Genealogy and Biography

In 2001 the Cass County (N.D.) District Court transferred its civil case files covering from the 1870s to 1942 to the Institute for Regional Studies Archives. Included in the civil cases were the divorce proceedings handled in the Cass County District Court. The divorce cases were identified within the civil cases and removed to form a separate collection. The sixty-four linear foot collection of divorce files is fully processed and arranged by case number. The earliest divorce case dates from 1878. The divorce case files at the Institute span from the beginning of the administering of divorce proceedings in Cass County in the 1870s through 1942. Individual files vary as to the type and number of documents and the information included. A typical file includes legal documents filed with the court: testimony, depositions, final decree and occasionally evidence such as photographs, letters and artifacts. Of particular interest are the divorce proceedings prior to July 1, 1899. Prior to that date the residency requirement to begin divorce proceedings was ninety days. Thus many individuals from other states, particularly eastern states, and even from foreign countries traveled to Fargo to take up residency in order to obtain a divorce. A database to the litigants and attorneys was developed to aid the researcher in using these records. The database was developed by the Institute staff, using the original index ledgers and verifying against the actual files. The original indexes are maintained at the Institute. The database contains data for over 32,100 cases handled in Cass County District Court. For records after 1942, contact the Cass County Clerk of Court office, 211 9th Street South, Fargo ND 58103. While adoption cases may show up in the index, these cases were returned to the Cass County Clerk of Court's office.

Access and Ordering Copies

The Cass County divorce cases are open for public use in the Institute for Regional Studies Archives Research Room. Photocopying is available. Mail and e-mail photocopy requests are also welcome at a minimum charge of $5.00 per divorce file. Due to the varying number of documents in a particular case the final cost can only be determined upon staff inspection of the actual case file and its contents. The minimum charge of $5.00 includes up to 25 pages of photocopying. Copies over 25 pages cost 40 cents per page. A price quote will be provided upon request. Mail and e-mail requests should include the name of the people involved and the case number, as found in the database. For e-mail requests please be sure to include your postal address.

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

Update History

• Database mounted September 2005 (32,149 records).

With the change of status for the Clerk of District Court position in North Dakota, the handling of marriage licenses in Cass County was transferred to the Treasurer's Office as of January 1, 2001. The older records, 1870s-July 1944, were transferred to the Institute for Regional Studies Archives. This database was developed by the Institute for Regional Studies Archives staff, using the original index ledgers and verifying against the actual documents. It contains data on over 15,000 marriages performed in the county. For records after July 1944, please contact the Cass County Treasurer, 211 9th Street South, Fargo ND 58103. The North Dakota GenWeb Project has listed the contact information for other pre-1925 North Dakota marriage records on their website. The marriage licenses at the Institute for Regional Studies Archives span from the beginning of the recording of marriages in Cass County in the 1870s through July 1944. The issuing of marriage licenses was not required until 1887, although documentation for some earlier marriages was filed with the county. If a known marriage in Cass County is not found in the database, likely the only place it is recorded is in the records of a church or clergyman's papers. Individual licenses vary as to the type of documents and information included. The earliest documents are simply written statements by the clergyman or justice of the peace who performed the marriage. Only later are there forms that had to be completed and that required additional data be provided. The names of the parents of the groom and bride were asked only for several years in the early 1890s.

Ordering copies

The Cass County marriage licenses are open for public use in the research room of the Institute for Regional Studies Archives. Photocopying is available. Mail and e-mail (ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu) photocopy requests are also available at a charge of $5.00 per marriage license, which includes a copy of the license and any supporting documents found in the file. Mail and e-mail requests should include the license number and names of the bride and groom. For e-mail requests please be sure to include your postal address.

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

Update History

• Database mounted April 2002

In 2003 and 2008 the Cass County (N.D.) District Court transferred its probate case files to the Institute for Regional Studies. They spanned the years circa 1876 to 1949. The files were inventoried and a database to the names developed to aid researchers. The database was developed by the Institute for Regional Studies staff, using the original index ledgers and verifying against the actual files. The original indexes are maintained at the Cass County Clerk of Court office. The original database contained data for over 5,100 probate cases handled in Cass County Probate Court.

