Here it is; I’m giving away all my secrets! Well, just the obvious ones. Importantly, all are completely FREE. I do not recommend any resources that require payment. Know of any others? Please leave a comment below!
United States
FamilySearch.org – Minnesota, Iowa
Census – FamilySearch (mostly searchable), HeritageQuest (searchable, try to log in thru your local library), Images (download full sets)
Martin Ulvestad’s Nordmændene i Amerika (Norwegians in America, in Norsk but extremely valuable)
Digitalarkivet – United States Census 1860
Historic Map Works – Plat maps, farm directories
Online books – My own favorites
Minnesota
Minnesota Historical Society – Birth Index, Death Index, State Census
Minnesota Official Marriage System
Digitalarkivet – Minnesota, United States Census 1880
FamilySearch – Minnesota State Census
Winona Newspaper Archive – Search or browse Winona papers from 1855-1976; covers Spring Grove and Wilmington (great for obituaries)
Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub – Includes the Caledonia Argus
Giants of the Earth Heritage Center – Cemetery indexes, misc. local resources
Iowa
Winneshiek GenWeb – Cemetery index, marriage index, misc. local resources
Allamakee GenWeb (a.k.a. Sharyl’s Cabin) – Marriage index, misc. local resources
Digitalarkivet – Iowa, United States Census 1880
FamilySearch – Iowa State Census
Norway
Digitalarkivet – Norwegian censuses, emigration records, some indexed church records, miscellaneous other indexed collections. (See this helpful English guide to Digitalarkivet.) Also hosts non-indexed images of Norwegian:
Parish Registers
Probate Records
Real Estate Records
Court Records
Norwegian Historical Data Centre – Alternative census search, parish registers
Norway-Heritage – Passenger lists and emigrant ship schedules
Oluf Rygh’s Norwegian Farm Names – Find the derivation of surnames, locations of farms
Avfotograferte slektshistoriske kilder – Images of local tax, military, legal & census records
Norgeskart – Very detailed map; also contains historical farm maps
Dano-Norwegian to English Dictionary – Dano-Norwegian was the official church language
Cemeteries in Norway – Index of graveyards, some with photos
FamilySearch batch number lookup – Browse or search records indexed in the same batch at FamilySearch.org. Clears away some clutter when searching common names
