Dakota County, Minnesota

This County is part of
The MNGenWeb And The USGenWeb Project®

Dakota County is available for adoption.
If you have a local connection to Dakota County and web design skils [or wish to learn],
please consider joining the MNGenWeb as a County Coordinator
Please contact the State Coordinator: Tim Stowell for more information.


Table of Contents
History ~ Biographies ~ Maps ~ What's New ~ Lookups ~ Queries
Vital Records ~ Military ~ Obituaries ~ Cemeteries
Native American's ~ Family Search: Films & Historical Images ~ Crime & Punishment ~Odds and Ends


Dakota's Neighbors
Goodhue ~ Hennepin ~ Ramsey ~ Rice ~ Scott ~ WashingtonMinnesota
Pierce ~ St Croix, Wisconsin


Vital Records ~ Military ~ Obituaries ~ Cemeteries

Basic Vitals: B ~ M ~ D

>>>New<<<
Minnesota Birth Files 1990-2020: Reclaim the Records
The files are in csv format
Uploaded in 2023
Please use this Link


If you wish to look at other MN County Birth Records, Please Use This Link

Family Search "Collections"

Minnesota, County Birth Records, 1863-1983Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002

Minnesota Births and Christenings, 1840-1980Minnesota, Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916

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Marriage Resources
Minnesota Marriage Index, 1958-2001
/ Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949

Because folks often 'ran away' to be married, it is a good idea to check neighboring Counties for Marriage Records.
Here are links to Marriage Records from the FS Historical Image Section.
Each pdf is fully searchable and linked to films
Goodhue ~ Hennepin Pg 1 / Pg 2 ~ Ramsey ~ Rice ~ Scott ~ Washington Counties, Minnesota
Pierce [Church Registers] & St Croix Counties, Wisconsin

If you think your people might have traveled even further than neighboring Counties,
Consider These Resources:

Family Search ~ "Collections" for Minnesota Neighboring States
Iowa ~ North Dakota ~ South Dakota ~ Wisconsin
Sign into your FS Account, then use the above links


Family Search ~ Michigan Marriages
This link is for folks born in Minnesota and who married in Michigan: 1868 - 1925
[Available Info: Full Name, Place of Marriage, Residence, Place of Birth, Age, Occupation, Officiant, Witnesses]
Sign into your FS Account, then use the above link.

...lastly
From Genealogy Trails - Thanks Folks!
Marriages / Announcements & Engagements
Years: 1925-1929 ~ 1930-1934 ~ 1935-1939
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Death Records:
Death Registers ~ Certificates
Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002 / Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990 / Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001
Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 / Minnesota, Death Records and Certificates, 1900-1955
Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001
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Minnesota has a set of Divorce Records
Minnesota Divorce Index, 1970-1995

Note:
Searching for Vital Records for Dakota County has presented some problems. It seems that the search engines for both FS and Ancestry consistently confuse North and South Dakota with Dakota County, Minnesota.

The only way around it is to do the search and then check the information for clues. Many of the old records simply say "Dakota" on them with no other specific location information.
Some of the databases on FS & Ancestry are further searchable if the Township is entered.


Military Resources

Military Record Indexes
James Bryant Post # 119, Minneapolis
Member Files, A-Y, 1890's-1920's
"Personal History" - GAR Records
FS Film #007580973
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One Minnesota Revolutionary War Hero:
Stephen Taylor
War of 1812 ~ Minnesota in the Civil War
1883 Pensioners ~ Military Museum
DAR Lineage Records: Minnesota
"Soldiers of the Great War", V2 - Minnesota [Nice Photos]
Dakota County in the World War [Book]
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Civil War Veteran Burial Listings
Vol X
Sherman Lee Pompey
Covering Men In Regiments From Minnesota
Union Soldiers Buried at Andersonville, 1866
Here is the list for Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
Here is the List for Army Burials ~ Here is the List for Navy Burials
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Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Civil War Units ~ Battlefield Maps
Civil War Burials - National Search Engine ~ Civil War Veteran Burials
Compiled Service Records: Union Soldiers
Civil War Pension Records

Military Forts in Minnesota ~ Fort Snelling
Military Land Warrants in MN 1854-1863
Military & Minnesota Territory
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Minnesota and 'The Wars'
Colonial Wars ~ Dakota War of 1862 ~ 150 Years Later
1862 Indian War Claims ~ Civil & Indian Wars: 1861-1865
Spanish American War & Philippine Insurrection
G A R Membership Records
Modern Wars, WW I, WW II, Korea [Ralph Carlson]
Minnesota, World War I Records, 1918-1941
Dakota County in the World War [Book]
WW II Honor List of Dead or Missing
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FS has Prison Burial Records and Burials in National Cemeteries in their Catalog
Homes for Disabled Veterans: 1866-1938: Searchable Database on FS]
Military Headstone Applications: FS
1890 Veteran's Schedule: FS Searchable Database

Union Soldiers Buried at Andersonville, 1866
The Book is arranged alphabetically by State and is fully searchable.
There are also Army & Navy Burial Lists at the end of the State Lists.