In 2009 additional probate records for the period of 1949 to the end of 1951 were transferred to the Institute. These files were indexed and added to the online database in May 2010. For probate files after 1951, please contact the Cass County Clerk of Court office, 211 9th Street South, Fargo, ND 58103.

The probate case files at the Institute for Regional Studies span from the beginning of the administering of probate proceedings in Cass County in the 1870s to  the end of 1951. Individual files vary as to the type and number of documents and the information included. A typical file includes legal documents filed with the court, appointment of administrator, any will, proof of publication notices, inventories, bills, receipts, etc. Of special note, a number of the probate files are for individuals residing elsewhere, but apparently had property in Cass County.

Access and Ordering Copies

The Cass County probate records are open for public use in the research room of the Institute for Regional Studies. Photocopying is available. Mail and e-mail photocopy requests are accepted at a minimum charge of $5.00 per probate file. Due to the varying number of documents in a particular case the final cost can only be determined upon staff inspection of the actual case file and its contents. The minimum charge of $5.00 includes up to 25 pages of photocopying. Copies over 25 pages cost 40 cents per page. An estimate to the number of pages will be provided if requested. Mail and e-mail requests should include the name of the person and the PH/Case Number, as found in the on-line database.

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

Update History

• Database mounted September 2003
• Database enhanced with date and place of death, May 2004
• Additional records added, October 2004 (5,234 total records)
• 670 additional probate records added May 20, 2009 (5,904 total records)
• 285 additional probate records added May 28, 2010 (6,189 total records)

The Dakota Territory 1885 Census database was developed by the Institute for Regional Studies Archives. It contains over 151,500 names for the northern half of Dakota Territory at that time. Extracting the census data has been a cooperative project involving Jane Skjei of the Institute; George Barron of Jamestown, N.D.; Donald Smith of Mandan, N.D.; and Carol Norsby. Schedules have survived for fifty of the fifty-six counties that existed in the northern half of Dakota Territory. All fifty counties are now indexed and contained in this database. The missing county schedules include Boreham, De Smet, Flannery, Hettinger, Sheridan and Stevens. Each entry includes: name, age, nativity, occupation, county of residence, and exact location of the entry in the census schedule. The census is available on microfilm at the Institute (Microfilm HA631 1885 .D34). The Mortality and Civil War veterans schedules were also extracted, but are not presently included in this database. The original census is preserved at the State Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck. Also available on microfilm at the Institute are the county schedules which survived for southern Dakota Territory, now South Dakota. They include Beadle, Butte, Charles Mix, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Hand, Hutchinson, Hyde, Lake, Lincoln, Marshall, McPherson, Moody, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Stanley, and Turner counties. (Microfilm HA631 1885.D34 1971). An index for the southern counties, South Dakota 1885, was published in 1981 by Accelerated Indexing Systems International. The Institute does not have a copy of this index; please contact a library in South Dakota. Printed indexes were published by the Institute of the 1885 census for the City of Fargo and the following North Dakota counties: Barnes, Cass, Griggs & Steele, Nelson & Ramsey, Richland, and Traill. Copies are available for use at the Institute Research Room.

Ordering Copies

The Institute does offer a fee-based copy service of the original census pages from the microfilm. The cost is $5.00 per family group appearing on the census, which includes mailing and handling. You can obtain copies of the census found through the index by contacting the Institute via e-mail ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu or regular mail. If a request is sent via e-mail be sure to include your postal address. Also include the citation information as listed on the index results (Name, ED number, and County).

