Step-by-Step Iowa Research, 1880-Present

Iowa Step-by-step research 1880--present


 * A suggested approach to genealogy research in Iowa family history records.

Step 1. Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What should be asked?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
 * Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews What to Ask the Relatives
 * Genealogy: 150 questions to ask family members about their lives
 * Creating Oral Histories

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.





Using the clues to lead to census record searches.
Let's say that on your parents' home papers you find these two documents: the obituary of your great-grandmother, Vera Norman, and the army discharge papers of your grandfather, Stanley Clifford Norman. She was married in Iowa in 1924, and he was discharged to his home address in Iowa in 1946. So between 1924 and 1946 the family should be found in three census records: the 1925 Iowa State census and the 1930 and 1940 U.S census for Iowa. Here is what we find in those records: We could not locate the family in the 1925 census. These census records nicely confirm the information from the obituary and the discharge papers. Our next goal will be to find Leroy Norman and Vera Morris in earlier census records, 1905, 1910, 1915, and 1920, hopefully listed in the homes of their parents. Norman Family Censuses

Leroy Norman's parents are J. P. or Price J. and Minnie Norman. We also are now able to identify six of their children. We learned that Minnie was born in Germany. We also learned that Price was born in Iowa, and so we should be able to find him living with his parents when earlier censuses were taken.

Morris Family Censuses



We already knew that Vera Norman's parents were James and Maggie Morris, from her obituary. We find her living with them and identify six of their children. We should also go back and find them in the 1930 and 1940 census, but for the sake of brevity, they aren't shown here. Fortunately, James' parents, Joseph and Rachel Morris live in the home also, so we can begin finding them in earlier censuses. Again for the sake of brevity, we will just follow the Norman line at this point.

Earlier Norman Censuses







And so we find that, Price Norman's parents are Michael and Nancy, and we identify many children for them

Step 2. Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day. For each person living in a household you might find (depending on the year) their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military.

*You will want to find and keep notes on census records from every census during each ancestor's lifetime. For example, if your ancestor was born in 1877 and died in 1945, you will want to find them in the 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses.
 * Here is a sample of the 1880 census, which is much simpler:
 * With the census records, you will then be able to estimate approximate birth dates and marriage dates. These records will lead you to new searches because you will find the names of other members of the family. You will find clues to other states and countries your family lived in before coming to Iowa.


 * You can use what you learned from the census records to help you search for birth, marriage, and death records. Possibly the clues you find in the certificates will lead you back to the census records again for new names of family members.


 * With the census records, you will then be able to estimate approximate birth dates and marriage dates. These records will lead you to new searches because you will find the names of other members of the family. You will find clues to other states and countries your family lived in before coming to Iowa.


 * You can use what you learned from the census records to help you search for birth, marriage, and death records. Possibly the clues you find in the certificates will lead you back to the census records again for new names of family members.

Using the census clues to lead to a birth certificate.
Now, we want to try to find important birth records for the various people represented in these census records. Here is just some examples of birth index records.

Using the census clues to lead to a marriage certificate.
In the census records, we identified several Norman and Morris couples. In each case, we do not know from the census record the maiden name of the mothers. So our main purpose for locating records for the three marriages is to establish the identity of the wives. Notice that in each of the following records, that goal is met. In some cases, particularly more recent records, the names of the parents of the bride and groom are given.

Using the census clues to lead to a death certificate.
By studying the census records, and assuming that most people lived to be 65-70 years old, you can decide the time frame where you would expect to see a death certificate. '''It is very important to send for death certificates. Even though you might feel that knowing a death date is not high priority, the death certificate is important because of all the secondary data: birth date and place of the deceased, maiden name of the wife, names of the deceased's parents, birth places of the deceased's parents."

Some of the examples shown above are index entries. That means for each of them an actual, original, full certificate exists. It is highly advisable to order the original certificate. It will contain many details not given in the index. In some cases, the image of the original is found online. Instructions are given below on obtaining the original certificate in other cases.

Step 3: Find birth, marriage, and death certificates for ancestors and their children.
States, counties, or even towns in some states recorded births, marriages, and deaths. In addition to the child's name, birth date, and place of birth, a birth certificate may give the birthplaces of the parents, their ages, and occupations. A death certificate may give the person's birth date and place, parents' names and birthplaces, and spouse's name.

Obtaining the certificates

 * There are basically four ways to find these certificates, or the information from them: by finding them in an online database, by reading a microfilm, by writing to a county courthouse (prior to state civil registration), or by purchasing them through the mail.

