Kittson County, Minnesota Genealogical Records Information

Start your family tree. We'll start searching. It's FREE. - Enter a few simple facts about recent generations of your family. We'll use what you enter to try and find more about your family in the world's largest online collection of historical records and family trees.

SEARCH THIS SITE

SEARCH FOR YOUR ANCESTORS IN THESE Minnesota GENEALOGICAL DATABASES:

MN Court, Land & Wills

MN Public Records

MN Birth, Marriage & Death

Kittson County History and Information

Kittson County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Pembina County Created on October 27, 1849 from Unorganized Territory. County was organized in 1852 then deorganized in 1853. At some point Pembina County was attached to Morrison, Crow Wing, Douglas, Becker and Clay Counties for county and or judicial purposes. Some early records may be found there.

On February 25, 1879 the county name was changed to Kittson County (Organized in 1897). Part of the Pembina District until organization. The county also included the western portion of what is now Roseau County until 1894.

The County Seat is Hallock. The first county commissioners, who were appointed by Governor Pillsbury, designated Hallock as the temporary county seat. However, in 1891, a group of citizens from St. Vincent, circulated a petition to move the county seat to St. Vincent, with a promise to build an $8,000 courthouse. The petition was dismissed by the county commissioners because of the "unauthorization of the circulation of the petition" and that they had no jurisdiction for this matter. A courthouse was built in Hallock in 1896. The present courthouse was built in 1964.

The County was named for the county is named after Norman W. Kittson, an early fur trader & partner of the American Fur Company. He increased the fur trading traffic significantly by increasing the use of oxcarts. He was also responsible for the pioneering of the steamboat in the Red River and was active with James J. Hill in the development of the railroad. His contributions played an important role in the settlement of the county.

Counties adjacent to Kittson County are Manitoba Province, Canada (north), Roseau County (east), Marshall County (south), Walsh County, North Dakota (southwest), Pembina County, North Dakota (west). Cities and Towns Include Donaldson, Hallock, Halma, Humboldt, Karlstad, Kennedy, Lake Bronson, Lancaster, St. Vincent. Townships Include Arveson, Cannon, Caribou, Clow, Davis, Deerwood, Granville, Hallock, Hampden, Hazelton, Hill, Jupiter, North Red River, Norway, Pelan, Percy, Poppleton, Richardville, St. Joseph, St. Vincent, Skane, South Red River, Spring Brook, Svea, Tegner, Teien, Thompson Townships. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

The Kittson County Official Government Website
Search the Minnesota USGenWeb Archives
Kittson 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 Kittson 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 410 South 5th Street S., #214, Hallock, MN 56728-4141; Phone: (218) 843-2655. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. At some time Kittson County was attached to Polk County for county and or judicial purposes. Some early records may be found there.

Kittson County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1877, Marriage Records from 1881, Death Records from 1881 and Land Records from 1879.
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.

Kittson County Court Administrator's Office has Probate Records from 1899 and has Court Records from 1897.
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 Kittson County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Kittson 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.
Kittson County, Minnesota Court Books at Amazon.com

Kittson 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 Kittson County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Kittson 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.
Kittson County, Minnesota Military Books at Amazon.com

Kittson 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 Kittson County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Kittson County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Kittson County Historical Society, PO Box 100, Lake Bronson MN 56734-0100
Location: 332 East Main St, Lake Bronson MN, Phone: 218 754-4100
Red River Valley Genealogical Society, PO Box 9284; Fargo ND 58106
Library Location: 112 N University Drive Suite L116, Fargo, ND
Local Minnesota Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Northwest Minnesota Historical Center, Livingston Lord Library, Moorhead State University, Moorhead, MN 56560
Serves Becker, Clay, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, and Wilkin 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

Kittson 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 Kittson County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Kittson 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 Kittson County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Kittson 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.
Kittson County, Minnesota Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Kittson 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 Kittson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Kittson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Search 60 Years Of Everton Data: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
Search the Family Tree DNA Project - Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Kittson County ] [ Minnesota ] [ Main Page ]
Kittson County USGenweb Archives
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Minnesota Family Group Sheets
Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
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
Kittson 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,

Prehistory: Kittson County was once part of glacial Lake Agassiz. Evidence of this prehistoric lake can still be seen in the topography of the county today. Remnants of "McCauleyville Beach" of Lake Agassiz, can be found on the eastern portion of the county. This is an area of sandy soil and sand ridges. Other evidence of the glacier and Lake Agassiz is the approximately 140' drop in elevation from the eastern portion of the county to the western part, near the Red River. This is where one can find the black, rich soil that the Red River Valley is famous for. Evidence of occupation dating back 1800 years has been confirmed through archaeological expeditions done in the 1930's and the 1970's around the burial mounds that are located on the sand ridges in the eastern part of the county. This dates back to the "Woodland Period". Evidence has been found that the Laurel, Arvilla, St. Croix & Blackduck complexes were the early occupants of the county. However, approximately 400 years ago, the Cree, Assiniboin, Sioux and Ojibway inhabited the county.

