Polk County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa  Polk County

Guide to Polk County Iowa genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Parent County
1846--Polk County was created 13 January 1846 from unorganized territory. County seat:  Des Moines

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
For a list of record loss in Iowa Counties see: Iowa Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties
Boone | Dallas | Jasper | Madison | Marion | Story | Warren

Cemeteries

 * 1) I have photos of all headstones in the Oralabor Cemetery in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa as of 2008. If you need one looked up please e-mail me at:E-Mail Me  Please provide a surname, christian name and DOD if you have it.


 * Glendale Cemetery, Des Moines BillionGraves

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Des Moines

Directories
Fold3.com ($) has Des Moines City Directories 1881-1913 (2 yrs. missing) and miscellaneous years going back to 1866 available online.

Local Histories

 * History of Polk County, Iowa: A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, etc.

Union Historical Company, 1880

http://books.google.com/books?id=dHkUAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA749&amp;dq=butler+co+iowa&amp;lr=&amp;as_brr=1&amp;client=firefox-a#PPR4,M1

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
 * View historic Polk County, Iowa maps in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
 * Township Map of 1875 Polk County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)

Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company D
 * - 4th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies A and K
 * - 13th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
 * - 15th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B
 * - 16th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies B and K
 * - 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
 * - 23rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies A, B, C and E
 * - 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company F

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Iowa. District Court (Polk County). Naturalization Records, 1907–1927. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977..
 * Iowa. District Court. (Polk County). Index to Naturalization, 1852–1884. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977..

Newspapers

 * Altoona Public Library Archives, Polk County (1876-2000)
 * Johnston Historical Society Archive, Polk County (1970-2007)
 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Des Moines newspapers that covered local news on Polk County residents. This database is free at some libraries.


 * Roland Historical Society Archives, Story County (1895-1975)
 * Warren County Newspapers (1855-1896)

Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Iowa Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers



 * Des Moines Iowa Family History Center 3301 Ashworth Rd., West Des Moines, IA 50265 United States Location Map

Web Sites

 * Polk County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Polk County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Polk County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)