Crawford County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Crawford 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 Harris Crawford. The County has Denison as its seat and the County was created 1837. The County is located in the west area of the state.

County Courthouse
Crawford County Courthouse 1202 Broadway Denison, IA 51442-0423

(712) 263-3045

Crawford County

Parent County
1851--Crawford County was created 1 January 1851 from Pottawattamie County and unorganized territory. It was attached to Shelby County prior to organization 3 September 1855. County seat: Denison

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
Audubon • Carroll •  Harrison •  Ida •  Monona •  Sac •  Shelby •  Woodbury

Biography

 * Biographical history of Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, at Ancestry.com ($)

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

Local Histories

 * Meyers, F. W. History of Crawford County, Iowa : a record of settlement, organization, progress, and achievement. Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1911.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free) ; and at Hathitrust (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at Hathitrust (Free); and at Internetarchive (Free)
 * Biographical history of Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Crawford County history, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

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
Crawford County Genealogical Society Norelius Community Library 1403 1st Avenue S. Denison IA 51442-2014 Website