Woodbury County, Iowa Genealogy

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

Iowa Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Levi Woodbury (1789–1851), a senator and Governor of New Hampshire who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1844 until his death. The County has Sioux City as its seat and the County was created 1851. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Woodbury County Courthouse 620 Douglas St. Sioux City, IA 51101 Phone: 712-279-6601

History
Woodbury County was created when the legislature passed an act organizing the county in 1853. The County was named in honor of Levi Woodbury former Governor of New Hampshire, US Secretary of the Treasury and Supreme Court Justice.

Parent County
1851--Woodbury County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was originally named Wahkaw, but changed to Woodbury 22 January 1853. It was organized 7 March 1853. County seat: Sioux 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.

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
Cherokee • Crawford •  Ida •  Monona •  Plymouth •  Dakota County, Nebraska •  Thurston County, Nebraska •  Union County, South Dakota

Resources

 * Woodbury County by Genweb Iowa

Census
State Census County 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
 * 1856- Iowa census of Woodbury County, Sioux City, - Book format

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Sioux City


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

Skien Lutheran Church, Sloan


 * Records of the Skien Lutheran Church, Sloan, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * Sioux City, Iowa Directories, 1889-90, 1892-93 at Ancestry.com ($)

Local Histories

 * Woodbury and Plymouth Counties, Iowa History at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Woodbury County history, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)


 * History of the counties of Woodbury and Plymouth, Iowa: includes... By Will Leach Clark, J. E. Norris and others. Chicago, Illinois: A. Warner, 1890-1891. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Books.


 * The History of Woodbury County, Iowa. By the Woodbury County Genealogical Society. Dallas, Texas: National ShareGraphics, c1984.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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.


 * 1882-1909 — Sioux Valley News at Ancestry.com ($) — Correctionville, IA, USA
 * 1909-15 and 1955 — Correctionville News at Ancestry.com ($) — Correctionville, IA, USA
 * 1912-14 and 1937 — The Correctionville Argus at Ancestry.com ($) — Correctionville, IA, USA
 * 1884-86 — Barometern at Ancestry.com ($) — Sioux City, IA, USA
 * 1964 The Sioux City Sunday Journal at Ancestry.com ($) — Sioux City, 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

Marriage

 * 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1809-1992 Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1836-1926 Iowa, Marriages, 1836 - 1926 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images

Death

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1904-1951 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Woodbury County, Iowa Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from the Sioux City, Moville, Sloan, Correctionville, and Danbury areas.
 * 1920-1967 Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Woodbury County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 624 Sioux City, IA 51102-0624 Website

Sioux City Public Museum Research Center 607 4th Street Sioux City, Iowa 51101 Telephone:712-224-5001 Website

Family History Centers



 * Sioux City Iowa Family History Center

Websites

 * Woodbury County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Woodbury County Information
 * Woodbury County Migrations
 * Woodbury County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Woodbury County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)