Davis County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Davis 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 Garrett Davis. The County has Bloomfield as its seat and the County was created 1843. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Davis County Courthouse 100 Courthouse Square Bloomfield, IA 52537

641-664-2321

Davis County

Parent County
1843-- Davis County was created17 February 1843 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Van Buren County prior to organization 1 March 1844. County seat: Bloomfield

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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
Appanoose • Jefferson •  Monroe •  Van Buren •  Wapello •  Schuyler County, Missouri •  Scotland County, Missouri

Cemeteries
Davis County Cemeteries--A list of more than 100 cemeteries was compiled by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and updated in 1993 by the Davis County Genealogical Society. A link to tombstone photographs is available online.

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
A list of churches is available on the "Visit Davis County Iowa website"

Court
Naturalizations, Books 1 and 2, for Davis County are online. These records cover about 1879 to 1901.

Land
The County Recorder's Office is the custodian of the land records of Davis County. In addition to the deed books, this office has several historical records pertaining to land ownership in Davis County. Homestead entries, original land entries, plat books, etc. are among the many volumes included in their collection. The, and many other land records of the county have been microfilmed and are also available at the in Salt Lake City.

Local Histories
A major county history of Davis County was published in 1882, which included brief biographical sketches of many of its residents. Many of those sketches are available online as a part of the Davis County page of Iowa GenWeb.


 * Davis County Bicentennial Committee. Davis County pictorial history, 1976. Marceline, Missouri : Walsworth Pub. Co., 1976.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * History of Davis County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of Iowa and the Northwest, map of Davis County, constitution of the United States, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, etc.  Des Moines : State Historical Company, 1882.
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at Internetarchive (Free)
 * Federated Women's Clubs (Davis County, Iowa). Pioneer history of Davis County, Iowa. [Bloomfield,Iowa] : Bloomfield Democrat, 1924-1927.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Evans, Harry C. The pioneers and politics of Davis County, Iowa. Bloomfield, Iowa : Bloomfield Democrat, 1929.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

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

 * - 3rd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Companies A, D and E
 * - 30th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies B and F
 * - 45th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company D
 * - 2nd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G :- 30th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B :- 30th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F :- 3rd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company A :- 3rd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company D :- 3rd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company E :- 45th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company D

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Several newspapers have been published in Davis County. A list of titles and dates of publication is available online.

NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

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

Birth Records

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1921-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Birth records kept by the District Court, 1880-1941, and delayed birth certificates, 1885-1944, have been microfilmed and are available at the State Historical Society in Des Moines and at the in Salt Lake City.

Marriage Records
Davis County marriage records, 1844-1951, have been microfilmed and are available at the State Historical Society in Des Moines and at the in Salt Lake City.


 * 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1880-1939 - The record of deaths kept by the District Court, 1880-1939, have been microfilmed and are available at the State Historical Society in Des Moines and at the in Salt Lake City.
 * 1904-1951 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Abstracts of the death records of Davis County, 1880-1900, are on-line, in four segments.


 * 1880-1883 - 1880-1883
 * 1884 - 1884
 * 1885-1893 - 1885-1893
 * 1897-1900 - 1897-1900

Societies and Libraries
Davis County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 94 200 W Locust Bloomfield, IA 52537 Telephone:641-664-1501 Website