Madison County, Iowa Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
112 N John Wayne Dr. Winterset, Iowa 50273

Parent County
1846--Madison County was created 13 January 1846 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Mahaska County prior to organization 19 February 1849. County seat: Winterset

For an early history of the county go to the following link:

http://iagenweb.org/madison/county_history/county_history_first.html

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
1875 Courthouse was destroyed by fire.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Neighboring Counties
Adair • Clarke •  Dallas •  Guthrie •  Polk •  Union •  Warren

Cemeteries
iagenweb.org/madison/cemetery_records/cemetery_index.html (U.S. GenWeb)

Census
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

Local Histories

 * History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people. By Herman A. Mueller. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1915. Vol 1 Online at:, , Internet Archive; . Vol. 2 Online at: , HathiTrust, Internet Archive.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa
 * Township Map of 1875 Madison County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)

Military

 * 1861 - 1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War

 * - 4th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F
 * - 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 23rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
 * - 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company E
 * - 1st Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company D

Newspapers

 * Altoona Public Library Archives, Polk County (1876-2000)
 * Johnston Historical Society Archive, Polk County (1970-2007)
 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Des Moines newspapers. This database is free at some libraries.
 * Winterset Madisonian.1956. Winterset, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Probate
Online Probate Records


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

iagenweb.org/madison/probate_records/probate_index.html (U.S. GenWeb)

Births

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Information on birth records, U.S. GenWeb
 * Birth Index, U.S. GenWeb

Marriages

 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Marriage Index, U.S. GenWeb

Deaths

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1880-1919 - Death Index, U.S. GenWeb
 * 1921-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Madison County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 26 Winterset IA 50273-0026 Website

Madison County Historical Society 815 South Second Ave Winterset, IA 50273 Telephone:515-462-2134 Website

Family History Centers

 * Knoxville Iowa Family History Center 1800 W Jackson, Knoxville IA 50138

United States