Ransom County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Ransom County

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

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Description
Established January 4, 1873. Organized April 4, 1881. Its county seat is Lisbon.

County Courthouse
Ransom County Courthouse 204 5th Ave West Lisbon, ND 58054 Phone:701.683.5823 Ransom County Website Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1943, marriage records from 1882, divorce, probate and court records; Register of Deeds has land records

Ransom County, North Dakota Record Dates

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 * width="84%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="12%" align="center" |1943
 * width="12%" align="center" |1882
 * width="12%" align="center" |1892
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
 * }
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1873--Ransom County was created 4 January 1873 from Pembina County. County seat: Lisbon
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places
The following are locations in the county

Cities
 * Elliott
 * Enderlin (partly in Cass County)
 * Fort Ransom
 * Lisbon (county seat)
 * Sheldon

Townships


 * Aliceton
 * Alleghany
 * Bale
 * Big Bend
 * Casey
 * Coburn
 * Elliott
 * Fort Ransom
 * Greene
 * Hanson
 * Island Park
 * Isley
 * Liberty
 * McLeod
 * Moore
 * Northland
 * Owego
 * Preston
 * Rosemeade
 * Sandoun
 * Scoville
 * Shenford
 * Springer
 * Sydna
 * Tuller

Unincorporated communities
 * Englevale
 * McLeod


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State Census Records

 * 1885 Dakota Territory 1885 Census Index at NDSU Archives – index only
 * 1885, 1915, 1925 North Dakota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1885, 1915, 1925 at Ancestry.com – ($), index and images
 * 1915 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images
 * 1925 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for North Dakota starting in 1910. For links to Federal census indexes, see North Dakota Census.

Church Records
Lutheran

''Enderlin


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

''Lisbon


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

Land and Property Records
For more information see North Dakota Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * Early history of Ransom County : including references to Sargent County, 1835-1885. [19--?]. Salem, Massachusetts : Higginson Book Co.. Online at:Hathitrust;.
 * Fort Ransom area history, 1878-1978. 1978?. By Loubert Rufsvold. S.l. : s.n. Online at: ;.
 * The Skånings revisited, 1882-1982 : including the history of Aliceton, biographical sketches of early Aliceton residents, genealogy of the Skånings, and a reprint of The Skånings of Aliceton. 1982. By Ardis Taylor. [Lisbon, New Dakota] : Taylor, R. J. Jr. Foundation. Online at:;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for North Dakota Counties
 * North Dakota Maps at NDGenWeb -historical maps

Military Records
Civil War World War I
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.
 * 1917 - 1918 North Dakota Military Men 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1917 - 1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * For further information see North Dakota Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * North Dakota Naturalization Records Index at NDSU Archives – index only, covers various dates and counties

Newspapers
 North Dakota Newspapers Online North Dakota Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of North Dakota newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some North Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper
 * State Historical Society of North Dakota - contains inventory and catalog of all known ND newspapers

Probate Records
''Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1985 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records
 * 1892-present - NDDH Public Death Index, 1892-present at North Dakota Dept. of Health – index only

Societies
Ransom County Historical Society 6231 121 Avenue SE Fort Ransom, ND 58033 Telephone: 701-973-8303 or 701-973-2259 Website

Enderlin Historical Society and Museum, Inc. 13296 55th St. SE Enderlin, ND 58027 Telephone: 701-437-3205 or 701-799-0725 Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
 * Ransom County, North Dakota Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)