Ramsey County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Ramsey County

Guide to Ramsey 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
The county was organized on January 25, 1883. It was named for Alexander Ramsey, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Its county seat is Devils Lake.

County Courthouse
Ramsey County Courthouse 524 4th Ave #4 Devils Lake, ND 58301 Phone: 701.662.7066 Ramsey County Website Clerk District Court has birth, death and burial records from 1890, divorce and court records; County Judge has marriage and probate records; Register of Deeds has land records

Ramsey 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" |1903
 * width="12%" align="center" |1887
 * width="12%" align="center" |1903
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
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 * 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
4 January 1873: Ramsey County was created from Pembina County. County seat: Devils Lake
 * 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


 * Brocket
 * Churchs Ferry
 * Crary
 * Devils Lake (county seat)
 * Edmore
 * Hampden
 * Lawton
 * Starkweather

Townships


 * Bartlett
 * Cato
 * Chain Lakes
 * Coulee
 * Creel
 * De Groat
 * Dry Lake
 * Fancher
 * Freshwater
 * Grand Harbor
 * Hammer
 * Harding
 * Highland Center
 * Hope
 * Klingstrup
 * Lawton
 * Lillehoff
 * Minnewaukan
 * Morris
 * Newbre
 * Newland
 * Noonan
 * North Creel
 * Northfield
 * Odessa
 * Ontario
 * Overland
 * Pelican
 * Poplar Grove
 * Prospect
 * Royal
 * South Minnewaukan
 * Stevens
 * Sullivan
 * Triumph
 * Webster

Unincorporated communities


 * Bartlett
 * Darby
 * Derrick
 * Doyon
 * Essex
 * Garske
 * Grand Harbor
 * Lakewood Park
 * Keith
 * Penn
 * Ramsey
 * Rohrville
 * Saint Joe
 * Southam
 * Sweetwater
 * Webster


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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

''Bergen Lutheran Church, Starkweather


 * Records of Bergen Lutheran Church, Starkweather, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''First Lutheran Church


 * Records of First Lutheran Church, Ramsey County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

''St. Olof's Lutheran Church, Devil's Lake


 * Records of St. Olof's Lutheran Church, Devil's Lake, 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

 * Ramsey County, 1883-1983. 1982. [North Dakota?] : Lake Region Chautauqua Corp. 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
Ramsey County Historical Society 502 4th Street PO Box 245 Devils Lake, ND 58301 Telephone: 701-662-3701

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.
 * Ramsey County, North Dakota Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)