Online databases, usually indexes, with some images

 * This chart gives links to some Iowa online databases for these records:

Finding Microfilm Copies of Certificates
Many Iowa state or county birth, death, and marriage records and vital records indexesare available on microfilm through the FamilySearch Library. These may be searched at a FamilySearch center near you. Most notably, you will find:
 * Iowa marriages, ca. 1844-1900
 * Iowa, church and civil marriages, 1837-1989, index.
 * Iowa, county births, 1880-1935, index.
 * Iowa, County death records, 1880-1992, index.
 * Iowa, county marriages, 1838-1934, index.

Many of these microfilms are also available online, as the film description will indicate.

Records at the County Courthouse
From the date of the formation of a county until the establishment of state civil registration, birth and marriage records were kept by the County Clerk. They may have been microfilmed, or you can write for them. It is appropriate to write asking for either a single record or for a list of all the marriages for a given surname. This Letter Writing Guide will help you with phrasing a letter. This online directory by Genealogy Inc. will give you the address of the County Clerk. Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the "Courthouse and Government Records" to find the address and phone number. If you are at the main FamilySearch Library, check first to see if microfilms of the county vital records are available. In the search field of the FamilySearch Catalog, enter the state and county. Then click on the "Vital Records" subject. The cost of renting the microfilms at a FamilySearch Center probably makes it less expensive to just write to the County Clerk.

Ordering certificates through the mail
Even if you find an online indexed entry for a birth, marriage, or death, almost always the full original certificate will contain a wealth of information not contained in the index. A death certificate will usually give the names and birth places of the parents of the deceased. A marriage certificate frequently asks for the parents names of the bride and groom. A birth certificate frequently asks for the birth place, occupation, residence, and age of the parents. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates at least of your direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents).


 * Click here for information on how to order birth records.


 * Click here for information on how to order marriage records.


 * Click here for information on how to order death records.

Samples of records
Here are some samples of Iowa certificates. Notice the types of information available in each, particularly the identity of the parents, which adds another generation to your research.

U.S. Social Security Death Index and Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

 * The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
 * The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
 * You can search these records online at
 * Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.


 * If you find your ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.



Obituaries

 * Frequently, a death is announced in the newspaper with an obituary.
 * These obituaries may supply missing birth or death dates and name the parents of the deceased.
 * Obituaries may also name family members, their spouses, their current residences, and whether they died before the person or are still surviving, especially in obituaries written in the last half of the 20th Century.
 * Try these Iowa links:
 * Online Iowa Death Records Indexes and Obituaries, by county
 * IAGenWeb Obituaries
 * DistantCousin.com Iowa obituaries
 * Iowa Genealogical Society obituaries index
 * Iowa Statewide Obituary and Death Notice Collection, GenealogyBuff.com
 * Central Iowa Obituaries, GenealogyBuff.com
 * Iowa Obituaries
 * — index and images

Cemeteries

 * Try these Iowa links:
 * Iowa Cemetery Records ($)
 * BillionGraves Iowa Cemeteries.
 * Findagrave.com.
 * Iowa Cemetery Records at Interment.net.
 * Iowa Civil War Soldier Burial Records ($)
 * Iowa Gravestone Photo Project. Index, images.
 * Iowa, Cemetery Records, 1662-1999, ($). index.
 * Iowa WPA 1930's graves registration. Index.
 * , index.
 * Iowa Cemetery Records
 * Iowa Cemetery Records

Here is an example of a FindAGrave record.

World War II Draft Registration
Likewise, the World War II draft in 1942 may give birth date, birth place, residence, occupation, employer, and other family members as contacts. Search for your male relatives born in this time period at
 * , index and images.



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Step 6: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that your ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records are the next goal. Immigration refers to people coming into a country, such as the United States, and emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Usually these records are passenger lists of the ships they sailed on. A typical record will show name, age, and country of origin, but in ship lists after 1906 you can find the actual town of birth, the next of kin still living in the old country and their residence, and the names of relatives in the place they are traveling to.

Immigration records
Passenger lists and border crossing lists are the most common immigration records. There are many immigration records available. Click here to see a complete list of available immigration records online. Notice that they are listed by state, but under the letter "U" there is a long list of records that cover all of the United States. Unless family information tells you the port where family arrived, you will need to search all of the United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records for the time period when your ancestors arrived.

Although we have not yet located the 1907 passenger list for Minnie Rotts/Raths/Rathes, when we find it, it should look something like this:

Naturalization (Citizenship) Records
Naturalization is the process of becoming a citizen. Records can include the immigrant's declaration of intent to become a citizen, petitions for citizenship, and final certificate of naturalization. Naturalization records after 1906 can show birth date and place, spouse's name, marriage date and place, and lists of children with their birth dates.

