Cedar County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Cedar County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Cedar County Courthouse 400 Cedar Street Tipton, IA 52772 Phone:(563) 886-2230

History
Formed from sections of Dubuque County on December 21, 1837, Cedar County was named for the Red Cedar River which runs through the county. During the Great Depression, farmers rose in violent protest against state policy. The Cedar County Cow War ensued in 1931.


 * A Topical History of Cedar County, Iowa
 * History of Cedar County, Iowa 1878

Parent County
1837--Cedar County was created 21 December 1837 from Dubuque County. The County seat is Tipton

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



Townships
Cedar County is divided into seventeen townships:

Neighboring Counties
Clinton • Johnson •  Jones •  Linn •  Muscatine •  Scott

Cemeteries

 * Cemetery Locations


 * WPA Website

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 St. John's Lutheran Church, Cedar County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Methodist

 * Methodist Church. West Branch circuit Church Records Contents
 * Baptisms, 1860-1861, 1866-1878 -- marriages, 1866-1877 -- probationers -- alphabetical list of members. Also contains records for Zion Chapel, Brick Chapel, Zion Church, Brick Church, Morris Schoolhouse, McCormick in Cedar and Johnson Counties.

Local Histories

 * Jackson, A. W. An historical sketch of Gower Township, Cedar County, Iowa. [S.l. : s.n.], 1901.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * The History of Cedar County : with a history of Iowa. Chicago, Illinois : Historical Pub. Co., c1901.
 * Vol 1 online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * The History of Cedar County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, town, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion .... Chicago : Western Historical, 1878.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Googlebooks (Free)
 * Aurner, Clarence Ray. A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1910.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Googlebooks (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa
 * Township Map of 1875 Cedar County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)
 * David Rumsey Map Collection is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European settlers included:


 * Mormon Trail 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Military

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

Civil War

 * - 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A
 * - 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies B, C and D
 * - 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I
 * - 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E :- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B :- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C :- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D :- 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I :- 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Cedar Rapids newspapers that may have included Cedar County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

Obituaries

 * Cedar County Obituaries

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1758 - 1997 Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1921-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Cedar County Genealogical Society Box 52 Tipton, IA 52772-0052 Website

Cedar County Historical Society &amp; Museum 1094 Hwy 38 Tipton, IA 52772 Telephone:(563) 886-2899 E-mail: [mailto:cchsmus@netins.net cchsmus@netins.net] Website

Lowden Historical Society Museum and Library 503 Main Street P.O. Box 15 Lowden IA 52255 Telephone:563-944-7700 Website