Shelby County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Shelby 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 Isaac Shelby. The County has Harlan as its seat and the County was created 1851. The County is located in the west central area of the state.

History


The county is named after Kentucky's First Governor Isaac Shelby (1750-1826).

Parent County
1851--Shelby County was created 15 January 1851 from Pottawattamie County. It was organized 7 March 1853. County seat: Harlan

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.

Biography

 * Biographical history of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States fro at Ancestry.com ($)

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
Audubon • Carroll •  Cass •  Crawford •  Harrison •  Pottawattamie

Biographies

 * Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa Biographical Dictionary at Ancestry.com ($)

Cemeteries

 * Harlan Cemetery, Harlan BillionGraves

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

 * 1883-1925 - Minutes and Membership Records of the American Lutheran Church, Shelby County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Elk Horn


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Elk Horn, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Irwin


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

Local Histories

 * Biographical history of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States fro at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Past and present of Shelby County, Iowa. By Edward S. White. Reprint of 1915 edition published by B. F. Bowen &amp; Co., Indianapolis. Online at: Vol.1, Vol.2 , Vol.3 , Vol. 4
 * Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa. Chicago, IL, USA: W. S. Dunbar, 1889. Online at Ancestry.com

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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


 * 1951-62 — Harlan Tribune at at Ancestry.com ($) — Harlan, IA, USA
 * 1951-67 — The Harlan News Advertiser at Ancestry.com ($) — Harlan, 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
Shelby County Historical Museum 1805 Morse Avenue Harlan, Iowa 51537 Telephone:712-755-2437 E-mail: [mailto:shelbyco.museum@gmail.com shelbyco.museum@gmail.com] Website

Museum of Danish America Genealogy Center 4210 Main Street PO Box 249 Elk Horn, Iowa 51531-0249 Telephone:712-764-7008 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@danishmuseum.org genealogy@danishmuseum.org] Website

Websites

 * Shelby County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Shelby County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Shelby County, IAGenweb Project
 * Shelby County, Iowagravestones Photo Project
 * WPA Graves Registration Survey for Shelby County, IA
 * WPA Graves Registration Survey for Shelby County, IA