Grant County, Minnesota Genealogical Records Information

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Grant County History and Information

Grant County Facts

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Grant County was created on March 6, 1868 (Organized in 1883) from Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin Counties. The County Seat is Elbow Lake. The County was named for Ulysses S. Grant, commander of all Union armies, 1864-65; president of the United States, 1869-77.

Counties adjacent to Grant County are Otter Tail County (north), Douglas County (east), Pope County (southeast), Stevens County (south), Traverse County (southwest), Wilkin County (northwest). Cities and Towns Include Ashby, Barrett, Elbow Lake, Herman, Hoffman, Norcross, Wendell. Townships Include Delaware, Elbow Lake, Elk Lake, Erdahl, Gorton, Land, Lawrence, Lien, Logan, Macsville, North Ottawa, Pelican Lake, Pomme de Terre, Roseville, Sanford, Stony Brook Townships. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

The Grant County Official Government Website
Search the Minnesota USGenWeb Archives
Grant County, Minnesota History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Grant County Courthouse

See Also Minnesota Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link, by contacting the Phone number below for each department or contacting the County Courthouse at PO Box 1007, Elbow Lake, MN 56531-1007; Phone: (218) 685-4520. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. At some time Grant County was attached to Douglas County for county and or judicial purposes. Some early records may be found there.

Grant County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1877, Marriage Records from 1869, Death Records from 1879 and Land Records from 1872.
The Recorders Office is responsible for all the real estate records for properties located in the County. Permanent records of deeds, mortgages and other various real estate records are recorded/filed in this office. As Local Registrar, the office protects and issues certified copies of Birth and Death records, Marriage Certificates & Military Discharge Records.

Grant County Court Administrator's Office has Probate Records from 1879 and has Court Records from 1872.
The Court Administrator's Office maintains court files for Civil, Criminal, Traffic, Probate, Conciliation, Juvenile, Tax and Family Court matters.

Click Here to Search Minnesota Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Grant County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Grant County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Minnesota Naturalization Records Index, 1854-1957: An index to the microfilmed Minnesota Naturalization Records
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Minnesota Land Records: This database contains information on Minnesota (U.S.A.) land records. The database comes from the Bureau of Land Management's Minnesota Pre-1908 Homestaed and Cash Entry Patent and Cadastral Survey Plat Index. Information recorded in the collection includes patentee name, land office, legal description, etc.
Grant County, Minnesota Court Books at Amazon.com

Grant County Tax Records

See Also Military Records in Minnesota

Click Here to Search Minnesota Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Grant County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Grant County Military Records by clicking the link below:

Minnesota Civil War Soldiers: List of over 26,000 soldiers mustered from Minnesota during the American Civil War
Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection: This database indexes names of persons from Minnesota who enlisted in the Spanish American War.
Minnesota Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006; Phone: (202) 628-1776
Minnesota Society of Sons of the American Revolution
National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Minnesota (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Minnesota (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Grant County, Minnesota Military Books at Amazon.com

Grant County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Minnesota Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Grant County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Grant County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Grant County Historical Society, PO Box 1002, Elbow Lake MN 56531-1002
Location: 115 2nd St NE, Elbow Lake MN; Phone: 218 685-4864
Local Minnesota Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
West Central Minnesota Historical Center, University of Minnesota–Morris, Morris, MN 56267
Serves Big Stone, Chippewa, Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, Swift, and Traverse counties.
Minnesota State Archives, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3260
Minnesota Historical Society, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3000
Minnesota Genealogical Society, 1185 Concord St. N. Suite 218, South St. Paul, MN 55075-1187; (651) 455-9057
National Archives - Great Lakes Region (Chicago), 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898; 773-948-9001; E-mail: chicago.archives@nara.gov (Maintains retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Minnesota.)
Minnesota Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Minnesota Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Grant County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Minnesota Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Grant County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Grant County Tombstone Transcription Project.

The Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project of Madison published the Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Minnesota in 1941 and Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in Minnesota in 1942. There are also numerous publications by the project for specific denominations. Extensive microfilm collections of church records in Minnesota are available through the FHL. The State Historical Society of Minnesota and Area Research Centers have a variety of church records including microfilm and original records.

Numerous cemeteries have been read and transcribed by local genealogical societies in Minnesota. The transcriptions are frequently deposited with an Area Research Center, a local library, or the State Historical Society of Minnesota. A considerable number have been printed in the Minnesota State Genealogical Society Newsletter. Some have been privately published.

