North Dakota Helpful To Researchers
North Dakota offers more research help to those seeking to document their ancestor’s past there than almost any other state.
Part of the reason is that North Dakota’s history (genealogically speaking) goes back only to the 1850s, so the records are fairly recent.
Some of the credit goes to farsighted historians and archivists who collected and saved the records.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota is in partnership with the North Dakota Heritage Center, located near the state capitol at 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505-0830.
This center, built about 10 years ago, includes a wonderful museum of North Dakota’s past from prehistory times to the 1990s. The state archives are in the Heritage Center and offer a wide range of resources the historian and genealogist can use in-house.
Leaflets, indexes and archives
The center also has a generous by-mail research policy. Leaflets telling of the records and research policies and fees offered by the archives and historical society are free and are sent upon request.
The leaflets include titles to aid in researching land laws, lists of available research materials, tips for newspaper research, property and naturalization records, census and pioneer biography file data and photo archive information.
One important database for genealogists is the North Dakota Death Index. Located in the archives of the Heritage Center in Bismarck, this reference must be used in person or via mail request. It is not available on microfilm.
The list is alphabetical by Soundex and spans the years 1915 to 1989.
Plans are under way to stretch it back to the earlier 1900s and update it to the present. This index gives the full name, age, sex, date of birth, location of residence in North Dakota and the date and county of death.
There are dozens of books in the archives’ library giving information on the thousands of immigrants who flooded into Dakota Territory in the last half of the 1800s. These records are well organized and indexed.
They are matched with naturalization records.
Census records for North Dakota include: 1850 Minnesota, which includes Pembina County in present-day North Dakota; 1860, 1870 and 1880 Dakota Territory (indexed); 1885 Northern Dakota Territory (unindexed); and 1915 and 1925 state censuses (unindexed).
There are also many Indian reservation censuses spanning 1885 to 1939. They also have the 1900 and 1920 federal censuses (indexed by Soundex) and the 1910 census (no index).
Newsletters and research helps
The Education and Interpretation Division of the North Dakota State Historical Society publishes a quarterly newsletter called Plains Talk and sponsors annual workshops and conferences. To be placed on its mailing list, write to it at the address above.
Another interesting research aid is the “Guide to Doing North Dakota Local History,” written by Dr. D. Jerome Tweton. The guide is published by the North Dakota Humanities Council.
This 40-page booklet tells how to get started in North Dakota research and where to find materials. It’s a great beginner’s tool for research in that state.
It’s free and may be requested by calling 800-338-6543.
The Germans from Russia Heritage Society is headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. The group is for descendants of those born in Germany 200 years ago, who later migrated to Russia and then eventually to America.
The group’s library features a 100,000-card obituary file, a 500-volume history library, and a collection of over 6,000 pedigree charts.
If you would like more information on this group, please write to GRHS, 1008 E. Central Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501, or call 701-223-6167.
The Prairie Heritage Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society offers a comprehensive research guide to all beginning genealogists. It’s especially good for those working in North Dakota or having Germans-from-Russia ancestry.
The “Handbook for Researching Family Roots,” by Diane J. Wandler and other members of the Prairie Heritage Chapter, is a nearly 300-page book detailing the steps necessary for research success.
One whole chapter highlights the state historical societies of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Montana and Minnesota. Another chapter tells about the Germans from Russia group and how to research pertinent records. Detailed maps and a lengthy bibliography are included.
This book can be ordered for $18, postpaid, from the Prairie Heritage Chapter, P.O. Box 328, Bismarck, ND 58502-0328.
If your pedigree contains ancestors immigrating into and settling the prairie lands that came to be Dakota Territory and then North Dakota, I encourage you to write to the Heritage Center (address above) and request information to help you.
Not so funny
Today’s not-so-funny laugh comes from a 1932 book that I found in the Garrison Public Library in North Dakota. Author Annie Abel Henderson transcribed the journal of F.A. Chardon, penned between 1834 and 1839 while he was stationed at Fort Clark, a post on the Missouri River about halfway between Minot and Bismarck.
The entry catching my eye read, “31 Mar 1838. Newman and his wife, after six days quarreling and pouting with each other, had a separation. He started down to the Ree (Arikara Indian) camp in quest of another. O may success attend him in the wife line; it is his third since his fall hunt.”
Correction
The address to write to Skeleton Closet was omitted last week. Here it is: P.O. Box 91392, Louisville, KY 40291-1606. Checks may be made to Skeleton Closet.
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review