Minnesota Biography

Online resources

 * Minnesota's Early Explorers ($)
 * County and Town Histories, includes biographies
 * Minnesota, Its Story and Biography
 * Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. 1 ($)
 * Frank O'Brien, Minnesota Pioneer Sketches ($)
 * Minnesota History and Biography, 1915 ($)
 * Minnesota biographies, 1655-1912, Vol. 14 compiled by Warren Upham, e-book
 * Compendium of history and biography of central and northern Minnesota, containing a history of the state of Minnesota ... also ... biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of central and northern Minnesota, e-book
 * Dalby Database at Owatonna Public Library - statewide search of people in books
 * Encyclopedia of biography of Minnesota : illustrated with steel plate and copper plate engravings.1999 e-book
 * Encyclopedia of biography of Minnesota. History of Minnesota by C.E. Flandrau. v. 1., 1900 e-book
 * Memorial record of southwestern Minnesota. e-book
 * Who's who among Minnesota women; a history of woman's work in Minnesota from pioneer days to date e-book
 * The book of Minnesotans; a biographical dictionary of leading living men of the state of Minnesota e-book

A biography is a history of a person’s life. In a biography you may find the individual’s birth, marriage, and death information, and the names of his or her parents, children, or other family members. Biographies often include photographs, family traditions and stories, clues about an ancestor’s place of origin, places where he or she has lived, church affiliation, military service, and activities within the community. The information must be used carefully, however, because there may be inaccuracies.

Biographies in Local Histories

 * Biographical information is often found in state, county, and town histories.
 * Towards the end of the 19th century, began publishers soliciting short biographical/family histories from local founding families, offering to publish them in an upcoming local history. This then became an incentive for family members to buy a copy of the book.
 * Families represented were not necessarily prominent. Practically everyone living there, especially in the Midwest, counted as an early settler.
 * These biographies often start with the first member of the family to settle in the area, and detail their descendants at the time of publishing. They may tell where the family moved in from. Children's marriages often are given, with maiden names included.

Finding Biographies

 * The county Wiki page lists several county histories. It also lists local libraries, and societies which probably have copies of local histories.
 * Many histories are no longer under copyright and can be found in the following online, digitized book collections. Search with keywords "History" and "the name of your locality" (state, county, or town).
 * FamilySearch Books
 * Google Books
 * World Cat
 * HathiTrust
 * Internet Archive
 * The FamilySearch library has extensive collections of these local histories. Many are digitized. Search the FamilySearch Catalog under your locality for the topics "Biography" and "History".

Statewide Collections
The best collections of published biographies in Minnesota are at the Minnesota Historical Society Library, the University of Minnesota, and the Minneapolis Public Library. The state historical society has published an index to biographical sketches:


 * Upham, Warren, and Dunlap, Rose Barteau. Minnesota Biographies, 1655–1912. Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Volume 14. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, 1912. (FS Library book .) Indexes about 100,000 individuals. The references came from newspapers, periodicals, and books within the Minnesota Historical Society Libraries collection.

The Minnesota Biographies project began in 1976 and added another 50,000 names updating and enhancing the book Minnesota Biographies listed above. These are on 5" x 7" cards at the Minnesota Historical Society Library.

The Minnesota Historical Society Library also has:


 * Nielsen, Steven. Diaries in the Minnesota Historical Manuscript Collections. Typescript, 1979. This 61-page typescript is an alphabetical list with a brief description of each diary’s contents including dates covered. Also included is a 12-page addendum Women’s Diaries and Letters. (Not available at the Family History Library.)

For a list of some oral interviews of Minnesota individuals see:

Minnesota Historical Society. The Oral History Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1984. (FS Library book .) This lists oral histories on tape at the Minnesota Historical Society and the regional research centers. The listings give the length of the interview and a brief description of the individual. Some oral histories are restricted while others may be checked out or copied at your request.

The Family History Library also has a major collection of biographical sources. Search statewide, regional, and county histories and atlases for biographical information. Some representative biographical works are:

Andreas, A. T.,Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota. Chicago, Illinois, 1874. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library. This atlas has about 15,000 names of persons, by town, frequently giving their place of birth and occupation. A published index is:


 * Bakeman, Mary Hawker. A Comprehensive Index to A. T. Andreas’ Illustrated Historical Atlas of Minnesota–1874. Brooklyn Park, Minnesota: Park Genealogical Books, 1992. (Family History Library .) This is arranged alphabetically and gives the place of birth for most persons listed.

Burnquist, Joseph Alfred Arner, ed. Minnesota and Its People. Four Volumes. Chicago, Illinois S.J. Clarke, 1924. (On 2 Family History Library microfilms. Volumes 1–3 are on microfilm ; ; .) Volumes 3 and 4 are biographical. This contains 700–800 biographies of men who helped build the state, up to and including World War I. Each volume has its own index.

Castle, Henry Anson. Minnesota, Its Story and Biography. Three Volumes. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1915. (Family History Library .) Volumes 2 and 3 contain biographies. An index to the biographies is near the beginning of volume 1.

Marquis, Albert Nelson. The Book of Minnesotans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the State of Minnesota. Chicago, Illinois: A.N. Marquis, 1907. (Family History Library .) This book contains over 4,000 short biographical sketches of prominent men from business, politics, religion, and the arts. Patterned after the Who’s Who books.

Toensing, W. F. Minnesota Congressmen, Legislators and Other Elected Officials: An Alphabetical Checklist, 1849–1971. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, 1971. (Family History Library .) Gives birth and death dates, county and post office of residence, office to which elected, and year(s) of service.

The Family History Library has Who’s Who in Minnesota for 1941, 1958, and 1964. An example is:


 * Cornwall, C. N. Who’s Who in Minnesota: 1941. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minnesota Editorial Association, 1942. (Family History Library .) This contains birth dates and places, and names of parents and spouse. Arranged alphabetically by name within each county.

The Family History Library has many publications and histories with biographical information. They are generally listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

MINNESOTA – BIOGRAPHY

MINNESOTA, [COUNTY] – BIOGRAPHY