Calhoun County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Calhoun 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 John C. Calhoun. The County has Rockwell City as its seat and the County was created 1855. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Calhoun County Courthouse P. O. Box 273 Rockwell, IA 50579-0273

(712) 297-8122

Calhoun County

Parent County
1851--Calhoun County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was formerly Fox County, until the name changed 22 January 1853. It was attached to Green and Boone Counties prior to organization 7 November 1855. County seat: Rockwell 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
1884 Courthouse was destroyed by fire.

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
Buena Vista • Carroll •  Greene •  Pocahontas •  Sac •  Webster

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

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

Local Histories

 * Black, Murl O. Calhoun County pioneer history : a sesquicentennial slice for a county with one traffic light. Lohrville, Iowa : M.O. Black, 1995.
 * Online at FammilySearch (Free)
 * Past and present of Calhoun county, Iowa : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement. Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co., 1915.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Internetarchive (Free) and at Googlebooks (Free)

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.


 * Lake City Graphic. 1956, 1975 Lake City, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * Jewell Record. 1938 Jewell, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

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
Calhoun County Genealogical Society 426 5th St. Rockwell City, IA 50579-1415

Calhoun County Historical Society 855 Richmond Street Rockwell City, IA 50579-1816 Telephone:712-297-5731