Minnesota, Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916

What is in This Collection?

This collection includes deaths from 1866 to 1916, for the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The records are usually handwritten on a pre-printed form.

Minnesota vital records registration began in 1870, and was the responsibility of each county for the next thirty-seven years. The cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis began keeping death records four years earlier in 1866. In 1907, the state of Minnesota took over the responsibility of keeping birth and death records.

Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates. The information recorded about the death is usually reliable, including the cause of death, the name of the attending physician or medical professional, the name and address of the funeral home, and the date and place of burial. The accuracy of other information depends on the reliability of the informant, often a family member.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  St Paul Mortuary Register, 1899

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  Transit paper 1870

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  Minneapolis death certificate 1906

Coverage Table

For a list of the number of records by locality see Minnesota, Birth and Death Records Coverage Table.

Digital Folder Number List

This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. The list does not contain any description of the DGS folder's content. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at Minnesota, Birth and Death Records Digital Folder Number List.