Brown County, Minnesota Genealogy Records

Which records survive from Brown County, the years each set covers, and where to find them.

Formed
1855
County seat
New Ulm
Anoka CountyCarver CountyChippewa CountyCottonwood CountyDakota CountyFaribault CountyFreeborn CountyHennepin CountyJackson CountyKandiyohi CountyLac qui Parle CountyLe Sueur CountyLyon CountyMartin CountyMcLeod CountyMeeker CountyMurray CountyNicollet CountyNobles CountyRamsey CountyRedwood CountyRenville CountyRice CountyScott CountySibley CountySteele CountyWaseca CountyWatonwan CountyWright CountyYellow Medicine CountyBlue Earth CountyBrown CountyCottonwoodFaribaultFreebornJacksonLe SueurLyonMartinMcLeodMurrayNicolletNoblesRedwoodRenvilleRiceSibleySteeleWasecaWatonwanYellow MedicineBlue EarthBrown
Brown CountyParent county (search here for earlier records)Today's boundaries · U.S. Census Bureau

Records that survive

These are the record series from Brown County held by the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, taken from its finding aids for the county's offices, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years. A span can include gaps.

Wills and estates

  • Registers of Actions · Probate Court1853–1981

Schools

  • Record of the Examination of Candidates for Teachers · Superintendent of Schools1880–1901
  • Education Directory · Superintendent of Schools1892–1971
  • Record of School District Clerks and Teachers · Superintendent of Schools1892–1901
  • County Superintendent's Record · Superintendent of Schools1900–1911
  • Record of Teachers' Certificates · Superintendent of Schools1901–1924
  • County Superintendent's Record B [Record of Teachers' Examinations] · Superintendent of Schools1904–1948
  • Record of County School Examinations · Superintendent of Schools1906–1928
  • School Record A · Superintendent of Schools1906–1914
  • Teacher Examination Certificate Stubs and Blank Teacher Examination Certificates · Superintendent of Schools1908–1912
  • Teacher Record Cards · Superintendent of Schools1910–1959
  • Pupil Records · Superintendent of Schools1911–1971
  • Teacher Record Sheets · Superintendent of Schools1920–1971
  • Map Showing School District Boundaries · Superintendent of Schools1941
  • "Manual (Part III of the Family Census Record Book)," written by Frank V. Heck, superintendent of schools · Superintendent of Schools1953
  • and 1 more series in the full listing

Search the Historical Society's catalog for this county

Source: Minnesota Historical Society, government records finding aids. The Society holds only part of each county's records; most deeds and many court and vital records are still at the county. Minnesota began statewide registration of births in 1900 and of deaths in 1908.

Where to find the records

  • Brown County official website

    Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county recorder, the district court and the Minnesota Historical Society, and any online record search the county offers.

  • The county recorder

    Deeds, mortgages and other land records from the county's beginning (the recorder was called the register of deeds until 1976). County birth and death records from 1870 on were first kept by the clerk of district court; in many counties they are now with the recorder, in others with the court administrator, and some recorders also have the marriage records.

  • The district court

    Civil and criminal cases, divorces and, in many counties, marriage licenses. Since Minnesota's courts were unified in the 1980s, probate (wills and estates) has been part of the district court as well.

  • The Minnesota Historical Society

    In St. Paul: many counties' older probate, tax, school and other records, the state censuses of 1865 to 1905, and statewide indexes to births (1900 to 1934) and deaths (1904 to 2001).

  • Minnesota Historical Society catalog: Brown Countyfree

    Everything the Society's library and archives hold for Brown County: county records, histories, directories, maps and more.

  • Minnesota People Records Searchfree

    The Historical Society's indexes to Minnesota birth records (1900–1934), death records (1904–2001) and the state censuses, with copies to order.

  • Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS)free

    A search of marriage records kept by the counties. Choose BROWN under County; the years covered differ by county, and Scott and Washington counties don't take part.

  • FamilySearch Catalogfree

    Search by place for "Minnesota, Brown" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.

Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.

Boundaries and parent counties

Formed from: Blue Earth County

Check the parent county for earlier records: Blue Earth County

Later formed partly from Brown County: Cottonwood County, Jackson County, Martin County, Murray County, Nobles County, Pipestone County, Redwood County, Rock County, Watonwan County

ItascaWashingtonPembinaChisagoCassRamseyBentonHennepinLE SueurScottDakotaPierce (extinct)HoustonWinonaFillmoreWabashaRiceGoodhueSibleyNicolletNon-County Area 3Non-County Area 2Non-County Area 4Non-County Area 1Blue EarthBrownBrownItascaPembinaCassRice
Brown as created in 1855Where its land was the day beforeToday's boundaryBoundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1855, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.

Research tip

Minnesota took its own census in 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905. They are indexed in the Historical Society's People Records Search (not every county appears in every year), and the 1905 census, like the 1895 census for men over 21, says how long each person had lived in the state and in the district, a clue to when a family arrived.