Richland County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Richland County

Guide to Richland 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 created by the 1872-73 territorial legislature and named for Morgan T. Rich of Wahpeton, who settled on the site of the future city in 1869. County government was organized on November 25, 1873

Richland County consists of 1,437 square miles, and, as of the 2010 Census, has a population of 16,321

Its county seat was placed at Chahinkapa, which was renamed to Wahpeton.

County Courthouse
Richland County Courthouse 418 2nd Ave N PO Box 966; Wahpeton, ND 58075 Phone: 701.642.7818 Richland County Website
 * Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1900, divorce and court records from 1833 and some burial records.
 * County Judge has marriage records from 1890 and probate records from 1876.
 * Register of Deeds has land records

Richland 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" |1900
 * width="12%" align="center" |1877
 * width="12%" align="center" |1883
 * 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--Richland County was created 4 January 1873 from Pembina County. County seat: Wahpeton
 * 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
Indian Reservations A portion of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation is in Richland County. The remainder of the reservation is in Marshall, Roberts, Day, and Codington Counties in South Dakota and in Sargent County in North Dakota.


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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.

Land and Property Records
Online Land 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

 * History of Abercrombie Township, Richland County. n.d. By Alma Tweto. n.p.: n.p. Online at:.
 * A history of Richland County. 1977. By Vernon E. Hektner. Dallas, Texas : Taylor Publishing Company (TX). 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 [http://familysearch.org/search 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

Family History Centers

 * Wahpeton North Dakota Family History Center

Libraries
Wilkin-Richland Counties Genealogy Guild 2018 320th Street Breckenridge, MN 56520 Telephone Number:218-643-2532

Societies
Richland County Historical Society 11 - 7th Avenue North Wahpeton 58075-3931 Website

Richland County Historical Society 525 1st St S, Wahpeton, ND 58075 Telephone: 701-642-4813

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