Iowa Cultural Groups

Immigrants began to settle in Iowa around 1833. The Family History Library has many books about the different ethnic groups that settled in Iowa, including Amish, Danish, Dutch, German, and Swedish immigrants. These books may contain biographical information about individuals, groups that immigrated together, and ministers who immigrated with members of their church congregation.

Ethnic Groups of Iowa
Czech, Bohemian, and Slovak

Danish, Dutch, English, Germans,Irish, Italians, Lyuxemburgers, Norwegians, Swedish, Swiss, Welch

Publications for above groups listed in National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Vol 102, No. 4, December 2014. Genealogical Research in Iowa. by Marieta A. Grissom. pp. 263-306.

An excellent bibliography about the different immigrant groups is:


 * Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources Contains bibliographies and background information on history and ethnic groups. Also contains maps and tables showing when each county was create


 * Iowa History Reference Guide


 * Iowa History and Culture: A Bibliography of Materials Published Between 1952 and 1986. (Cited fully in the "For Further Reading" section of this article.)

For books about ethnic groups, see the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * IOWA - MINORITIES
 * IOWA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- MINORITIES

African Americans
See African American Resources for Iowa.

There were relatively few African Americans in Iowa before the Civil War. For a list of books and articles about slavery in early Iowa, see pages 5–6 of:


 * Iowa in the Civil War: A Reference Guide.

The African American Museum of Iowa

55 12ths Avenue SE

Cedar Rapids 52401

Phone: 1-319-862-2101

The State Historical Society of Iowa at Iowa City has: records of the Iowa Assocation of Colored Women's Clubs 1903-72. Also known as the Iowa Federation of Colord Women's Clubs.

www.blackiowa.org