Appanoose County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa  Appanoose County

County Courthouse
Appanoose County Courthouse 201 North 12th Street Centerville, IA 52544 Phone:(515)856-6101

Parent County
1843--Appanoose County was created 17 February 1843 ;from unorganized territory. The county was attached to Davis and Van Buren Counties prior to organization 3 August 1846. ; County seat: Centerville

Boundary Changes
Online Appanoose County Planning and Zoning Homepage.

See an interactive map of Iowa boundary changes.

History
Established in 1843, Appanoose County was named was for a chief of the Sac and the Fox Indian tribes that lead the peace party during the Black Hawk War. Appanoose means "A Chief When a Child." During the first part of the 20th century, mining was a major factor in Appanoose. The county seat for Appanoose is Centerville.

Neighboring Counties

 * Davis
 * Lucas
 * Monroe
 * Wapello
 * Wayne
 * Putnam County, Missouri
 * Schuyler County, Missouri

Biographies

 * Biographies from The History of Appanoose County, Iowa, are transcribed in Iowa Biographies Project.
 * Biographical and Genealogical History of Appanoose and Monroe Counties, Iowa
 * Biographies from Biographical and Genealogical History of Appanoose and Monroe Counties, Iowa,
 * Biographical and Historical Record of Wayne and Appanoose Counties, Iowa.
 * Biographical Records Online on RootsWeb freepages with index.
 * Biographies from Biographical and Historical Record of Wayne and Appanoose Counties, Iowa are transcribed in Iowa Biographies Project.
 * Centerville: Oral interviews in Centerville, Iowa, conducted on 13 October 1981
 * Mystic: Oral interviews in Mystic, Iowa, conducted in 1981
 * Who's Who in Iowa, a Biographical Record of Iowa's Leaders in Business, Professional and Public Life.
 * Who's Who in 1940 online on the Appanoose County IAGenWeb page

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries of Appanoose County, Iowa


 * Cemetery Transcriptions


 * A list of Appanoose County cemeteries that have been identified and transcribed is available on the USGenWeb site.
 * Iowa Gravestones.org has many Appanoose County gravestone photos.
 * List of 92 Cemeteries in Appanoose County findagrave.com
 * Children Buried in Iowa Cemeteries: Appanoose County
 * Military Buried in Iowa Cemeteries: Appanoose County

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.

Church Records and Histories
LDS Ward and Branch Records
 * Camp of Israel

United Methodist Church
 * Iowa Churches: A File at the Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. This file consists of church histories, anniversary programs, and newspaper clippings. It is arranged by towns or by the name of the church.
 * Ministerial Biographies: A File in the Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. These films contain biographies, mainly of Methodist ministers.

Court Records

 * Inventory of County Records - Appanoose County, Iowa.

Probate Records

 * List of books or films containing Probate information for Appanoose County over a series of many years.

County Histories

 * 100th Anniversary: Iowa Trust and Savings Bank, Centerville, Iowa, 1896-1996.
 * A Pictorial History of Appanoose County, Iowa
 * A Pictorial History of Appanoose County, Iowa.
 * A Pictorial History of the Towns of Appanoose County Past and Present
 * A Report on the Rathbun Dam
 * Abandoned Towns of Appanoose County from Abandoned Towns, Villages and Post Office
 * Appanoose County Historical Atlas; Centerville, IA: Appanoose County Sesquicentennial Commission, 1996
 * Early Pioneer Stories
 * Historical Sketches of Pioneer Days in Appanoose County, Iowa
 * More Shoal Creek Legends.
 * Shoal Creek Legends 3
 * Names of Old Towns Fading into Haze of Past Memories" 
 * Past and Present of Appanoose County, Iowa ~ Volume 1
 * Past and Present of Appanoose County, Iowa - Volume II
 * Pioneer Roll of Honor
 * Postoffices and Postmasters of Appanoose County, Iowa, 1846 to 1988.
 * Post Offices in Appanoose County, 1865
 * Rathbun Dam History.
 * Rural School Memories, Appanoose County, Iowa. Information, memories and pictures contributed by many volunteers about the 140 schools in Appanoose County in 1912.
 * Shoal Creek Legends. The three volumes of Shoal Creek Legends were originally newspaper articles published in The Seymour Herald; printed and sold by the Seymour Community Club as fundraising projects. Maurice Stamps grew up around Shoal Creek in Franklin Township, Appanoose County, and served many years as a teacher and administrator in the Seymour Community Schools.
 * The History of Appanoose County, Iowa - 1986
 * This Day in Iowa History.
 * The History of Appanoose County, Iowa
 * The Place-Names of Appanoose County, Iowa
 * Tour of Iowa Counties: Appanoose County" 

Maps and Atlases
David Rumsey Map Collection is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European settlers included:


 * Mormon Trail 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah


 * Mormon Trails Across Appanoose County, Iowa.

