Minnesota Obituaries

Minnesota’s first newspaper appeared in 1849, and the Minnesota Historical Society has digitized millions of pages through its Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub. Its People Search adds statewide death record indexes.

Recent Minnesota obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in Minnesota are:

• Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
• Pioneer Press (St. Paul)
• Duluth News Tribune
• Post Bulletin (Rochester)
• St. Cloud Times

Legacy.com’s Minnesota page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Minnesota obituaries in historic newspapers

James Goodhue printed the Minnesota Pioneer in St. Paul in 1849, weeks after Minnesota became a territory. By statehood in 1858, papers were spreading along the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, and later along the railroads into the prairie and the north woods.

Minnesota had one of the largest Scandinavian-language presses in the country, including Swedish, Norwegian and Danish papers, along with German, Finnish, Czech and Ojibwe-language publications. These papers often printed obituaries for immigrants who are barely mentioned in English-language papers. Iron Range papers reported mining accidents, and the 1918 Cloquet fire and influenza epidemic both left long lists of the dead.

The Minnesota Historical Society has collected Minnesota newspapers since the territorial period, and its Digital Newspaper Hub makes much of that collection free to search.

Where to find older Minnesota obituaries

Digitized Minnesota newspapers

• Digital Newspapers, Minnesota Historical Society — Free access to the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub and other digitized Minnesota papers.

Obituary and death indexes

• People Search, Minnesota Historical Society — Free indexes including the Minnesota death certificates index from 1908 and older county death records.

Archives and libraries

• Minnesota Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Minnesota newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Minnesota death records

Minnesota death records are public: anyone can get a non-certified copy, while certified copies go to people with a tangible interest. Order from MDH or any county vital records office. MNHS indexes Minnesota death certificates from 1908 onward.

• Minnesota Department of Health, Vital Records — the office that issues Minnesota death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Minnesota — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Minnesota Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Minnesota

• Search the MNHS death index. People Search includes Minnesota death certificates from 1908 and gives the certificate number.
• Try Scandinavian and German papers. Swedish, Norwegian and German papers reported deaths in immigrant communities.
• Any county can help. Minnesota county offices can issue death certificates for deaths anywhere in the state.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions