Waseca County, Minnesota Genealogy
Guide to Waseca County, Minnesota ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Waseca County, Minnesota | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Minnesota, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Minnesota in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 27, 1857 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Waseca |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Waseca County Courthouse 307 North State Street Waseca, MN 56093 Phone: 507-835-0670 Waseca County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places/Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Dakota word meaning "rich," a reference to the fertile soil in the area. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.[1]
Waseca County, Minnesota Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1870 | 1858 | 1870 | 1870 | 1856 | 1870 | 1836 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Clerk of the District Court has birth, death, probate, and court records from 1870, marriage records and divorce records from 1858.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
1865 The county courthouse, located in the then county seat of Wilton, burned in 1865.
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
- Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle.
- When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog.
- Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| MNGenWeb Archives | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| Tombstone Project | FamilySearch Places | |
| MNInterment | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- 1860-1992 - Minnesota, Waseca County Historical Society, Burial Cards, ca.1860-1992 at FamilySearch — index, some images
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 2,601 | — |
| 1870 | 7,854 | 202.0% |
| 1880 | 12,385 | 57.7% |
| 1890 | 13,313 | 7.5% |
| 1900 | 14,760 | 10.9% |
| 1910 | 13,466 | −8.8% |
| 1920 | 14,133 | 5.0% |
| 1930 | 14,412 | 2.0% |
| 1940 | 15,186 | 5.4% |
| 1950 | 14,957 | −1.5% |
| 1960 | 16,041 | 7.2% |
| 1970 | 16,663 | 3.9% |
| 1980 | 18,448 | 10.7% |
| 1990 | 18,079 | −2.0% |
| 2000 | 19,526 | 8.0% |
| 2010 | 19,136 | −2.0% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
State Census
- 1865 - Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1885 - Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1905 - Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — index and images
Church[edit | edit source]
Most church records are held by individual churches. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information, see Minnesota Church Records.
Lutheran[edit | edit source]
Le Sueur River Lutheran Church, New Richland Township
- Records of Le Sueur River Lutheran Church, New Richland Township, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
Trinity Lutheran Church, New Richland Township
- Records of Trinity Lutheran Church, New Richland Township, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1912 - 1956 - Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[edit | edit source]
The county register of deeds keeps land records once the land was transferred to private ownership. Abstracts and indexes for these records are generally available at the county courthouse.
Land records for Minnesota are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
MINNESOTA, Waseca – LAND AND PROPERTY
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Waseca County, Minnesota Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Minnesota Local Histories.
Child's History of Waseca County
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men from Waseca County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Waseca County.
- - 4th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company I.
- - 5th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.
- - 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.
World War I[edit | edit source]
- Waseca County in the War: Index to People Mentioned
This book was published shortly after World War I detailing many soldiers and war contributors at home. It also has many pictures.
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — index and images
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1872-1962 - Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — index
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Waseca County, Minnesota Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat
- FamilySearch. Do a Waseca County, Minnesota Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1865 - 2006 - Minnesota Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch— index and images
Probate[edit | edit source]
Probate records may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. They may include the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. See Minnesota Probate Records for additional information. Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1801 - 1999 Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Since Minnesota tax records include only persons who owned taxable property, many residents were not included. Still they complement land records and can be used in place of missing censuses or the years between censuses. There may also be gaps. For more information, see the wiki page Minnesota Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Minnesota Vital Records.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage($) — index
- 1900-1934 Minnesota Births, 1900-1934 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2019 WEB: Minnesota, Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry($) — index
- 1860 - 1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2001 - Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1887-2001 - Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage($) — index
- 1904-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1904-2001 at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Waseca County Historical Society
315 2nd Ave NE
Waseca, MN 56093
Telephone: 507-835-7700
Website
Waseca Area Genealogical Society
PO Box 364
Waseca 56093
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries[edit | edit source]
Waseca County HistoricalSecond Ave and Fourth St NE PO
Waseca, MN 56093 0314
Websites[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Waseca County, Minnesota" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waseca_County,_Minnesota accessed 15 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Waseca County, Minnesota. Page 362-370 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 362-365.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Waseca County, Minnesota page 369, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Wadena County, Minnesota," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadena_County,_Minnesota#Communities, accessed 3 March 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An Inventory of Selected Congregational Records of the American Lutheran Church in Minnesota at the Minnesota Historical Society," Collection Finding Aids, Minnesota Historical Society, http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01009.xml, accessed 10 June 2013.