Civil War

 * Nine Appanoose Regiments in the Civil War

Museums Archives and Libraries

 * Appanoose County Historical and Coal Mining Museum 100 West Maple Centerville, Iowa 52544
 * Drake Public Library 115 Drake Avenue, Centerville, Iowa 52544 See it's collections and resources for local and family history research related to Appanoose County. The Genealogical Society of Appanoose County collection is housed at the Drake Public Library. The genealogy section features family histories, local plat maps, historic phone directories, school yearbooks from area schools, and miscellaneous histories of ghost towns. A microfilm reader is provided at the library to view the microfilm collection which includes: Centerville newspapers 1861-Present, Circuit Court Records, Miscellaneous Church Records, Appanoose County Probate Records, Census Records, Other Iowa Newspapers, Land Records, and Marriage Records.
 * Iowa Genealogical Society Library 628 East Grand Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50309-1924 See it's collections and resources for local and family history research related to Appanoose County.
 * Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County and Historical and Genealogical Library 515 East Jefferson Street (Route #2) Corydon, Iowa 50060 See it's collections and resources for local and family history research.
 * State Historical Society of Iowa's archives, libraries and museum See it's collections and resources for local and family history research related to Appanoose County.
 * The Wabash Depot Museum 800 West North Street Moravia, Iowa Obtained from the Norfolk and Southern Railroad in 1976 when the line was discontinued through Moravia, Iowa. Displays include a section car used on the rails in the early 1900s, an operational signal board for signaling train crews before modern radio communications were used, models of trains and railroads that once crossed Appanoose County and Moravia, and artifacts of local history providing a look at how people once lived in Moravia.

Newspapers
The Newspaper Directory on the Library of Congress' Chronicling America lists 21 newspapers which have been published in Appanoose County, Iowa. The site tells the years in which each newspaper was published, detailed information about each paper, and identifies the major libraries that have holdings of it and which issues each library holds. There were other newspapers (in Mystic and Cincinnati) published in Appanoose County, but no copies of them exist. Also, information on Appanoose County often appeared in newspapers in neighboring counties -- Wayne County, Davis County, Lucas County, Monroe County, Wapello County in Iowa; and Putnam County and Schuyler County in Missouri.

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

Occupations

 * Iowa Labor History Oral Project
 * The Industrial History of Appanoose County, Iowa.
 * National Register of Historic Places in Appanoose County, Iowa.

Mining

 * The History of Coal Mining in Appanoose County, Iowa

Societies and Libraries

 * Appanoose County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 684 Centerville, Iowa Phone: 52544-0684

Meets in the Iowa Room at the Drake Public Library See list of their publications which are available. Information on coal mines in Appanoose County, this museum is a treasure trove of information. It stores hundreds of books from the old mines. There are also old mortgages and other bank records that can be found here, though they are not organized.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Centerville Iowa Family History Center

Birth Records

 * Early births in Appanoose County, Iowa 1880-1901
 * Birth records, 1880-1935 

Marriage Records

 * Index to early marriages, Appanoose County, Iowa  Contains: Vol 1. Bride's index, 1846-1900 -- Vol 2. Groom's index, 1847- 1900
 * Iowa, 1851-1900 Marriages from 1851 to 1900
 * Marriage records, 1842-1928 

Death Records

 * Early deaths in Appanoose County, Iowa Index to early death records, Appanoose County, Iowa. Contains Vol. 1. 1880-1903

Obituaries

 * Book of obituaries, Appanoose County, Iowa Newspapers clippings 1899-1939 and 1910-1950

Web Sites

 * The Appanoose County IA GenWeb Project
 * Appanoose County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * The Jerome Journal -- This blog contains information about the history of Jerome and Lincoln Township in Appanoose County and the people who have lived in Jerome and the surrounding area.
 * The Musings of Midwest Ancestree, blog contains many references to Appanoose County families.
 * The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections. The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections is an online repository of Iowa history and culture, maintained by the State Library of Iowa, which brings together digital resources of Iowa libraries, museums, historical societies and other cultural institutions to enhance access to and preserve long–term accessibility of these valuable materials.
 * Iowa Publications Online -- a service of the State Library of Iowa. Their website is an electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa state agencies.
 * Miscellaneous information on Appanoose County Research
 * Miscellaneous information on Appanoose County Research