Iowa, Church and Civil Births and Baptisms - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index to selected birth and baptism records. The collection covers the years 1837 to 1987.

Collection Contents
The index contains the following information:


 * Name of child
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Parent's names
 * Film number
 * Digital folder number
 * Image number

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of the child
 * Other identifying information such as the birth date and place or the parents' names.

To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details or lead to other records about your ancestors.

Remember this is only an index. As with any index, transcription errors may have occurred.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for a different index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Related Websites

 * Iowa Birth Records
 * Iowa Department of Public Health

Related Wiki Articles

 * Iowa
 * Iowa Vital Records

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):