O'Brien County, Iowa Genealogy

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

Parent County
1851--O'Brien County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Woodbury County prior to organization 7 April 1860. County seat: Primghar

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



Neighboring Counties
Buena Vista • Cherokee •  Clay •  Dickinson •  Lyon •  Osceola •  Plymouth •  Sioux

Biography

 * Biographical data and army record of old soldiers who have lived in O'Brien Co., Iowa 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 Siloam Lutheran Church, Paullina, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Local Histories

 * Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola Counties, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa

Military

 * 1835-1998 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Biographical data and army record of old soldiers who have lived in O'Brien Co., Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

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


 * The Sheldon Mail. 1954. Sheldon, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * Obrien County Bell.1905-06. Primghar, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1758 - 1997 Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Births

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriages

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

Deaths

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1921-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries
O'Brien County Historical Society Box 385 Primghar, Iowa, 51245 Telephone:712-957-2581 Website