Early Exploration: The early explorers of the region were the fur traders. Pembina, North Dakota's oldest settlement, which was located just across the Red River, dates its beginning to 1797 when the first trading post was established by Charles Baptiste Chaboillez of the Northwest Fur Company. The Hudson Bay and the American Fur Companies were also situated in Pembina as the fur trading industry increased. The fur traders and voyageurs traveled on the eastern side of the Red, which eventually would be Kittson County. Alexander Henry, who erected a fort for the Northwest Company in Pembina, is considered to be the first white man to test agriculture in the valley. Joe Rolette, who started a fur post for the American Fur Company in Pembina, and Norman W. Kittson, were two "explorers" that predominately opened this area by developing the Red River Ox Cart trails and broadening the use of the ox carts. The need for the ox carts diminished as the steamboats became the new mode for transporting furs and supplies, Eventually, the steamboats were replaced by the railroad.

Settlement: St. Vincent, which is located directly across the Red River from Pembina, was settled in 1857. With rumors of a railroad coming through, settlers moved across the river from Pembina to stake their claims. Many of these early settlers were Metis, a mixture of native and naturlized North Americans, Nearly twenty years later, in 1878, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad line finally reached St. Vincent and opened up the area to settlement. This railroad extended through the western portion of the county. The communities of Donaldson, Kennedy, Hallock, Northcote, Humboldt and St. Vincent were established along this line. It wasn't until the early 1900's when the eastern portion of the county was settled. The Soo Line railroad was completed in 1904 and the communities of Karlstad, Halma, Bronson, Lancaster, Orleans and Noyes were established. Scandinavians, Ukrainians, Polish, Scottish, Irish, English, Germans, French Canadians and Metis all contributed to Kittson County's "melting pot".

Historic Sites: There are currently three sites in the county that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. They include the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, located in Caribou Township, the burial mounds referred to as the "Lake Bronson Site" which is located in Norway & Percy Twps. and the Lake Bronson State Park WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources which include an observation tower and several buildings. The Lake Bronson State Park also has interpretive sites for the tower, a pioneer cemetery and the WPA camp.

Names of Cities

Hallock was named after Charles Hallock, the founder of the magazine, Forest & Stream. He was an avid sportsman who purchased one of the early town sites and built Hotel Hallock, a place for travelers and sportsmen. The town was built around this location.
Donaldson was named after Captain Hugh Donaldson, a veteran and Civil War officer who came to the area in 1878 and became a dominant figure of the community.
Humboldt was named after the German scientist, Alexander von Humboldt,
Karlstad was named after a Swedish immigrant, Carl August Carlson, who allowed the Soo Line to put the railroad through his homestead. The name also came from the city of Karlstad, Sweden.
Kennedy was named after John Swart Kennedy, a native of Scotland who had a connection with James J. Hill's interests.
Bronson was named after the first settlers in the area, Giles and Margaret Bronson. It became Lake Bronson in the late 1930's after the dam was built and their homestead became part of the lake.
Lancaster was named after an official of the Soo Line, believed to have come from Lancashire County in England.
Northcote was named for Sir Henry Stafford Northcote, an English Statesman and financier who had financial interests in James J. Hill's projects.
Noyes was named after J. A. Noyes, the first Deputy Collector of Customs at the U. S./Canadian port of entry.
St. Vincent was named after St. Vincent de Paul, founder of missions and hospitals in France.

County Courthouse

The first court proceedings in Kittson County were held in 1881 in Hotel Hallock, which was offered for use by the county without charge. However, a bill for four dollars was submitted for use of a jury room and the breaking of window lights. The first case involved the theft of a yoke of oxen for which the defendant was sentenced to three years in the state prison. The term of court was completed in 2.5 days, and the court and attorneys spent the rest of the last day fishing while they waited for a southbound train.

Other locations in Hallock were rented as a courthouse until a formal courthouse was completed in 1896 at a cost of $20,000. The three-story brick building was built on a high battered-stone basement and included a Romanesque tower. Large chimneys rose on each side above the medieval corbelled brick of the cornice. The building was torn down when the new courthouse was completed 70 years later in 1965.

The current courthouse is a low horizontal one-story building that becomes two as the land slopes downward. Panels of brick stripe the building. Small double-hung windows are set into the strips between the brick. The entrance is recessed and a flat slab roof tops the building. A federal grant provided $400,000 of the $839,000 cost of the building, designed by Wells Denbrook of Grand Forks, ND.

Your user agent does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames.