Worth County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Worth County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for William Jenkins Worth. The County has Northwood as its seat and the County was created 1851. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

History
Named for Major General William Jenkins Worth ((March 1, 1794 – May 7, 1849), an officer in both the Black Hawk War and the Mexican-American War. Worth county has fertile farmland, used mainly for producing grains, corn and soybeans. Wind turbines dot the landscape along the beautiful rolling prairie that comes to rest near the Shell Rock River.

Parent County
1851--Worth County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Fayette, Chickasaw, and Mitchell Counties prior to organization 13 October 1857. County seat:  Northwood

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.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties
Cerro Gordo • Hancock •  Mitchell •  Winnebago •  Freeborn County, Minnesota •  Mower County, Minnesota

Census
State Census
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1915 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1925 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Lutheran
First Lutheran Church, Northwood


 * Records of the First Lutheran Church, Northwood, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Worth County


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

Local Histories

 * History of Mitchell and Worth counties, Iowa. By J. F. Clyde and H. A. Dwelle. Chicago : S. J. Clarke, 1918. Online at:, Google Books;.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa

Military

 * 1835-1998 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1862-1910 - at FamilySearch — index

Civil War
Civil War service men from Worth County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Worth County.


 * - 15th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company K

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Northwood Anchor

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1758 - 1997 Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Taxation

 * 1934-1958 - at FamilySearch — index

Births

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1921-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriages

 * 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Deaths

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1904-1951 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Worth County Historical Society 917 Central Ave. Northwood, IA 50459 Telephone:641-324-1180 E-mail: [mailto:president@worthhistory.org president@worthhistory.org] Website

Websites

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