Winnebago County, Iowa Genealogy

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

Parent County
1851--Winnebago County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Boone and Webster Counties prior to organization 1 November 1857. County seat:  Forest City

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
Cerro Gordo • Hancock •  Kossuth •  Worth •  Faribault County, Minnesota •  Freeborn County, Minnesota

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 American Lutheran Church, Winnebago County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Winnebago County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

Local Histories

 * History of Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago counties, Iowa : together with sketches of their cities, villages and townships; history of Iowa. Springfield, Illinois : Union Pub. Co., 1884. Online at:, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa

Military

 * 1861 - 1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Buffalo Center Tribune Archives, Winnebago County (1894-2007)


 * 1955 — Forest City Summit at Ancestry.com ($) — Forest City, IA, USA

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

 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Deaths

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

Societies and Libraries
Lime Creek/Winnebago County Genealogical Society 115 East L. Street Forest City, IA 50436-1630 Telephone:641-585-4542

Websites

 * Winnebago County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Winnebago County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * North Central Iowa Genealogical Society
 * North Central Iowa Genealogical Society