Wells County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Wells County

Guide to Wells 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
Wells County was originally created in 1873 as Gingras County. The name was changed in 1881 to Wells and its boundaries changed in 1883 and 1885. It was organized in 1884, with 36 townships, the governor appointing Thomas R. Williams, Joseph P. Cox and Marshall Brinton as county commissioners. The county was created by the 1872-73 territorial legislature and named after Edward Payson Wells, a Jamestown banker, early promoter of the James River Valley, and member of the legislature in 1881. The county government was organized on August 28, 1884. The county seat was Sykeston from 1884 to 1894, after which time Fessenden was given the title.

Its county seat is Fessenden.

The center of population of North Dakota is located in the extreme southeastern corner of Wells County, about 9 miles southeast of Sykeston.

County Courthouse
Wells County Courthouse 700 Railway St N PO Box 596 Fessenden, ND 58438 Phone: 701.547.3122 Wells County Website Clerk District Court has birth, marriage, death, burial, divorce probate and court records; Register of Deeds has land records

Wells 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" |1893
 * width="12%" align="center" |1887
 * width="12%" align="center" |1893
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1873
 * width="12%" align="center" |1890
 * colspan="7"|
 * }
 * width="12%" align="center" |1890
 * colspan="7"|
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1873--Wells County was created 4 January 1873 from Buffalo County (Old). County seat:Fessenden
 * 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

 * Harvey


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Cemeteries
Cemetery transcriptions for cemeteries in Wells County, providing name, date of birth, and date of death where available

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


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

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

 * '76 thru '66 : a pioneer story. 1966. By James D Weckerly. Lake Forest, Minnesota : Forest Lake Printing. Online at: ;.
 * Fessenden diamond jubilee, 1893-1968. 1968. By Fessenden Diamond Jubilee Book Committee. [Fessenden, N.D.] : [Fessenden Diamond Jubilee Book Committee. Online at: ;.
 * Growing with pride; the Harvey, N.D. area, her history, her people. 1981?. Harvey, North Dakota : Harvey 75th Jubilee Committee. Online at:;.
 * The history of Wells County, North Dakota : and its pioneers with a sktech of North Dakota history and the oregin [sic] of the place names. 1929. By Walter Earnest Spokesfield. [S.l. : s.n.]. 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

Museums
Bowdon Museum and Library 232 40th Ave. NE Bowdon, ND 58418

Manfred Heritage Museum, Inc. PO Box 321 Harvey, ND 58341-0321 Telephone Number: 701-547-2564 (summer) or 701-324-2027 Website

Societies
Wells County Historical Society 903 4th St. N.E. Fessenden, ND 58438 Telephone: 701-547-3684

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