The Minnesota State Old Cemetery Society, 6100 West Mequon Road, Mequon, WI 53092, publishes a newsletter and maintains an archive of tombstone inscriptions from around the state. Contact the society for membership information

Below is a list of online resources for Grant County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Grant County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Minnesota Cemetery Inscription Index, Select Counties: This database is an index to cemetery inscriptions of cemeteries in several Minnesota (U.S.A.) counties and cities. It contains the names of nearly 600,000 persons. Researchers will find birth date, death date, name of cemetery and, in some cases, the closest living relative.
Grant County, Minnesota Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Grant County, Minnesota Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Minnesota Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Grant County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Grant County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Grant County ] [ Minnesota ] [ Main Page ]
Grant County USGenweb Archives
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Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Minnesota Family Group Sheets
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Minnesota Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Grant County, Minnesota Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Minnesota County History Name Index: This database is a name index of eleven county histories and plat books for the area immediately south of the city of St. Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Researchers will find the name of the county resident, the book in which the person's name appears, and the page number. Where information is available, town of residence is also given.
Minnesota Crew Lists, 1929-1952: For several decades in the early half of the twentieth century, Two Harbors, Minnesota was one of the busiest iron ore loading ports in the world. This database is an index to the crew lists (NOT passenger lists) of vessels that arrived at Two Harbors,

Grant County is located in West Central Minnesota. It is 24 miles square in size. The eastern part of Grant County consists of rolling hills and is dotted with many lakes and sloughs. It is also wooded. This part of the county drains south to the Mississippi River via the Pomme de Terre and Chippewa Rivers. The western part of the county is relatively flat and was originally all prairie with few lakes and trees. This area drains north, eventually to Hudson Bay via the Mustinka River. This part of the county was covered by glacial Lake Agassiz, which existed some 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Grant County was formed in 1871 when land was detached from Stevens County to the south by an act of legislature. There is some discrepancy with this date. A possible alternate date is March 1868. It is divided into 16 townships, 6 miles square each. They are Pelican Lake, Pomme de Terre, Stony Brook, Lawrence, Erdahl, Sanford, Elbow Lake, North Ottawa, Elk Lake, Lien, Delaware, Gorton, Land, Roseville, Macsville, and Logan. Present day towns include Ashby, established in 1879, Barrett, established in 1888, Elbow Lake, established in 1887, Erdahl, established in 1887, Herman, established in 1871, Hoffman, established in 1891, Norcross, established in 1890, and Wendell, established in 1887. Grant County was named in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant.

Although Grant County was formed in 1871, it was not officially established until 1873 when the governor appointed three commissioners to organize the county. These three were Henry Sanford, K. N. Melby, and S.S. Frogner. Their first task was to choose a county seat and elect officers. The only two settlements that amounted to anything at that time were Herman (which already had rail service) in the southwestern part of the county and Pomme de Terre in the northeast. Mr. Frogner wanted Herman to be the county seat; Mr. Melby wanted Pomme de Terre. Mr. Sanford, caught in the middle, privately suggested to Mr. Frogner that a neutral site should be chosen and that it would then be easier to get the county seat moved to Herman at a later date. At least it wouldn't be in Pomme de Terre. The men chose Elbow Lake as the county seat. It was located next to Sanford's land, nearer to the center of the county than either of the other two choices. It was not until 1878 that a courthouse was even built. Elbow Lake remains the county seat although it was not without a fight. In 1881 Herman was able to get the state legislature to name Herman the county seat if residents of the county voted in its favor. In a special election, it appeared that Herman had won. Although the voting was being appealed, a group from Herman raided the courthouse in Elbow Lake and took all the records to Herman. A courthouse was quickly built there. When an investigation found out that a number of ineligible votes had been cast in the Herman area and that the votes of one of the northeastern townships had not been counted at all, the final vote was overturned and Elbow Lake was again declared the county seat. A number of men from the Elbow Lake area in turn raided the Herman courthouse one night, returning all the records to Elbow Lake. The present court house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1906.

