Benton County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa  Benton County

Guide to Benton County Iowa genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Benton County Courthouse 111 E. 4th St. P. O. Box 719 Vinton, IA 52349-1771

(319) 833-3012

Benton County

Parent County
1837--Benton County was created 21 December 1837 from Dubuque County. Benton County was attached to Jackson and Linn Counties prior to organization 1 March 1846. County seat: Vinton

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Iowa County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Iowa County Boundary Maps" (1816-1872) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss
1853 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For a list of record loss in Iowa Counties see: Iowa Counties with Burned Courthouses

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Populated Places
For a list of cities and townships go to hometownlocator.com or wikipedia.org.

Neighboring Counties
Black Hawk • Buchanan • Iowa • Johnson • Linn • Poweshiek • Tama

Census
Iowa recorded not only the federal census but state census through out the years too. The state census contains very valuable genealogical information. Where the census information can be found, what years it was taken, mortality schedules, census substitutions and much more is discussed in the very informative Iowa Census article.

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, El Dorado, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa

Civil War

 * - 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G
 * - 8th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 13th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G
 * - 16th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
 * - 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
 * - 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies A and D
 * - 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Cedar Rapids newspapers and Waterloo newspapers that may have included Benton County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Iowa Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers



 * Belle Plaine Iowa Family History Center 1st Ave & 16th Belle Plaine IA 52208 United States Location Map

Web Sites

 * Benton County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Benton County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Benton County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)