Records that survive
These are the record series from Stearns 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 Index1904–1980
- Birth Record Index1916–1980
- Birth Records1916–1982
- Death Records1916–1982
- Marriage Records1916–1919
- Death Index1917–1964
Wills and estates
- Indexes · Probate Court1871–1984
- Probate Registers · Probate Court1871–1984
Tax records
- Assessment rolls · Assessor1855–1981
- Tax Lists · County Auditor1859–1981
Court records
- Jail registers · Sheriff1894–1988
- Crime register · Sheriff1927–1930
- Sheriff's office record books · Sheriff1960–1983
Schools
- Record Books · Superintendent of Schools1857–1973
- Teachers' Records · Superintendent of Schools1889–1967
- Teacher Record Cards · Superintendent of Schools1900–1970
- School Graduates Record · Superintendent of Schools1904–1970
- Pupil Records · Superintendent of Schools1913–1966
- School Consolidation Files · Superintendent of Schools1952–1970
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
- Stearns 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: Stearns Countyfree
Everything the Society's library and archives hold for Stearns 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 STEARNS under County; the years covered differ by county, and Scott and Washington counties don't take part.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Minnesota, Stearns" 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: Cass County, Nicollet County, Pierce County (extinct), Sibley County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cass County, Nicollet County, Sibley County
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.