Buena Vista County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Buena Vista 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 Battle of Buena Vista. The County has Storm Lake as its seat and the County was created 1851. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Buena Vista County Courthouse 215 E. 5th St. P. O. Box 1186 Storm Lake, IA 50588-1186

(712) 749-2546

Parent County
1851--Buena Vista County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Woodbury County prior to organization 20 November 1858. County seat:  Storm Lake

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
1877 Courthouse burned on January 1, 1877 and most records were destroyed.

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
Calhoun • Cherokee •  Clay •  Ida •  O'Brien •  Palo Alto •  Pocahontas •  Sac

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.

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
Buena Vista County


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

Trinity Lutheran Church, Linn Grove


 * Records of the Trinity Lutheran Church, Linn Grove, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Local Histories

 * Eilers, Tom D. Buena Vista's part in the world war : one Iowa county's record of service and sacrifice. Storm Lake, Iowa : Tom D. Eilers, 1920.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Wegerslev, C. H. Past and present of Buena Vista County, Iowa. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1909.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Internetarchive


 * Past and present of Buena Vista County, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Buena Vista County history, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

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

Societies and Libraries
Buena Vista County Genealogical Society 221 West Railroad Storm Lake, IA 50588 Telephone:712-732-7111 E-mail: [mailto:famhisbv@ncn.net famhisbv@ncn.net] Website

Buena Vista County Historical Society 214 West 5th Street Storm Lake, IA 50588 Telephone:712-732-4955 Website

Family History Centers



 * Storm Lake Iowa Family History Center 712 Highway 110, Storm Lake, IA 50588 Location Map

Websites

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