Palo Alto County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Palo Alton 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 the first battlefield victory in the Mexican-American War. The County has Emmetsburg as its seat and the County was created January 15, 1851. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

Parent County
1851 Palo Alto County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Boone and Webster Counties prior to organization 29 December 1858. County seat: Emmetsburg

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
Buena Vista • Clay •  Dickinson •  Emmet •  Humboldt •  Kossuth •  Pocahontas

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, Palo Alto County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

History

 * History of Palo Alto County, Iowa. By Dwight G. McCarty. Cedar Rapids, Iowa : Torch Press, 1910. Online at:, Internet Archive;.


 * Official souvenir program of the semi-centennial of Palo Alto County, Iowa : at Emmetsburg, Iowa July 4th, 5th, and 6th, 1906. By Palo Alto County, Iowa Old Settlers Committee. Emmetsburg, Iowa : Tribune Pub. Co., 1906. Online at: ;.
 * History of Palo Alto County, Iowas at Ancestry.com ($)

Map

 * 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.


 * The Ruthven Free Press. 1917-32 and 1934-44. Ruthven, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * West Bend Journal. 1956. West Bend, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Probate
Online Probate Records


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

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

Deaths

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

Societies, Libraries and Museums
Palo Alto County Genealogical Society Emmetsburg Public Library 707 N Superior Street Emmetsburg, Iowa 50536 Website