The Minnesota State Archives is housed in the Minnesota History Center in downtown St. Paul. The Archives is part of the Library and Archives Division of the Minnesota Historical Society. The website for all of these parts is at www.mnhs.org. This includes the massive electronic catalog that enables researchers to find book, manuscripts, state and county records, and artifacts. Additional and important finding aids are “in-house.”
To see what MHS might have that relates to your ancestral county just type keywords such as “Winona County” into the catalog search. On the State Archives page, click on recent acquisitions to see the monthly lists of acquisitions for the past year. These list are phenomenal.
A few exciting examples of acquistions, many of which are original records. In many cases, new acquisitions complement original records the state archives already has. Some acquisitions may not be immediately available as processing and cataloging occurs.
November 2007
Rural Credit Department. Contract for deed files (ca. 1920s-1995), county plat maps (ca. 1920s-1930s), and an index (1936) to the contract and deed files and the county plat maps. 4 boxes.
January 2008
- St. Louis County Marriage License Records 1871-1944, on microfilm
- Winona County Courts Records including plaintiff and defendant indexes 1854-1960, index to probate files 1856-1983, and civil case files
June 2008
Adjutant General. World War I bonus records, including warrants paid registers (ca. 1920-1924) which serve as a name index to the World War I paid bonus files, registers (undated) of World War I bonus payments and of Spanish-American War Veterans Relief Payments, and World War I veterans relief record (1931-1941) of the State Auditor. These records were created by the State Auditor, then used by the Adjutant General’s office to administer the World War I bonus program. World War I Bonus Disallowed/Rehearing Files (1921-1922) of the Soldier Bonus Board of Review. World War I Bonus Application Registers (1919-1924) of the Soldiers Bonus Board. 6 boxes, 4 oversize volumes, 1 oversize folder.
© 2008, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
