Red River Valley Genealogical Society

RRVGS volunteers do research for members and non-members alike. All fees are collected before research begins and go directly towards the operating costs of the Library. As a private library, we receive no tax dollars and so depend on our members and those that use our services and buy our publications to keep our doors open.

We do not research in county courthouses as county offices have their own staff that will look up the information you have requested.

We cannot guarantee results but promise to do our best to fill your request. Please include complete contact information with each request including your complete mailing address and email address.

Payment is accepted by personal check, money order or by PayPal to rrvgs@fargocity.com, Paying with cash through the mail is discouraged.

These are the search services we provide:

Genealogical Records Search
Cemetery Headstone Transcription Search
Funeral Home Records Search
Obituary Search
North Dakota Naturalizations Records Search

RRVGS volunteers will search the appropriate RRVGS holdings for a minimum fee of $30 for two hours of research, $15 for each additional hour.

Please include $30.00 initally to cover the basic searches and based on what we can find, we will email you with the information you wanted or an update as to additional hours required to complete your request. You can then determine if you would like us to continue or modify your request. We look forward to working on your family history and thank you for choosing our society to do this most important work.

RRVGS has hand-copied, transcribed and published books of headstone inscriptions for various Minnesota and North Dakota counties. This information was collected by walking each cemetery and writing down the information found on each headstone, in the order the stones were found.

Volunteers will search our published cemetery transcription books for a specific surname. For a complete list of the counties covered by these books click on the RRVGS Publications for Sale tab.

The surnames are indexed at "http://www.ndgenweb.org/table.htm To begin this search your request must include these three things: county name, page number and surname.

The fee is $2/page for each surname. We do request that the payment be made in advance. For requests mailed to the Society please include a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope.

If you do not know the county for the cemetery of your relative and it is in our service area, you could still request a manual search by our volunteers of our cemetery and other records for an initial cost of $30 for the first two (2) hours and $15 for each additional hour.

Note: Now you can use our Genealogical Records Search if County is Unknown

RRVGS has photocopied, with permission, the records from several area funeral homes and has produced indexes to these records. Seven indexes are listed on this web page please click on the RRVGS Funeral Home Indexes button to access.

Funeral home records may include information about cause of death, names of parents, details of the funeral arrangements, names of survivors.

Volunteers will search for the record and copy the page for you. To begin the search you must provide the deceased's name, the county name, the town name, the year of death and the identification number as found in the index.

The fee for this search is $5 and includes a copy of the record.

Note: Clik here for our Funeral Home Indexes!

RRVGS has clipped obituaries published in the local newspaper, the Fargo Forum since November 1975 to date. Fees for this search are based on the information you provide. If an obituary is found a copy will be sent. If no obituary is found you will be informed.

$5/ obituary applies if name and day, month and year of death are provided for an obituary published after November 1975. The $10 fee will be required if you need page and column number for your documentation.

$10/obituary applies if the obituary occurred before November 1975 and you provide the name, day, month and year of death. Each obituary in this category is documented as to page and column.

Note: Clik here for our Online Obituary Request!

$30/2 hours applies when the date of death is not known. You must order a Genealogical Records Search with a minimum charge of $30 for two hours. $15 each additional hour. When you order an obituary in this category please specify obituary as your research objective on the Genealogical Research form.

The following counties are available: Barnes, Cass, Griggs, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, and Traill.

Naturalization records document the citizenship of your immigrant ancestor. Naturalization records are among the most useful to learn about an immigrant ancestor in North Dakota. (Sorry, we have no access to South Dakota naturalization records.) There are two kinds of records. The first kind is called the "Declaration of Intent" and the second kind is the "Petition for Naturalization." To initiate this search please send your ancestor's name, N.D. county of residence and approximate date of immigration. Fee is $5 for each Declaration of Intent and $5 for each Petition.

Note: Now you can use our Online Naturalization Record Request!