Winona County Obituary Records

Winona County obituary records and death certificates are available through the county's Vital Statistics office and License Center in Winona, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Death registration in Winona County goes back to 1870, and the county's active MNGenWeb Newspaper Project makes it easier than most counties to search historical obituaries online. This page shows you where to find the records you need.

Winona County Vital Statistics - Death Certificates

Winona County has two locations that handle death certificate requests. The Vital Statistics office is downtown at the courthouse, and a License Center location on Gilmore Avenue also processes vital records. Either location can help with death certificate requests. Records go back to 1870. Bring the full name of the deceased and a year or range of years for the death. Certified copies cost $13 for the first copy and $6 for each additional copy at the same time. Non-certified copies are public records under Minnesota Statutes section 144.225.

The two office locations make it more convenient for county residents to get records. The License Center on Gilmore Avenue may have different hours than the downtown Vital Statistics office. Call ahead to confirm which location is best for your request and what you need to bring.

Minnesota Death Search Index and MDH

The MDH free death index at health.state.mn.us covers deaths statewide from 1997 to the present. Enter a name and get basic results. For Winona County deaths after 1997, the online index is the fastest free starting point. If a match comes up, contact either Winona County office or MDH directly for a certified copy.

For deaths before 1997, contact the Winona County Vital Statistics office or the License Center directly. MDH also accepts mail requests for older records. The MDH vital records page at health.state.mn.us/vitalrecords/death explains the mail request process. The county registrar directory at health.state.mn.us/registrars lists both Winona County vital records locations.

Winona County Newspaper Project

The MNGenWeb project for Winona County includes an active Newspaper Project that indexes historical obituaries from local papers. This is one of the more developed newspaper obituary indexing efforts among Minnesota counties. The project covers many decades of Winona County newspaper obituaries and makes it easier to find death notices for residents who may not have a surviving official death certificate or whose record predates formal registration.

Old Winona newspapers were among the more prolific publishers of detailed obituaries in southern Minnesota. The Winona County Newspaper Project, accessible through the MNGenWeb site, lets you search by name and find references to specific obituaries. You can then look up the full text through the MNHS Newspaper Hub at mnhs.org/newspapers/hub, which has digitized many Winona County papers.

Winona County MNGenWeb Genealogy Resources

The Winona County MNGenWeb project at winona.mngenweb.net is a well-developed volunteer resource with the Newspaper Project, obituary indexes, and genealogy links for the county. The site is free and a strong starting point for historical death research in Winona County.

The MNGenWeb project for Winona County includes the Winona County Newspaper Project, which indexes historical obituaries from local newspapers going back many decades.

FamilySearch has a Minnesota vital records guide at familysearch.org explaining the history of death registration in the state. The guide is free and helpful for anyone new to Winona County genealogy research. FamilySearch may also have some Winona County records in its growing collection of digitized historical records.

Winona County Historical Society

The Winona County Historical Society at winonacountyhistory.org holds local history collections including obituary files, family history records, and cemetery surveys. The society's archive covers many decades and draws on local newspapers, family donations, and original documents. For historical deaths in Winona's older neighborhoods or in rural parts of the county, the historical society often has materials not found in official databases.

Cemetery records at the historical society often include names, death dates, ages, and burial locations. These records pair well with official death certificates and newspaper obituaries. If you are researching an older Winona County death and the official record is hard to locate, the historical society is a logical next step.

Minnesota Historical Society Death Records

MNHS holds Minnesota death certificates from 1904 through 2001. Winona County records are part of this collection. The people search at mnhs.org/search/people lets you check for Winona County deaths by name. All records are non-certified copies and are open to the public. The MNHS death records help page at mnhs.org/search/people/about/deathrecords explains what the collection contains and how to access specific records.

The MNHS Newspaper Hub at mnhs.org/newspapers/hub includes digitized Winona-area newspapers. Combined with the Winona County Newspaper Project at MNGenWeb, this gives researchers good coverage of historical obituaries going back into the 1800s. For deaths before 1904 or where no official certificate exists, newspapers are often the best source.

How to Find Winona County Death Records

For deaths from 1997 on, start with the free MDH online death index. For older deaths, contact the Winona County Vital Statistics office or the Gilmore Avenue License Center. Two locations means more flexibility. For historical research, the Winona County Newspaper Project is a unique asset - it's one of the better obituary indexing projects in the state. Use it alongside the MNHS people search and the historical society's archive.

Mail requests to MDH work for those who cannot make it to Winona. Include the full name, approximate year of death, and return address. If you are searching for a death from before 1870, old newspapers and cemetery records are the primary surviving sources. The MNHS newspaper archive covers many Winona papers going back into the 1800s.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Winona County. Each maintains a vital records office for local death certificates and obituary records.