Chalupsky’s Brewery, Silver Lake, 1886 – Courtesy of McLeod County Historical Society

County-Wide Resources

U.S. Bureau of Land Management

The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has General Land Office Records where you can pick the state and county, then type a surname. If an ancestor purchased land, you will likely be able to see the document and details about the land and purchase.

Census Records

United States Census Records

You can find a lot of information about the U.S. Census records on the National Archives website. The U.S. Census was done every ten years from 1790 through 1950. (the site has direct links to census records for 1940 and 1950). FamilySearch and Ancestry also have census records (Ancestry requires a paid subscription).

Minnesota State Census Records

• The first Minnesota Territorial Census was taken in 1849, and was taken again in 1850, 1853, 1855, and 1857.
• After Minnesota became a State in 1858, the Minnesota State Census was taken every 10 years, in years that ended with a 5: 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905. 
• 1905 was the last year of the Minnesota State Census.

General Genealogy Links

The following are websites with general resources and genealogy information about McLeod County:

PGS-MN Newsletter Article

(You will need to scroll down to the page indicated to find the article within the newsletter link)

newsletter	page	title/author
Spring 1997	10	Polish Catholic Churches in Minnesota: Part 2 – Polish Catholic Churches in the Diocese of New UIm (continued) by Paul Kulas

Map

Plat maps are helpful in showing who owned the land that year. Click on the area you are interested in until you get to the detail level with names.

---

Silver Lake

The majority of Poles who immigrated to Silver Lake came from villages in the Poznań area, beginning in the early 1870’s. Some initially settled in Texas before moving north to Silver Lake. With the border changes over the years, some of those villages are now located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian area of Poland (originally in the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship). Soon after the Poles began arriving, Bohemians from the Czech Republic began settling along side of them. The Poles ran the stores, sawmills, flour mill and brewery. The Great Northern Railroad built the railroad which connected Silver Lake to Minneapolis in 1887. This brought even more Poles to the area.

Silver Lake/Hale Township Surnames

Below is a listing of surnames that PGS-MN member, William Graczyk, compiled as he worked on his family history. The names are McLeod County surnames that also showed up in Polish church marriage records. It provides an idea of where some McLeod County couples came from in Poland. You can see that they are from what has been historically known as the Poznan area. This could be especially helpful to those just starting to research their McLeod County ancestors.

Surname	First Names	Surname of Wife	Town where married	County	Voivodeship
Banach	Simon and Michelina	Zielinski	Grylewo	Wagrowiec	Greater Poland
Bielejewski	Vincent and Frances	Cielinaki	Lubcz	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Graczyk	Mathias and Mary	Kilinski	Znin	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Graczyk	Thomas and Francis	Nowak	Znin	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Goranowski	Martin and Elisabeth	Jankowska	Gasawa	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Grygier	Stanislau and Petronella	Marciniak	Rogowo	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Iwinski	Adalbert and Susanna	Chimowska	Koldrab	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Kazmerek	Larenti and Ursula	Siemiatkowska	Jarzabkowo	Gniezno	Greater Poland
Kaspzak	Adam and Anna	Majchrzak	Września	Września	Greater Poland
Kiliniski	Andrew and Cordulla	Brzykca	Gorzyce	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Kilinski	Frank and Magdalea	Gropska	Znin	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Kelpinski	John and Maria	Kwapiszewska	Modliszewko	Gniezno	Greater Poland
Jagodziński	Valenti and Rosalla	Martin	Wyrzysk	Piła	Greater Poland
Januchouski	Adalbert and Mariae	Banach	Grylewo	Wagrowiec	Greater Poland
Jaskowiak	Stanislau and Josepha	Brenk	Sokolniki	Gniezno	Greater Poland
Makowski	Nicolas and Michalina	Safranski	Juncewo	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Malak	Andres and Marcyanna	Sajdok	Brzyskorzystew	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Malak	Valenti and Maria	Janowiak	Gorzyce	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Malak	John and Michalina	Janowiak	Gorzyce	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Malak	Adalbert and Josepha	Ziarnowska	Gora	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Micholicheck	Frank and Agnes	Rominski	Koldrab	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Novak	Valenti and Antonina	Pryl	Gasawa	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Nowakowski	Martin and Mary	Pokomowski	Modliszewko	Gniezno	Greater Poland
Pilarski	Jonnes and Josephine	Piatrazewski	Rogowo	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Pokornowski	Anton and Nepomucena	Mikula	Modliszewko	Gniezno	Greater Poland
Prill	John and Agnes	Bauza	Cerekwica	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Rominski	Stanislau and Agnes	Pural	Trzemeszno Mogilno	Gniezno Mogilno	Greater Poland Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Shimanski	Simon and Hedvigis	Wujek	Zaniemyśl	Sroda	Greater Poland
Soczynski	Jonnes and Nepomucena	Janczewski	Zernicki	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Slanga	Stephan and Anastasia	Wituki	Podlesie Kościelne	Wagrowiec	Greater Poland
Smykalski	Valentine and Josepha	Wenglanka	Zernicki	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Sopkowiak	Adalbert and Marianna	Szymanska	Cerekwica	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Swendra	Andrew and Thecla	Jasinski	Rogowo	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Swendra	Martin and Victoria	Pilarski	Rogowo	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Szafranski	Michael and Catharine	Nowak	Janowiec	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Szubuleski	Antoni and Marianna	Wagner	Wenecja	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Wagner	Anton and Michalina	Pokornowska	Lubcz	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Wendland	Valenti and Agnes	Nowak	Wenecja	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Wituki	Valenti and Agnes	Bianek	Podlesie Kościelne	Wagrowiec	Greater Poland
Wituki	Valenti and Josepha	Slanga	Podlesie Kościelne	Wagrowiec	Greater Poland
Wozniak	Jacob and Marianna	Owczarzonka	Znin	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Zak	Jacob and Marianna	Katamayczonka	Gasawa	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Zak	Peter and Francisca	Bielejeska	Lubcz	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Zarnowski	Stanislau and Anna	Ciabach	Chometowo	Nakło	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Zygmuntowski	Anton and Ursula	Bielejewski	Lubcz	Znin	Kuyavian-Pomeranian

Local History Links

General Genealogy Links

The following are websites with general resources and genealogy information about Silver Lake:

• Wikipedia
• Final Issue of the Silver Lake Leader Newspaper

PGS-MN Newsletter Articles

(You will need to scroll down to the page indicated to find the article within the newsletter link)

Newsletter	page	title/author
Spring 1997	10	Polish Catholic Churches in Minnesota: Part 2- Polish Catholic Churches in the Diocese of New UIm (continued) Parishes in Mcleod County by Paul Kulas
Winter 2003	10	Drobne Echa Article – Installment #3 Silver Lake: From Katolik,1894 by Greg Kishel
Spring 2008	29	My Polish Connections to Silver Lake, Minnesota by William R. Graczyk
Spring 2009	9	Where My Polish Immigrant Ancestors Settled by William R. Graczyk
Summer 2014	1	Missing Records for Polish Ancestors of Silver Lake/Hale, Minnesota William R. Graczyk

Silver Lake Book

title	author	comments
Silver Lake: A History in Pictures	Anthony J. Kadlec, 2012	Link to order the book

Map

---

Hale Township