Butler County, Iowa Genealogy

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

Description
Butler County was named for William Orlando Butler and is located in northeastern Iowa.

County Courthouse
Butler County Courthouse 428 Sixth St PO Box 325 Allison, IA 50602 Phone:877-527-5427 Butler County Website

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:

Biographies
Online Biographies and Indexes
 * History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, together with ... biographies of representative citizens. 1883. Springfield, IL: Union Publishing Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Hathtrust and Internet Archive.
 * Butler County, Iowa Biographies Project at RootsWeb — links to biographies and local histories

Census Records
State Census
 * 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1895 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images (individual cards, not family context)
 * 1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Lutheran


 * 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Directories

 * 1895 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Funeral Homes

 * Counsell Woodley Funeral Home in Allison, Dumont and Greene
 * Kaiser Corson Funeral Homes, Inc. in Shell Rock
 * Redman-Funeral and Cremation Services. Inc. in Aplington, Clarksville and Parkersburg

Local Histories
Online Local Histories and Indexes
 * History of Butler County Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress, and Achievement Vol. 1 and II 1914. Irving H. Hart. Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. Vol I Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; and Internet Archive and Vol II online at: FamilySearch Digital Library 2; Hathitrust; and Internet Archive.
 * History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa together with sketches of their towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history ; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the prehistoric race, and a brief review of its civil, political, and military history. Springfield, Illinois Union Pub. Co., 1883. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Hathitrust; Googlebooks; Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement. 1914. Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke. Chicago. Online at: Internet Archives.
 * Iowa Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1860-1918 U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918, Butler County at Ancestry ($) - index.
 * 1875-2007 Butler County 1875-2007 at Historic Map Works - may include names of land-owners.
 * 1895-1935 Fire Insurance Maps for Butler County, Iowa at Library of Congress - various years between 1895 and 1935.
 * Butler County Iowa Topographic Maps at Topozone: Choose Airport, Bridge, Building, Cemetery, Church, Civil, Hospital, Lake, Locale, Park, Populated Place, Post Office, School, Stream, Summit, Trail.
 * Butler County Maps at FamilySearch Catalog.
 * IAGenWeb - Butler County.
 * Iowa Digital Library, Butler County at Iowa University Libraries.
 * (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
 * The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, Butler County at State Library of Iowa.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places.

Military Records
Multiple Wars
 * 1835-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index only
 * 1862-1910 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War
 * 1861-1949 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War service men in Butler County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:
 * - 3rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
 * - 44th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company E

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1860-1940 (*); Manuscript at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1872-1929 (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Records and Indexes
 * 1937-1956 The Iowa Recorder at Ancestry ($)
 * 1950-1975 The Greene Recorder at Ancestry ($)
 * 1929, 1930, 1948 The Marble Rock News at Ancestry ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1758-1997 Iowa, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1858-1956 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1864-1925 (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1864-1928 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index and images, ($)

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records


 * 1934-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Birth

 * 1850-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1880-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1921-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1518-1996 Iowa, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1809-1992 Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * 1836-1926 Iowa, Marriages, 1836 - 1926 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry ($) — index and images

Death

 * 1850-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and some images; Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * 1904-1951 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1920-1967 Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Family History Centers

 * Cedar Falls/Waterloo Iowa Family History Center
 * Fort Dodge Iowa Family History Center
 * Mason City Iowa Family History Center

Libraries
Greene Public Library 231 W Traer St PO Box 280 Greene, IA 50636 641-816-4803 E-mail: [mailto:gpl@myomnitel.com gpl@myomnitel.com] Website

Societies
Butler County Iowa Genealogical Society c/o Clarksville Public Library 103 W Greene St Clarksville, IA 50619 319-278-1168 Website

Websites

 * Butler County at Cyndi's List - a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * Butler County at Genealogy Trails - volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
 * Butler County at Iowa USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * Butler County at Iowa USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
 * State Historical Society of Iowa — select from research collection topics
 * State Library of Iowa — electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa agencies
 * The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection — digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.