Iowa naturalization records could be recorded at the county court or the Federal District or Circuit Court. You must look for them in both locations. Try searching first in any county where the person lived, unless the census tells you the year they were naturalized, and you have evidence of where they lived that year. If you cannot locate them in the county records, try searching for them in the Federal courts.

Iowa Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * Iowa, Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1937, index & images ($).

Although we have not located the naturalization records of the Rath/Rotts/Rathes family, here is an example of a petition for citizenship by an unrelated Martin Rath.



Step 7: Study each record for other possible searches.
You can now go through a process of working back and forth between all the different record types. Most researchers find clues in the census records that alert them to new certificates to obtain. The certificates then give them ideas of new facts to look for in the census. For example, when a marriage certificate gives you a wife's maiden name, you will then want to look for her in earlier censuses listed with her family as a child. When the census shows you her parents' names, you may then search for their death records. The death records might show their patents' names and take you back to the census to search for them. A naturalization record listing children's names might lead you back to birth certificate searches, and so on. Here is a simple pedigree showing what we have discovered so far: Here are some sample research projects you could continue with:
 * Continue looking up all the children of each couple in the birth, marriage, death, Social Security, cemetery, and military collections until you have complete information on each of them.

Local histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories:
 * Hathi Trust Digital Library. Don't use the keywords Iowa; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the county and "county": for example, "Hyde County"
 * Google Books. Use keywords "Iowa" and the county name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
 * Family History Books
 * Internet Archive.Use keywords "Iowa" and the county name.
 * Genealogy Book Links, Iowa. Browse list; county histories are interspersed.
 * Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Iowa and the name of the county.


 * Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find out about local histories the library has by checking the FamilySearch Catalog. In the "place" field, type the name of your county and select it from the drop down list, then click "Search". A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, and History - Indexes.

Biographies
These collections of biographies can be searched online. Most have a table of contents and an index. Or use the "Find" function on a computer.
 * County and Town Histories of Iowa, with biographies.
 * IAGenWeb Iowa History - A Narrative History of the People of Iowa.
 * Iowa Biographies Project.
 * Access Genealogy Iowa Biographies.
 * African American Women Students at the University of Iowa, 1910-1960.
 * Iowa Biographical Dictionary, 1878 ($)
 * Men of Iowa : a collection of portraits of representative men in business, professional and official life in the great state of ($)
 * Iowa Progressive Men, ($). index.
 * A Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, ($), index, images.
 * Biographies and portraits of the progressive men of Iowa : leaders in business, politics and the professions: together with an original and authentic history of the state., ($), index, images.
 * Iowa pioneer foundations, ($), index, images.
 * Recollections and sketches of notable lawyers and public men of early Iowa : belonging to the first and second generations..., ($), index, images.
 * The Germans of Iowa and their achievements (Die Deutschen von Iowa und deren Errungenschaften), ($), index, images. (in German)
 * Iowa History and Its Foremost Citizens, ($), index, images.
 * Historical sketches of Iowa Baptists, ($), index, images.
 * A narrative history of the people of Iowa, Vol. 1, e-book, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5
 * History of Iowa from the earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century, 1903, e-book

Step 7: Search for online wills and probate packets.
For more information, see U.S. Probate Records Class Handout.

County probate records

 * County probate records include probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration. In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet. Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.


 * Currently, these records are microfilmed and digitized:
 * Iowa, Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997, ($), index and images, incomplete.


 * Eventually more of these records may become available online.


 * In the meantime, this online directory by Genealogy Inc. will enable you to arrange to have them searched for a fee: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the Courthouse and Government Records to find the address and phone number of the County Clerk of Court. Ask them about the years covered by their probate records and their procedure and fees for ordering copies probate packets. When you write, always ask for the full probate packet, not just the will or administration.

Remember that this single photocopy and index entry tell us that there is a full probate packet with many other pages available:



Step 10: Contact a county historical or genealogical society.

 * County historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the county. :*Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.


 * If you can find the society on the internet, they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, you can hire one of their members to search the collection for you.

This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.



Step 11: After online research, search the collection at the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch Center.

 * Search the catalog of the FamilySearch collection. Here you will find many records that have not been digitized or placed online. Microfilmed copies of the records may be available for use at FamilySearch Centers throughout the world.


 * Records are catalogued by location. Do these three searches for each place: Iowa; the county (or counties) where your ancestors lived; and the town (or towns) where they lived.

Although FamilySearch is actively working to microfilm and preserve records throughout the world, this huge job is nowhere near complete. We have tried in the Wiki to provide information about collections, books, and records held in government and ecclesiastical archives beyond the FamilySearch Library records. In Iowa, United States Genealogy, you can find links to these records and how to access them. Also here you will find information on records from your particular Iowa county of interest.