestors. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine which individual is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Next, click on your ancestor's name. This will take you to a descriptive page with a link to the image.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s birth record, 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 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.
 * The parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * 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.
 * The information in birth records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.
 * If you are unable to locate your ancestor, try searching various spellings of the names.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Minnesota Vital Records Indexes People Finding Aids
 * Minnesota Department of Health
 * Minnesota Birth Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Minnesota
 * Minnesota City and Township Birth Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Minnesota Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Minnesota Vital Records

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.