Brooklyn Township: Year of Migration

The Minnesota censuses for 1895 and 1905 ask 'What year did you come to Minnesota?' and 'What year did you come to the current precinct?'  So if your ancestors were born out-of-state, and were living in 1895 and 1905, those census records are good clues as to when they migrated.  That is a pro.  A con is that only the head of the family was asked, and a wife's family may have migrated a different year. Another negative is that unfortunately, oftentimes the answers are different between 1895 and 1905; a definite red flag.

An exciting find from the 1880s is a Hennepin County death register that has a column, filled in for some, with heading 'Date of Arrival in Minn'.  For example, Mrs. Norman Jenkins entry states 1851.

Another place to check, besides biographies of course,  is Andreas' 1874 An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota.  It includes listings of patrons (those that contributed to the publication) by county and township.  The headings are Name, Residence (and this is a property description), Business, Nativity (where born), Came to State, and Post Office.   Here is Brooklyn Township:

If the image is not clear, go directly to the image on page 295: An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota posted at Minnesota Digital Library.