Find Genealogy Records in Grant County
Grant County genealogy records are held at the county courthouse in Elbow Lake and through the Grant County Historical Society, MNGenWeb project, and state archives. Records cover births, deaths, marriages, land transactions, cemeteries, census data, and veteran information for families who settled in this western Minnesota county since 1868.
Grant County Overview
Grant County Recorder
The Grant County Recorder in Elbow Lake handles vital records and land records for the county. Birth certificates, death records, and marriage licenses are all on file there along with deed books and property records. To request certified copies of vital records, contact the recorder directly or use the Minnesota Department of Health for state-registered records.
Statewide birth registration started in 1900 and death registration in 1908. Records before those years may exist only in county ledgers, church files, or historical society holdings. Marriage records have been kept at the county level since the 1850s and go back further than state vital records.
| Office | Grant County Recorder |
|---|---|
| Location | Elbow Lake, MN |
| Records Held | Birth, death, marriage, land records |
| State Vital Records | Minnesota Department of Health |
Grant County Historical Society
The Grant County Historical Society in Elbow Lake holds local records, photographs, and family files for the county. The society covers research for families from all of Grant County's communities including Ashby, Barrett, Charlesville, Elbow Lake, Erdahl, Hereford, Herman, Hoffman, Norcross, and Wendall. Contact the society if you are tracing ancestors from any of these towns.
The historical society can help point you to local records that don't appear in state databases. Staff may be able to help with basic research questions or direct you to the right collection. It is worth contacting them before visiting to confirm current hours and research policies.
| Organization | Grant County Historical Society |
|---|---|
| Location | Elbow Lake, MN |
| Collections | Local records, photos, family files |
Grant County MNGenWeb
The Grant County MNGenWeb site is a free online resource for Grant County genealogy as part of the statewide MNGenWeb project. The site is currently available for adoption, meaning a new county coordinator is welcome. Despite this, the existing content includes an 1890 Veterans Schedule, church records, an Elbow Lake map, historical society links, county history, surname listings, cemetery records, lookups, queries, and links to local libraries.
The 1890 Veterans Schedule for Grant County is especially useful for researchers with Civil War or post-war ancestors, since it lists surviving veterans by name and address at that time. Combined with census records and land records, it can help build a detailed profile of a veteran ancestor.
The Grant County MNGenWeb page also connects to cemetery records from the Minnesota Census Finder, which lists burials by township across the county.
The MNGenWeb project for Grant County includes veteran schedules, cemetery listings, surname indexes, and historical society links that are free to access online.
Grant County Government
The Grant County Government website lists county offices and contact information for the departments that hold official records. The county courthouse in Elbow Lake handles court administration, probate, and land records in addition to vital records from the recorder's office.
The Grant County courthouse in Elbow Lake is the official repository for vital records, land files, and probate records going back to the county's formation in 1868.
Available Genealogy Records
Grant County has a solid range of genealogical records for a small rural county. The MNGenWeb site, county recorder, historical society, and state archives together cover the main record types researchers need.
- 1890 Veterans Schedule (MNGenWeb)
- Church records (MNGenWeb)
- County history and newspapers (MNGenWeb)
- Surname listings and lookups (MNGenWeb)
- Cemetery records (MNGenWeb, Minnesota Census Finder)
- Census records 1850 to 1940 (FamilySearch, Ancestry)
- Vital records (County Recorder, MDH)
- Land records (County Recorder, BLM GLO Records)
Census records for Grant County from 1870 through 1940 are available through FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. The county was formed in 1868, so pre-formation records may be in parent county collections.
How to Search Grant County Records
Start with the MHS People Records Search at the Minnesota Historical Society. This free tool covers birth records from 1900 to 1934, death records from 1904 to 2001, and state census data from 1849 to 1905. It is a quick way to confirm names and dates before you work through county-level sources.
For marriage records, use the Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) to search by name, county, or date and order certified copies online. Grant County marriages are part of this statewide system.
For land records and original patents, the BLM GLO Records site has free access to original federal land grants for Grant County. These can be paired with county deed books to trace property through generations.
Note: Grant County's MNGenWeb site is available for adoption by a new coordinator. If you have substantial Grant County research, consider contributing to the site to help other researchers in the future.
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society Library in St. Paul holds naturalization records, military collections, and newspaper archives that cover Grant County. For families that immigrated through this area in the late 1800s, MHS naturalization records can be particularly valuable.
The MHS Digital Newspaper Hub has searchable historical papers that may include local Grant County papers from Elbow Lake and surrounding towns. Obituaries, land sale notices, and legal announcements in those papers can supplement what you find in vital records.
Nearby Counties
Grant County is a small county in western Minnesota. Ancestors may have had family ties in adjacent counties, and early records may predate Grant County's 1868 formation.