North Dakota Genealogy - Free North Dakota Genealogy

This page of our website provides links to North Dakota genealogy databases and historical narratives about North Dakota. These genealogical records may include, vital records (birth, marriage and divorce, death), ethnic records (Black, Native American), court records (land, probate and wills, criminal and civil), church records (Bibles, baptisms, marriages, burials and histories), cemeteries, census records, military records directories and yearbooks.

North Dakota Biographies

North Dakota Biographies Index
The North Dakota Biography Index database is an ongoing project of the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies to provide access to biographical sketches found in a wide variety of North Dakota publications. It currently contains some 250,000 names to published biographical sketches of North Dakotans found in over 800 publications. This is an index to biographies found offline!

North Dakota Cemeteries

North Dakota Cemetery Records

North Census Records

North Dakota Census Records
1885 Dakota Territory Census
The NDSU Institute for Regional Studies headed a statewide cooperative project to index the entire original Dakota Territory 1885 Census schedules for the counties that today form North Dakota. The database contains over 151,500 names. Each entry includes: name, age, nativity, occupation, county of residence, and exact location of the entry in the census schedule.
North Dakota 1910 Census Map

North Dakota Court Records

Cass County, North Dakota Probate Records Index, 1875-1949
All Cass County, N.D. probate files from circa 1875 to 1949 have been transferred to the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies. This database was developed by the Institute to provide researchers access to over 5,900 individual case files.

North Dakota Genealogy Websites

North Dakota Immigration Records

North Dakota Naturalization Records Index
The North Dakota Naturalization Records index was compiled at the State Historical Society of North Dakota, where all original county naturalization records are preserved and have been microfilmed. In cooperation with the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies, the index is made available as a searchable database. The database contains over 212,000 names, giving the county where the declaration of intention (1st papers) was filed and the naturalization occurred (2nd papers), the date of both events, and from what country the person emigrated. Consult the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s Naturalization Records’ information sheet regarding the history of the naturalization laws, types of records and how to use them.
Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Portal, North Dakota 1915-1921
This series comprises Immigration and Naturalization Form SPL 187A, also known as the “Primary Inspection Memorandum,” which contains information on border crossings from Canada. The form typically includes details such as the individual’s name, age, gender, marital status, place of birth, physical characteristics, occupation, citizenship (including previous citizenship before becoming a Canadian citizen), race, ability to read and write in any language, place of previous permanent residence, port and date of arrival, intended destination, purpose for entering the United States, whether they intend to become a U.S. citizen or return to their previous country of residence, and their head tax status. Additionally, the form provides the name and address of the friend or relative that the alien intended to join, any accompanying persons, and the name and address of the alien’s nearest relative or friend in their country of origin. If the alien had been in the U.S. previously, the form lists the dates and places of their previous residence or visitation. If a person entered with other family members, their card may have limited information with the note “see [name]” of the person whose card contained all the details. In cases where the alien had appealed a decision to deport or bar them from entering the United States, additional information may be available.

North Dakota Land Records

U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908
3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds) granted by the Federal Government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), military bounty land warrants, private land claims, railroad grants, school grants, and swamp grants. Additional items of information included in the tract books are as follows: number of acres, date of sale, purchase price, land office, entry number, final Certificate of Purchase number, and notes on relinquishments and conversions.

North Dakota Land Patents

North Dakota Military Records

Military Records
Dakota Forts
List of colonial forts, trading posts, named camps, redoubts, reservations, general hospitals, national cemeteries, etc., established or erected in the United States from its earliest settlement to 1902.
- Dakota Territory Frontier Forts Prior to 1902
Revolutionary War Records
- 1840 Pensioners Census
- Revolutionary War Pension Records
Civil War Records
- North Dakota Civil War Battlefield Map
- 1st North Dakota Volunteers
  Database sourced with permission from The Boys: 1st North Dakota Volunteers in the Philippines, by John Durand.
- Civil War Pensions Index Cards
  Each card gives the soldier’s name, unit, the application number, the certificate number and the state from which the soldier served. In some cases, the soldier’s rank, terms of service, date of death and place of death are given. The index cards refer to pension applications of veterans who served in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917. The majority of the records pertain to Civil War veterans, but they also include veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, Indian wars, and World War I.
World War I Records
- World War 1 Draft Registration Records
World War II Records
- World War 2 Casualties – Army, Air Force
- North Dakota Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard World War II Casualty List
Korean War Casualty List
Vietnam War Casualty List

North Dakota Native American Records

North Dakota Newspapers and Periodicals

North Dakota Obituaries

Fargo Forum Obituary Index
The indexing of Fargo Forum newspaper obituaries is an ongoing project of the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies. The time period completed includes from October 1892 to 1909 and from November 1982 to 1995. In addition partial indexing has been done for other years. The database currently contains over 70,000 names. Additional obituaries continue to be added on a regular basis.

North Dakota Vital Records

North Dakota Vital Records
Cass County, North Dakota Divorce and Civil Case Index, 1870-1942
The Cass County, N.D. civil and divorce case files, spanning from the 1870s to 1942, were transferred to the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies in 2001. This database, developed by the Institute, indexes over 3,300 cases handled in Cass County District Court. Individual entries include names of the plaintiff and defendant, attorneys, dates of proceedings, and miscellaneous notes.
Cass County, North Dakota Marriage License Index, 1872-1944
The NDSU Institute for Regional Studies developed this database to all marriage licenses recorded in Cass County, N.D. between circa 1872 and July 1944. The original licenses are available at the Institute. Since marriage licenses were not required until 1887, many prior marriages will not be documented in the county records.