Polk County, Minnesota Genealogy
Guide to Polk County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Polk County, Minnesota | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Minnesota, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Minnesota in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | July 20, 1858 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Crookston |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Polk County Courthouse 612 N Broadway Crookston, MN 56716 Phone: 218.281.3464 Polk County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places/Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for the country's 11th president, James K. Polk, who on March 3, 1849, signed the Congressional act organizing the Minnesota Territory. The County is located in the northwest area of the state. [1]
Polk County, Minnesota Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1875 | 1875 | 1875 | 1875 | 1873 | 1875 | 1836 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Administrator has birth, death, probate and court records from 1875.
County Recorder has land records. [3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1858--Polk County was created 20 July 1858 from Pembina (Old) County. County seat: Crookston [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
|
||
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
- Clearwater
- Grand Forks County, North Dakota
- Mahnomen
- Marshall
- Norman
- Pennington
- Red Lake
- Traill County, North Dakota
- Walsh County, North Dakota
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| MNGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| MNGenWeb Archives | FamilySearch Places | |
| Tombstone Project | ||
| MNInterment | ||
| MNGravestones | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1880 | 11,433 | — |
| 1890 | 30,192 | 164.1% |
| 1900 | 35,429 | 17.3% |
| 1910 | 36,001 | 1.6% |
| 1920 | 37,090 | 3.0% |
| 1930 | 36,019 | −2.9% |
| 1940 | 37,734 | 4.8% |
| 1950 | 35,900 | −4.9% |
| 1960 | 36,182 | 0.8% |
| 1970 | 34,435 | −4.8% |
| 1980 | 34,844 | 1.2% |
| 1990 | 32,498 | −6.7% |
| 2000 | 31,369 | −3.5% |
| 2010 | 31,600 | 0.7% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
State Census
- 1865 - Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1885 - Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1905 - Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — index and images
Church[edit | edit source]
Most church records are held by individual churches. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information, see Minnesota Church Records.
Lutheran[edit | edit source]
Elk Valley Lutheran Church, Grand Forks
- Records of the Elk Valley Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
Fisher
- Records of the American Lutheran Church, Fisher, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
Fron Lutheran Church, Starbuck
- Records of the Fron Lutheran Church, Starbuck, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
Hafslo Evangelical Lutheran Church, Crookston
- Records of Hafslo Evangelical Lutheran Church, Crookston, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1912 - 1956 - Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[edit | edit source]
The county register of deeds keeps land records once the land was transferred to private ownership. Abstracts and indexes for these records are generally available at the county courthouse.
Land records for Minnesota are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
MINNESOTA, Polk – LAND AND PROPERTY
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Polk County, Minnesota Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Minnesota Local Histories.
- McCall, T. M. Centennial History of Polk County. Crookston, MN: McGarry Printing Co., 1961. Print.
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — index and images
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1872-1962 - Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Polk County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat
- FamilySearch. Do a Polk County, Minnesota Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1865 - 2006 - Minnesota Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch— index and images
Probate[edit | edit source]
Probate records may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. They may include the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. See Minnesota Probate Records for additional information. Online Probate Records
- 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Since Minnesota tax records include only persons who owned taxable property, many residents were not included. Still they complement land records and can be used in place of missing censuses or the years between censuses. There may also be gaps. For more information, see the wiki page Minnesota Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Minnesota State Registrar of Vital Records, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Minnesota Vital Records.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage($) — index
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2019 WEB: Minnesota, Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry($) — index
- 1860 - 1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2001 - Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1887-2001 - Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- Online Minnesota Death Records & Indexes
- 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage($) — index
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Polk County Historical Society
PO Box 214
Crookston 56716-0214
Website
Polk County Historical Society
719 E Robert St
Crookston, MN 56716
Telephone: 218-281-1038
Website
Minnkota Genealogical Society
PO Box 12744
Grand Forks, ND 58208-274
Website
Red River Valley Genealogical Society
PO Box 9284
112 N University Drive Suite L116
Fargo, ND 58106
Website
Family History Centers
[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Polk County, Minnesota" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polk_County,_Minnesota accessed 14 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Polk County, Minnesota. Page 362-370 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 362-365.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Polk County, Minnesota page 367, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Polk County, Minnesota," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polk_County%2C_Minnesota, accessed 17 February 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An Inventory of Selected Congregational Records of the American Lutheran Church in Minnesota at the Minnesota Historical Society," Collection Finding Aids, Minnesota Historical Society, http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01009.xml, accessed 10 June 2013.
