Minnesota State Census, 1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of indexes and images of the population schedule listing inhabitants of the State of Minnesota as of June 1, 1865.

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. The census information was handwritten on printed sheets.

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. 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.

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

Record Content
The 1865 census contains the following information:


 * Name of each person whose usual abode was in this household on 1, June 1865
 * Gender and race of each person
 * Whether any member of household was deaf, dumb, blind, or insane
 * Whether any male of household was serving in the military on June 1, 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.

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

To search the collection image by image: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Township/City/Town/Village/Ward" 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 if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

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.

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

Related Web Sites

 * Minnesota State Census
 * Minnesota Online Census index

Related Wiki Articles

 * Minnesota Census
 * Minnesota Censuses Existing and Lost

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