This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Mahoney Hennessy Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/UGB.2ACE/653.1 Message Board Post: You're right - you need to know which county. Some ideas, which you may have tried already: 1. Searching census record index info to locate the family, which would lead you to the county. 2. Birthplace sometimes is found on death certificates and marriage licenses, or in an obituary. I am searching for information in Dakota County, and found that birth records weren't kept by that county until 1870. This may vary by county. 3. Any information on occupation of his father and reading up on MN history might lead you to a general area, which would narrow your search. Good luck.