Winnebago County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Winnebago 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 the Winnebago tribe. The County has Forest City as its seat and the County was created 1847. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

Parent County
1851--Winnebago County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Boone and Webster Counties prior to organization 1 November 1857. County seat:  Forest City

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 •  Kossuth •  Worth •  Faribault County, Minnesota •  Freeborn 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

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Winnebago County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Winnebago County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

Local Histories

 * History of Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago counties, Iowa : together with sketches of their cities, villages and townships; history of Iowa. Springfield, Illinois : Union Pub. Co., 1884. Online at:, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

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

 * Buffalo Center Tribune Archives, Winnebago County (1894-2007)


 * 1955 — Forest City Summit at Ancestry.com ($) — Forest City, IA, USA

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
Lime Creek/Winnebago County Genealogical Society 115 East L. Street Forest City, IA 50436-1630 Telephone:641-585-4542

Websites

 * Winnebago County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Winnebago County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * North Central Iowa Genealogical Society
 * North Central Iowa Genealogical Society