Iowa Bible Records

Bibles were often given to a bride as a wedding gift, and families often recorded information in them about their immediate family and close relatives. Bible records may include birth, marriage, and death dates; parents’ names’ and names of children and their spouses, including maiden names. The age of a person may be given at the time of death. Many families kept Bible records from 1850 to more recent times; however, few records have survived. Some have been donated to local libraries or societies or you may need to contact descendants to locate the family Bible.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have transcribed some Iowa Bible records.Some are included in:

Daughters of the American Revolution (Iowa). Bible Records. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971. (FHL film 851218 item 6).

Daughters of the American Revolution (Iowa). Genealogical Collection. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971. (FHL films 850405-409, 851208-220, 850411-2.) This collection, filmed at the DAR Library in Washington, DC, consists of probate (transcripts), obituary, Bible, cemetery, church, marriage, and death records. The collection is in several parts and is listed in the Family History Library Catalog in the "Author-Title Search" under Daughters of the American Revolution (Iowa). The volumes are generally arranged by county, and many have individual indexes. A surname index to the above collection is:

Kirkham, E. Kay. An Index to Some of the Bibles and Family Records of the United States: 45,500 References as Taken from Microfilm at the Genealogical Society of Utah. Logan, Utah: Everton Publishers, 1984. (FHL book 973 D22kk v.2; fiche 6089184.) For records from Iowa, see part two, pages 51–65. This work is a partial surname index to the DAR Genealogical Collection.

The State Historical Society of Iowa (see address in "Archives and Libraries" section of this outline) has copies of the DAR Genealogical Collection in 85 volumes. The society also has a short reference guide that indicates which volumes contain information about specific counties. This guide is available at the Family History Library:

Some Iowa Vital Records. Des Moines, Iowa: Iowa Historical Society Library, 1961. (FHL Book 977.7 A3h, fiche 6050306)

Iowa. State Department of History and Archives. Iowa Family Bible Records, A– Z. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978. (FHL film 1023889 items 2–9.) The original records are in Des Moines at the State Historical Society of Iowa, where they have a large collection of family Bible records.

Burgess, Jo Ann, and Rita Goranson, comps. Bible Records from Iowa Libraries and Museums. Five volumes. Iowa: N.p., 1977. (FHL book 977.7 D29b v. 1; film 1036785 item 3.) These volumes contain transcripts of Bible records in genealogical periodicals and books. There is an index to volumes 1–3 in:

Wimberly, Vera Meek. Bible Records. Conroe, Texas: Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, 1980. (FHL book 977.7 D29b index)

Many Bible records are published in periodicals. In the "Periodicals" section of this outline, see PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Other collections and transcriptions of Bible records are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

IOWA - BIBLE RECORDS