Iowa Compiled Genealogies

United States Iowa  Iowa Genealogy

Most archives, historical societies, and genealogical societies have special collections and indexes of genealogical value. These collections often contain birth, marriage, and death information, as well as family histories. You may wish to write to these organizations for help in your search. Sometimes their collections must be searched in person.

Nationwide Indexes
You can find information about people of Iowa in important nationwide genealogical indexes listed in the "Census," "Genealogy," and "Periodicals" pages.

Collections and Indexes
See the Biography, History, and Societies pages for important sources containing biographical and genealogical information. For example, the [http://www.iowahistory.org/archives/research_collections/special_collections/special_collections.html#Des%20Moines. State Historical Society in Des Moines] has over 8,000 family genealogies.

Websites

 * Access Genealogy has many links with a wide variety of information.
 * Epodunk has information about all of Iowa's counties.
 * Genealogy Today is a directory with many sources in Iowa.
 * Iowa Genealogy lists some cemeteries, histories, census records and much more.
 * Iowa Genealogy links to record sources online organized by county and record type
 * IAGenWeb The IAGenWeb has many projects to help with research, such as:


 * Family Group Sheets Project
 * Genealogy Message Boards
 * Iowa Gravestone Photos Project
 * History Project
 * in the Civil War
 * Iowa in the Great War
 * Iowa Old Press
 * State Census Project
 * Orphan Trains
 * Iowa WPA Graves Registration Survey


 * Linkpendium is a site with links to infomation for the counties of Iowa.
 * Rootsweb has links county websites, projects, societies and much more.
 * Rootsweb message boards.
 * Rootsweb resource page, connects you to city and town information.
 * Rootsweb United states Iowa resource page has many different links pertaining to Iowa.
 * Volunteers generously give help with their offline Iowa resources.

Pay Websites

 * Ancestry Iowa research site.
 * Fold 3 Iowa research site
 * Godfrey Memorial Library
 * Heritage Quest/ProQuest
 * World Vital Records Iowa research site
 * These sites are provided as a service in 1,450 family history centers in through-out North America. Patrons should contact their local Family History Center to see if this service is available.

Family History Library
The Family History Library also has excellent statewide collections, including the following:


 * The Iowa Genealogical Society Surname Index A digital volume of volume 5 is available from the FHL Catalog entry. These indexes sometimes have names of ancestors back to the 1600s. They list genealogical information for more than 100,000 ancestors of members of the Iowa Genealogical Society.


 * Surname Collection This index of 3" x 5" cards gives information about ancestors of Iowa Genealogical Society members, sometimes back to the 1600s.


 * Surname Index, 1500–1991 The Iowa Genealogical Society has this collection. These cards are similar to the ones in the collection mentioned above.


 * Pioneer Certificates, 1800s–1991 This collection includes pedigree charts, family group forms, wills, marriage records, family histories, and land records. The information is arranged alphabetically.


 * Bible Records 1947-1948


 * Genealogical Collection For information about this extensive collection, including film numbers and a partial index to it, see the "Bible Records" page.


 * Iowa Pioneer Families This publication contains eight volumes prepared in the 1940s and 1950s.
 * Family Record Collection This alphabetical collection contains extensive genealogies, pedigrees, and family histories.


 * Century Farm Applications This work contains applications from the owners of farms whose property had remained within the family for 100 years or longer. These records are arranged by county and then alphabetically by the name of the applicant. The names of previous owners, their relationship to the present owner, and a history of the family now owning the farm are usually given. The original documents are at the State Historical Society in Des Moines.


 * Fifty Year Iowa Farm Families This work contains lists of owners of farms whose property had remained within the family for 50 years or longer. These records are arranged by county and list the name of the owner, the city or town where the farm was located and the year of purchase.


 * Essay Contest, 1923 This is a collection of essays by high school students about their grandparents, old settlers, or their community. It includes an index to ancestors and an index by town and county.


 * Unpublished Genealogies in the Iowa Historical Library This book was prepared in 1968 and is a list of genealogies. It gives the surname of the family, the name of the compiler, the date compiled and the number of pages.
 * Charts and Genealogies of Pioneer Families of Iowa These records are in alphabetical order and were compiled by Mrs. F. A. Gordon. They contain genealogies from the mid 1700s to 1939.

Genealogy sources are listed in the Place Search The Family History Library Catalog under:


 * IOWA - GENEALOGY
 * IOWA, [COUNTY] - GENEALOGY
 * IOWA, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - GENEALOGY

Writing and Sharing Your Family History
Sharing your own family history is valuable for several reasons:


 * It helps you see gaps in your own research and raises opportunities to find new information.
 * It helps other researchers progress in researching ancestors you share in common.
 * It draws other researchers to you who already have information about your family that you do not yet possess.
 * It draws together researchers with common interests, sparking collaboration opportunities. For instance, researchers in various localities might choose to do lookups for each other in remote repositories. Your readers may also share photos of your ancestors that you have never seen before.


 * See also:
 * Create a Family History
 * Writing Your Family and Personal History
 * A Guide to Printing Your Family History