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I'm Trudi with the Hennepin County Library system.
In the next few moments, I'll be introducing you
to some unique Minnesota resources that will help you research your family history.
In the depths of one of our cold and snowy winters, you may wonder why anyone chose Minnesota;
but to many of our ancestors, there were incentives to emigrate,
or perhaps Minnesota resembled their country of origin.
In addition to Federal resources like the U.S. Census,
there are many rich unique resources that relate to Minnesota
and cover the state from its territorial days, beginning in 1840,
through its transition to statehood in 1858. Many states produced literature
to encourage immigrants to settle in their land. Let's take a look at the Minnesota Guide
to see what induced immigrants to come to Minnesota.
[IMAGE from Minnesota Guide: The climate is the principal boast of Minnesota. It is claimed
to be "the healthiest in the world."] [The testimony of thousands of cured invalids,
and the experience and statistics of twenty years, confirm this.]
An excellent resource to check is the Minnesota state census.
Every ten years the U.S. takes a census of its population,
and Minnesota conducted its own censuses every few years between the Federal census,
beginning in 1849 and ending in 1905, and these are available on computers at the
library through the Ancestry Library Edition database.
As Minnesota became more populated, records were created at the state and local level
that recorded birth, death and marriage. These are generally referred to as being "vital records."
Many of these are being indexed and are available online.
For example, the Minnesota Historical Society's
online Minnesota Birth Certificates Index and Minnesota Death Certificates Index can
be very helpful when researching Minnesota ancestors.
Another excellent resource to use is MOMS, the Minnesota Official Marriage System.
It will provide information on when and where a Minnesota ancestor was married.
Just put in the name of the bride or the groom and it will provide the county they
were married in, the date they were married, and the bride's maiden name;
and you can even order a copy of the marriage certificate right online.
Minnesota had a large rural farming population
in the 19th Century. The Minnesota Century Farms Database is a project
of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair;
and it will provide information for you on farm families
that have continuously owned a Minnesota farm for 100 to 150 years.
The applications for designation in this program are available online
and they contain a wealth of information about individual farm families,
including, in some cases, immigration information. USGenWeb is a volunteer-run genealogy project
that has unique websites for each state and county in the United States.
On the main state page for Minnesota, you can click a link and go to the county
that you're interested in. Two of the great resources that you'll find
on almost any GenWeb site, is a link to request free "look-ups" from that specific
location and the Cemetery Transcription Project for
the state or county in question. Photographs, maps and images can give you
a more visceral sense of your ancestor's life.
Minnesota has several stellar websites that provide unique images.
Let's take a look at each of them: Minneapolis Historic Photo Collection provides
images of Minneapolis events, places and residents. Minnesota Historical Society's Visual Resources
Database provides statewide images and includes addresses and portraits.
The Minnesota Reflections Project offers online access to numerous digitized collections
from around the state of Minnesota. These are just a few unique Minnesota resources.
Be sure to visit our website and check the Genealogy subject guide for more.
Or, use Ask Us for additional help.