Grand Forks County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Grand Forks County

Guide to Grand Forks 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
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County.

Originally called Les Grandes Fourches by French fur traders, Grand Forks was founded in 1870 by steamboat captain Alexander Griggs and incorporated on February 22, 1881.

Located on the western banks of the Red River of the North in an extremely flat region known as the Red River Valley, the city is prone to flooding and was struck by the devastating Red River Flood of 1997.

Its location at the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River gives the city its name.

Prior to settlement by Europeans or Americans, the area where the city now sits at the forks of the Red River and Red Lake River had been an important meeting and trading point for Native Americans. Early French explorers, fur trappers, and traders called the area Les Grandes Fourches meaning "The Grand Forks". By the 1740s, Les Grandes Fourches was an important trading post for French fur trappers. A U.S. post office was established on the site on June 15, 1870 and the name was changed to "Grand Forks." Alexander Griggs, a steamboat captain, is regarded as being "The Father of Grand Forks." Griggs' steamboat froze in the Red River on a voyage in late 1870, forcing the captain and his crew to spend the winter camping at Grand Forks. Griggs platted the community in 1875 and Grand Forks was officially incorporated on February 22, 1881. The city quickly grew after the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1880 and the Northern Pacific Railway in 1887. In 1883, the University of North Dakota was established, six years before North Dakota was formally recognized as an independent state born from the Dakota Territory.

County Courthouse
Grand Forks County Courthouse 151 S 4th Street PO Box 1477 Grand Forks, ND 58201 Phone: 701.780.8238 Grand Forks County Website Clerk District Court has birth records from 1903, death records from 1908, divorce records from 1878, burial and court reocrds, adoption records and change of name; County Judge has marriage records from 1887 and probate records from 1880; Register of Deeds has land records

Grand Forks 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" |1891
 * 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--Grand Forks County was created 4 January 1873 from Pembina County. County seat: Grand Forks
 * 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

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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

Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Grand Forks


 * Records of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

United Lutheran Church


 * Records of United Lutheran Church, Grand Forks County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * 1822 - 1995 U.S. City Directories 1822-1995 at Ancestry ($) - collection for the City of Grand Forks

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

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

Family History Centers

 * Grand Forks North Dakota Family History Center

Societies
Grand Forks County Historical Society 2405 Belmont Rd Grand Forks 58201-7505 Website

Larimore Community Museum and Historical Society 1865 39th Street NE Larimore, ND 58251 Telephone: 701-343-2238

Manvel Historical Society 2890 15th St NE Manvel, ND 58256-9754

Minnkota Genealogical Society PO Box 12744 Grand Forks, ND 58208-2744 Website

Niagara Community Historical Society PO Box 26 Niagara, ND 58266 Telephone: 701-397-5830

Northwood Pioneer Museum and Historical Association PO Box 111 Northwood, ND 58267

Reynolds Historical Society RR 1 Box 1G Reynolds, ND 58275

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