St. Louis County birth and death records are not always accessible to genealogists.  You may find the clerks willing to assist for one or two requests, but due to the volume of work, the clerks are very busy and will suggest you come to the courthouse on Thursday for assistance when an experienced genealogist is here.  There usually is no charge for the service, except for copies.  Here are some suggestions for a trip to the Duluth Courthouse.

1. Please call ahead to be sure the genealogist will be here on that particular Thursday.  There is a sign up sheet located on the front counter of the Recorder’s office.  You may come in and sign up for a one hour time slot or you may phone ahead and request that your name be entered into a particular one hour time slot.
2. Confidential records are still included with some birth books, so please follow the rules and help keep the Duluth courthouse genealogy records open to the public.
3. The genealogist can help you with births, marriages, deaths, civil records and some criminal records.  Also, probate and land records are accessible along with miscellaneous records such as clergy and doctor/dentist licenses.
4. There are NO naturalizations at the courthouse.  District, County and City Court naturalizations are at the Duluth Public Library on microfilm.  The Federal Courthouse in Duluth has an index to only federal naturalizations.
5. When writing to the genealogist, please be sure to include as much as possible of the following:  Date of the event (approximate), full name, parent’s name (the older birth records are indexed according to the father’s name), nationality, place of the event.  Please include your name and address.

The genealogist will do three record searches per request free.  However, if you have a bigger research request, the following rates apply:  $15.00 per hour includes searches for births, marriages, deaths, probate, and civil court.  Extra costs apply for copies as follows:

• Payable to the County Recorder: Certified birth certificate - $16.00; non-certified birth certificate - $13.00; certified death certificate - $13.00; non-certified death certificate - $13.00; marriage certificate - $9.00; land record documents - $3.00 per document (with some exceptions).
• Payable to the Court Administrator:  Probate (plain copy) - $5.00 per document, civil (plain copy) - $5.00 per document or $10.00 per document certified.

Please direct your inquiries to the St. Louis County Recorder’s Office, P.O. Box 157, Duluth, MN  55801-0157 or call 218-726-2559 or e-mail at genealogy@co.st-louis.mn.us

Helpful Genealogy Links:

St. Louis County Minnesota Genealogy Web Project

Minnesota Genealogy Web Project

US Genealogy Web Site