Decatur County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Decatur 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 Stephen Decatur Jr. The County has Leon as its seat and the County was created 1846. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Decatur County Courthouse 207 Main Street Leon, IA 50144-1647

(515) 446-4331

History


The county is named after U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur (1779-1820).

Parent County
1846--Decatur County was created 13 January 1846 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Davis County prior to organization 6 March 1850. County seat: Leon

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
1874 Courthouse was destroyed by fire on March 31 and most records were lost.

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
Clarke • Lucas •  Ringgold •  Union •  Wayne •  Harrison County, Missouri •  Mercer County, Missouri

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

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Garden Grove

Local Histories

 * Howell, J. M. History of Decatur County, Iowa, and its people. Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1915.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at Internetarchive (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at Internetarchive (Free)
 * History of Decatur County, Iowa, and its people at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa

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
 * 1862-1910 - at FamilySearch — index

Civil War

 * - 4th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A
 * - 48th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A :- 48th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C :- 4th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D

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.


 * Leon Journal Record. 1938 Leon, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

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
Decatur County Genealogical Society Lamoni Public Library 301 West Main Lamoni, IA 50140 Telephone:641-784-6686 E-mail: [mailto:lamonipl@grm.net lamonipl@grm.net]

Decatur County Historical Society 100 block of North Main Leon, Iowa 50140 Website