Records that survive
These are the record series from Hennepin 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.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Certificate Index1853–1989
- Marriage Certificates1853–1996
- Birth Certificates1866–1902
- Birth Certificate Index1870–1931
- Death Certificates1870–1909
- Death Certificate Index1890–1931
- Coroner Record Books/Medical Examiner Reports · Medical Examiner1906–1989
- Coroner/Medical Examiner Autopsy and Chemical Analysis Reports · Medical Examiner1909–1989
- Medical Examiner Case Files With Index · Medical Examiner1964–1980
Military and pensions
- Selective Service Record Cards1941–1947
Tax records
- Assessment Rolls · Assessor1860–1900
- Tax lists · County Auditor1860–1981
Court records
- Jail registers · Sheriff1926–1983
Schools
- School district plats · County Auditor1857–1949
- Record of school district boundaries · County Auditor1862–1876
- School district organization records · County Auditor1880–1999
- School Censuses · Superintendent of Schools1937–1967
- Boundary maps for municipalities, school districts, townships and watershed districts · County Auditor1980–1999
Welfare and the poor
- Minutes · Welfare Board1937–1978
- Opinions and Correspondence regarding Hennepin County Welfare Board · County Attorney1946–1963
- Subject Files · Human Services and Public Health Department1969–2001
- Case Files · Welfare Board1971–1982
- Annual Reports · Human Services and Public Health Department1977–1999
- Community Health Services Plans · Human Services and Public Health Department1979–2001
County government
- Journals · Board of County Commissioners1852–1977
- Microfilmed municipal and township establishment records · County Auditor1865–1990
- Municipal and township establishment records · County Auditor1865–2007
- Opinions and Correspondence Relating to County Personnel Board · County Attorney1962–1969
- Committee minutes and agenda materials · Board of County Commissioners1977–1998
- Community Health Services Advisory Committee [CHSAC] Meeting Files · Human Services and Public Health Department1977–2004
Other records
- Opinions of the County Attorney · County Attorney1919–1960
- Sanatorium Files · County Attorney1920–1962
- Opinions from the Attorney General · County Attorney1923–1958
- Congregate Housing Program Records · Community Services Department1981–1996
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
- Hennepin 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: Hennepin Countyfree
Everything the Society's library and archives hold for Hennepin 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 HENNEPIN under County; the years covered differ by county, and Scott and Washington counties don't take part.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Minnesota, Hennepin" 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: Dakota County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Dakota County
Later formed partly from Hennepin County: Carver County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1852, 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.