Minnesota State Census, 1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The census information was handwritten on preprinted sheets.

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.

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

This census covers the residents of Minnesota in 1865.

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.

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.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

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

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.

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

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Minnesota, State Census, 1865." database and digital images, FamilySearch ([https://familysearch.org https/: accessed 27 March 2012), entry for Fred Jones, age 43; citing Census Records, FHL microfilm 565,714; State Library and Records Service, St. Paul, Minnesota, FHL microfilm, 3 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.