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Military Medical Records: National Archives
Records of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

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Search: DAR ~ GAR ~ SAR
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Military Historical Resources on Family Search
US World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 ~ US World War II Draft Registration Cards ~ US World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
New York, Records of the State National Guard, 1906-1954 ~ US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938
Minnesota, G A R Membership Records, 1869-1940
US Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891
Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957 ~ Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918

"
Alphabetical Index To Places of Interment Of Deceased Union Soldiers

in the Various States & Territories
As Specified in Rolls of Honor, Nos I - XIII
Being those issued from the Quartermaster General's Office
Between June 15 1865 and August 27 1867"
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1868
FS: There are many Volumes


Military Odds
This Link is for Military Prison Records on FS

GAR Records [NARA] ~ Search the DAR ~ Search the SAR
Soldiers / Sailors Database
Gale Family Library ~ Military Service Records [WWII]
WW II ~ "The American War Library"
Current / Historic Military Facilities
RAOGK, MN Volunteers for History
National Archives: Awesome Resourse for Military Data

lastly...
MINNESOTA 1st Cavalry [Mounted Rangers] 2nd Cavalry Col. Brackett's Battalion, Cavalry Hatch's Independent Battalion, Cavalry 1st Heavy Artillery 1st-3rd Independent Battery, Light Artillery 1st-3rd Infantry (NARA Series M594, Roll 90)
[LDS Film 1488542] Log In, Search, Catalog, Enter Film # in Fiche/Film Slot


Obituaries
Obituary Indexes from the Legacy Collection of Jose Rivera Nieves
Here is the Index for Dakota County

Here is the Index for all of Minnesota
Here is the Index for the United States
Here is an index for Countries of the World


Note:
Many of the Obituaries might be found using Heritage Hub Digital Newspaper Collection
which is available in many local Public Libraries.
Check your local Library under 'Resources' - Access requires a Library Card


Obituaries: Heritage Hub: Dakota Daily Tribune
2019 - 26 December 2023
The Index is Here

September 2024
Note: I will not be creating any more Obit Indexes: I have had no queries for them for a couple of years.
But, that said, I will still do lookups on Heritage Hub Contact: Martha


1980 > 2014 ~ Obits 2015 & 2016 [These are for Dakota County]
Lookups are available if you do not have access [Martha, MNGenWeb Volunteer]
and... these too
Family Search Collections: Obituaries
The Nice Folks at Genealogy Trails have a great collection of old Obituaries & Death Notices:
Please Use This Link: Searchable and Linked PDF

"Tidbits from the Big Piney Examiner of Sublette Co., WY"
1912 - 2006 Some Years Missing
Compiler: Anna Lee Woffinden
There are indexes for each booklet
Then use the  FS Catalog and download the booklets: Use this link
The Booklets are full of Obituaries, Death / Funeral Notices and Accidents, and the odd news article about local Pioneers


Cemeteries
Cemeteries of Dakota County: Static File [Files of Randy McCarty]
Find~A~Grave / Billion Graves

People Legacy ~ American Cemeteries
Looking for really old Cemetery Info?

Use FamilySearch Catalog and check the films for DAR Records.
They did a lot of work from about 1940 to the late 1960's to Document and Transcribe old Cemeteries.


State Coordinator: Tim Stowell
Assistant State Coordinator: Karen De Groote
For information about adopting a Minnesota County, please contact Tim: Here is the list of Counties


All materials, images, sounds and data contained herein are not to be copied or downloaded for purposes of duplication, distribution or publishing without the express written permission of the Dakota County Coordinator. All data will stay with the MNGenWeb Project when and if the Coordinator resigns: Future contributions or donations will be returned to the Submitter upon request. Although believed to be correct as presented, any corrections, changes or additions or invalid links should be brought to the attention of the
Webmaster.

All Rights Reserved
Contact the webmaster

Online Continuosly Since 1997
Site Updated: 24 September 2024