Some of the earliest history of Grant County goes back to 1859 when the Minnesota Stage Company built a road from St. Cloud to Fort Abercrombie on the Red River. This road crossed the northeastern corner of Grant County. (The Red River Ox Cart or Pembina Trail also cuts across a portion of Grant County.) A stage relay station was built in what is now Pelican Lake Township. From 1859 to 1862, Indian disturbances were few, but after the Sioux Uprising of 1862, people grew fearful. A fort, named Pomme de Terre (which is also on the National Register of Historic Places), was built and manned at the location of the stage relay station. It became the principal outpost between Alexandria and Fort Abercrombie. This fort was operated by the military until 1866. It then went back to being a stage station and hotel for a few years until the insurgence of the railroad put an end to the stage line. Incidences at the fort were few. In 1863, two soldiers were attacked and killed by Sioux Indians while uniting. Their graves still exist at the site of the old fort.

Both Sioux and Chippewa Indians occupied what is Grant County. This is evidenced in part by Indian burial mounds located mainly in the eastern part of the county. Some of these can still be seen in the area of Tipsinah Mounds Park, which is about 4 miles east of Elbow Lake on the shores of Pomme de Terre Lake. By the time white settlers began coming into Grant County, there was little trouble with the Indians. There were some encounters, but they were mostly friendly, as the Indians were usually just passing through while hunting, etc. There was a more significant scare in 1876. Many settlers sought protection by going to Alexandria or elsewhere for a few days, but nothing ever came of it.

The first permanent white settler was Henry T. Sanford, mentioned previously. He first came to Grant County as a soldier stationed at Fort Pomme de Terre. He homesteaded on land adjacent to what later became Elbow Lake in 1868. Other early settlers also started coming in 1868, with more and more people coming in the early 1870s. The majority of these early settlers were Scandinavian, others were German and English. Many of these settlers had first settled in Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, or Iowa before coming to western Minnesota in search of new opportunities or more land on which to raise their growing families. The eastern portion of Grant County was settled earliest because of the availability of wood and of water from the numerous lakes. The area around Herman was also settled early on because it was the first area to get railroad access. Early houses were simple log cabins, sod houses, or dugouts.

The first settlement in Grant County was Pomme de Terre Village. The townsite was laid out in 1868 and plotted in 1874. It was centered around a grist mill on the Pomme de Terre River about a mile west of Fort Pomme de Terre. The village of Pomme de Terre eventually died out in the early to mid 1900s for two reasons. One, it was passed over for the county seat, and two, the railroad passed by to the north, going instead through Ashby. Other towns that sprouted up in Grant County that no longer exist include Aastad, Hereford, Thorsborg, and West Elbow Lake (also called Canestorp). The lack of rail service or the eventual discontinuing of rail service led to the demise of these towns. The other towns in Grant County grew mostly as a result of the railroads passing through and staying. Grant County's economy is and always has been dependent on agriculture, so the economic conditions of the towns fluctuate with that of the farm economy.

County Courthouse

The first Grant County Courthouse opened in 1878. A.C. Earsley and H.H. Wilson of Alexandria built the two-story building at a cost of $1,225. Four rooms and a hall occupied the first floor and the second-floor courtroom was accessible by an outside stairway. A speaker at the dedication of its replacement in 1906, however, said that cases were taken to Douglas County for trial until 1883. In 1884, a remodeling project enlarged the building and the staircase was moved inside. The building stood on a lot just west of the present courthouse.

Before this, the town of Herman induced the Legislature in 1881 to award it the county seat, subject to approval in the fall election. Herman won with a majority of 70 votes. Private parties had already made plans for a courthouse and Herman citizens raided the Elbow Lake courthouse of its records. Elbow Lake eventually proved fraud, the election was declared void, and the records were returned. One of Elbow Lake's attorneys was Knute Nelson, who later became a congressman, governor, and U.S. Senator. Herman was represented by L.W. Collins, Grant County's first judge and eventually a Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The present-day courthouse was dedicated in 1906. The towering segmented dome, shown in the above photograph in 1945, looks over the town and the classic Beaux Arts style of its solid three stories is a dominating feature. It was designed by Bell & Detweiler of Minneapolis and built by the Prince Construction Company of Minneapolis for $60,202, including heating and plumbing. Oden J. Oyen of LaCrosse, WI, was paid $3,000 for decorating the inside of the building with murals and other artwork.

The building is 97 by 75 feet and rises 102.5 feet to the top of the tower. Its Portwing brownstone came from a quarry near Duluth. The roof is built of slate, the floors of terrazzo, the wainscoting of the main corridor of pink Tennessee marble, and the minor corridors are bordered by marble. The original fixtures, the fine oak, and the muralled dome are intact, but water leakage has forced the sealing off of the stained glass skylight.

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