Pierce County, North Dakota Genealogy

United States North Dakota Pierce County

Guide to Pierce County, North Dakota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
Founded April 6, 1889. Named for Gilbert Ashville Pierce, governor of Dakota Territory from 1884 to 1886 and a representative of North Dakota in the United States Senate from 1889 to 1891. Its county seat is Rugby.

County Courthouse
Pierce County Courthouse 240 2nd Street Rugby, ND 58368 Phone: 701.776.6161 Pierce County Website District Court Clerk has birth, death and burial records from 1943, marriage records from 1888, divorce and court records from 1900, and probate records from 1898; Register of Deeds has land records.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1887--Pierce County was created 11 March 1887 from DeSmet (Old), Bottineau, McHenry, and Rolette Counties.

County seat: Rugby
 * 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

Cemeteries
Cemetery transcriptions for cemeteries in Pierce 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.

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

 * A century of area history : Pierce County and Rugby North Dakota 1886-1986. 1986. [S.l. : s.n.]. Online at: ;.
 * A history of Pierce County compiled in connection with Diamond Jubilee, Rugby, North Dakota. 1961?. S.l. : s.n.,. Online at: ;.
 * Knox area history. 1977. By Thomas Newgard. [S.l. : s.n.]. Online at:;.
 * Pierce County in 2011 : 125 years of history. 2011. [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

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