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

Update History

• Mounted February 1998
• Cass County records enhanced 2003
• Grand Forks County records added October 2004 (151,588 total records)
• Traill County records enhanced September 2005
• Richland County records enhanced March 2007

Fargo Forum Newspaper Index (searching general newspaper articles)

The Forum Obituaries database currently contains over 76,000 names for obituaries published in the Fargo Forum and The Forum for the years Nov. 1891 - mid Jan. 1911 and Nov. 1982 through 1995. Most obituaries are for persons who lived in or were affiliated with eastern North Dakota or northwestern Minnesota. This database includes the name, age (or year of birth), city, issue date, newspaper edition, and page number, if known, of the deceased. The date of death is not given. Obituaries after 1995 can be searched as part of In-Forum Archives. Included in the database are obituaries from the Daily Argus from Sept. 1891 through Dec. 1892.

Some indexing has also been done for general articles in The Forum (Fargo Forum) as well as some other early Fargo newspapers; consult the link above to search this separate database.

To obtain obituaries from other North Dakota newspapers, contact the State Historical Society of North Dakota, State Archives, Bismarck, ND 58505-0830. They are the official repository for state newspapers. A complete listing of all North Dakota newspapers in their collection is available on-line.

Ordering Copies

Please provide name, Forum issue date, and page number. The cost is $5.00 per obituary which includes mailing and handling. You can obtain copies of the obituaries found through the index by contacting the Institute via e-mail ndsu.library.archives@ndsu.edu or regular mail.  If a request is sent via e-mail be sure to include your postal address. Also include the full citation of the obituary as found in the index search results. For years not yet indexed, we will search for an obituary, however we need the complete date of death in order to search issues of the Forum.

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

The following sites can be used to locate an exact death date for deaths occurring in the Fargo-Moorhead area:

• North Dakota Death Index 
• Minnesota Death Index
• Social Security Death Index

Update History

• First mounted September 1996.
• 3,387 new obituary entries for Jan. 1901 to August 1902, and January to July 1984 added November 2002.
• 1,861 new obituary entries for August to December 1984 added April 2003.
• 2,641 new obituary entries for 1903-1904 added November 2003. (57,184 total entries)
• 2,612 new obituary entries for 1895 - July 1899 added Dec. 2004 (59,796 total entries)
• 6,365 new obituaries for 1894, 1900-1902 & 1983 added September 30, 2005 (66,161 total entries)
• 1,679 new obituaries for Oct. 1892 - Dec. 1894, & Nov.-Dec.1982 added March 20, 2006 (67, 840 total entries)
• 1,609 new obituaries for Feb. 1905-Aug.1906 added Oct. 5, 2006 (69,449 total entries)
• 1,257 new obituaries for Sept. 1906-July1907 added Aug. 20, 2007 (70,706 total entries)
• 1,067 new obituaries for July 1907-April 1908 added April 3, 2008 (71,773 total entries)
• 1,725 new obituaries for April 12, 1908-August 10, 1909 added February 19, 2009 (73,497 total entries)
• 2,453 new obituaries for August 11, 1909-January 16, 1911 added March 22, 2010 (75,950 total entries)
• 793 new obituaries for August 28, 1891-Dec. 31, 1892 of the Daily Argus; and November 17, 1891-Oct. 26, 1892 of the Fargo Forum & Daily Republican added March 9, 2011 (76,743 total entries)
• 706 new obituaries for September 17, 1888-September 20, 1889, and March 9, 1891 - August 27, 1891 of the Daily Argus added September 28, 2011 (77,449 total entries)

The North Dakota Biography Index (NDBI) is the best place to begin a search for information about North Dakotans, both living and deceased. Searching NDBI will enable you to quickly determine which publication to consult for biographical information. The total number of biographical sketches indexed by NDBI is now over 243,000 found in 832 publications. The North Dakota Biography Index began as a unique card file index to published biographies found in 314 publications that was compiled by Allen Petersen of Fargo, N.D. and acquired by the Institute for Regional Studies Archives in 1980. In 1993 the Institute staff began to automate the card file. Only in 1999 was the data from all the cards entered, making the public release of NDBI possible. Since then the Institute staff has continued to expand the data file by indexing all books published after 1980. All North Dakota county histories have been indexed and work is nearing completion to include all North Dakota community histories. Scope Publications indexed in NDBI are of several types:

