Pennington County, Minnesota Genealogy

Guide to Pennington County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Edmund Pennington, a longtime railroad operator. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Recorder has birth, marriage, death and burial, land and military records from 1910. Court Administrator has divorce, probate and court records.

Parent County

 * 1910--Pennington County was created 23 November 1910 from Red Lake County. County seat: Thief River Falls

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

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties

 * Beltrami
 * Clearwater
 * Marshall
 * Polk
 * Red Lake

Census
State Census
 * 1865 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1912 - 1956 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Land

 * Searchable index of historical land owners in Pennington County from the Pennington Historical Society.

Local Histories

 * List of local pioneers who lived in or near Thief River Falls at the time of the Northern Railroad. Put together by the Pennington Co. Historical Society.

Maps

 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1872-1962 - at FamilySearch — index

Obituaries

 * 1865 - 2006 - at FamilySearch— index and images

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth

 * 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage($) — index

Marriage

 * 1850-2019 WEB: Minnesota, Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry($) — index
 * 1860 - 1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage($) — index

Death

 * 1850-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1887-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Online Minnesota Death Records & Indexes
 * 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Pennington County Historical Society PO Box 127 Peder Engelstad Pioneer Village 825 Oakland Park Road Thief River Falls 56701-0127 Telephone: 218-681-5767 Website

Northwest Minnesota Historical Center Livingston Lord Library Moorhead State University Moorhead, MN 56560

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * Pennington County, MN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Pennington Historical Society
 * Pennington Historical Society