Monroe County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Monroe 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 James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. The County has Albia as its seat and the County was created 1843. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

Parent County
1843 Monroe County was created 17 February 1843 from unorganized territory. It was formerly Kishkekosh County, and renamed to Monroe 1 August 1846. It was attached to Wapello and Jefferson Counties prior to organization 1 July 1845. County seat: Albia

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
Appanoose • Davis •  Lucas •  Mahaska •  Marion •  Wapello •  Wayne

African American
Gradwohl, David M.and Nancy M. Osborn Exploring Buried Buxton: archaeology of an abandoned Iowa coal mining town with a large Black population ; 1st ed. Ames:Iowa State university Press, 1984. 207 p. F629.B98 G73 1984

Biography

 * Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe Counties, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

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

Genealogy

 * Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe Counties, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

History
Biographical and Genealogical History of Appanoose and Monroe Counties, Iowa


 * An illustrated history of Monroe County, Iowa : a complete civil, political, and military history of the county, from its earliest period of organization down to 1896.. By Frank Hickenlooper. Albia, Iowa : [s.n.], 1896. Online at:, HathiTrust, Google Books;.
 * An illustrated history of Monroe County, Iowa : a complete civil, political, and military history of the county, from its earle at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Monroe County history, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa
 * David Rumsey Map Collectioon is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures. This Collection features the city of Avery.

Military

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

Civil War

 * - 6th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 8th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
 * - 22nd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company G
 * - 1st Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company H

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.


 * The Monroe County News. 1951-59, 1961-63, 1966-68, and 1970-71. Albia, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * — index and images

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

Vital Records

 * 1898-2015 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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
Monroe County Genealogical Society C/O Albia Public Library 203 Benton Ave E Albia, IA 52531-2036

Monroe County Historical Society &amp; Museum 114 A Ave. East Albia, Iowa 52531 Telephone:641-932-7046