• Biographical dictionaries and who's who
• County and community histories
• WPA biography files
• Church and business histories, atlases, and special historical newspaper editions
• Several periodicals rich in biographical material including The Record and Western Womanhood
• Annual proceedings of organizations and church denominations

Sources not indexed in NDBI:

• Family histories and genealogies
• Periodical and serial articles
• Books of biography about a single individual
• Newspaper obituaries

NDBI indexes only actual biographical sketches. The mere mention of a name does not warrant inclusion in the index. However, biographical sketches do vary widely in content, length and quality. While every effort has been made to ensure the reliability of the information presented in this index, the Institute cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data contained herein. The Institute staff is well aware that there are errors in the publications being indexed and in the transcription process. We encourage individuals to report any errors and missing data. We strive to make the North Dakota Biography Index as accurate as possible.

Future Indexing

The addition of page numbers and life dates to entries will be an ongoing project by the Institute staff, as will be proofing and editing all entries and verifying the card data with the actual publications. As well, indexing of newer publications will be included as time and funds allow. Should users of NDBI find pre-1981 North Dakota publications that have not been indexed, please let the Institute staff know about them so they may be included in this database. Volunteers wanting to index additional publications are welcome and should contact the Institute staff before beginning.

Ordering Copies

Users may make copies of desired biographical sketches from publications located at the Institute for Regional Studies Archives. Other North Dakota libraries or archival repositories also may have copies of the cited publications. Please consult their catalogs for availability. The Institute does offer a fee-based copy service for the public. The cost is $5.00 per biographical sketch (not per person) which includes mailing and handling. You can obtain copies of the biographies found through the index by contacting the Institute via e-mail (ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu) or regular mail. If a request is sent via e-mail be sure to include your postal address.  Also include the full citation of the biographical sketch as listed in the index.

To place an order please consult our ordering information page.

Update History

• First mounted February 2000.
• Expanded and enhanced, January 2001.Expanded and enhanced, September 2002. 
• Expanded and enhanced, October 2003.(160,516 records) 
• Expanded, sketches from 66 county atlases, mounted Dec. 2004 (171,057 total records found in 623 publications) 
• 14,221 new entries from 38 publications added, mounted Sept. 2005 (185,278 total records in 661 publications) 
• 7,467 new entries from 29 publications added, mounted February 1, 2006 (192,735 total records in 690 publications) 
• 10,170 new entries from 19 publications added. Mounted June 27, 2006 (202,905 total entries in 719 publications) 
• 8,891 new entries from 22 publications added. Mounted Oct. 4, 2006 (211,796 total entries in 741 publications) 
• 3,718 new entries from 1 publication "People of Bottineau County" added. Mounted March 19, 2007 (215,514 total entries in 742 publications) 
• 3,717 new entries from 20 publications added. Mounted Aug. 20, 2007 (219,231 total entries in 762 publications) 
• 11,740 new entries from 25 publications added. Mounted June 2008 (230,971 total entries in 787 publications) 
• 9,923 new entries from 32 publications added. Mounted Sept. 24, 2008 (240,894 total entries in 819 publications) 
• 9,321 new entries from 10 publications added. Mounted May 20, 2009 (250,215 total entries in 828 publications) 
• 1,534 new entries from 2 publications added. Mounted May 28, 2010 (251,749 total entries in 830 publications) 
• 922 new entries added, and 9,244 duplicate entries deleted. Mounted Sept. 20, 2010 (243,427 total entries in 832 publications) 
• 5,095 new entries from 33 publications added. Mounted on Sept. 28, 2011 (248,522 total entries in 865 publications) 
• 7,955 new entries from 22 publications added. Mounted on Sept. 24, 2014 (256,477 total entries in 887 publications)