Wapello County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Wapello 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 Wapello, a Meskwaki chief. The County has Ottumwa as its seat and the County was created December 7, 1843. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

Parent County
1843 Wapello County was created 17 February 1843 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Jefferson County prior to organization 1 March 1844. County seat: Ottumwa

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 • Davis •  Jefferson •  Keokuk •  Mahaska •  Monroe •  Van Buren

Biography

 * A History of Wapello County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., including a biographical directory at books.google.com
 * Portrait and biographical album of Wapello County, Iowa : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent at Ancestry.com ($)

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

Lutheran

 * Records of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Ottumwa, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Local Histories

 * A History of Wapello County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., including a biographical directory at books.google.com


 * History of Wapello County, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Portrait and biographical album of Wapello County, Iowa : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent at Ancestry.com ($)


 * History of Wapello County, Iowa, and representative citizens. By S. B. Evans. Chicago : Biographical pub., 1901. Online at:, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa

Military

 * 1835-1998 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1862-1910 - at FamilySearch — index

Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 7th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F
 * - 7th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
 * - 7th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 15th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 15th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F
 * - 22nd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 36th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B
 * - 36th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
 * - 36th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 36th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
 * - 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C
 * - 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * - 1st Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company I

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * 1903 — Ottumwa Daily Courier at Ancestry.com ($) — Ottumwa, IA, USA

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

Births

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

Marriages

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

Death

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1904-1951 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Wapello County Genealogical Society PO Box 163 210 West Main Street Ottumwa, IA 52501 E-mail: [mailto:info@wapellocountygs.com info@wapellocountygs.com] Website

Wapello County Historical Museum 210 West Main St Ottumwa, Iowa Telephone:641-682-8676 Website

Family History Centers



 * Ottumwa Iowa Family History Center 303 W Rochester, Ottumwa,IA 52501 United States Location Map

Websites

 * Wapello County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Wapello County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Wapello County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)