Cass County, Iowa Genealogical Records Information

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Cass County History and Information

Cass County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Cass was created on January 15, 1851 (Organized in 1853) from Pottawattamie County. The County was named for Lewis Cass, a senator and presidential candidate from Michigan. The County Seat is Atlantic.

Counties adjacent to Cass County are Audubon County (north), Adair County (east), Adams County (southeast), Mongomery County (southwest), Pottawattamie County (west), Shelby County (northwest). Cities and Towns Include Anita, Atlantic, Cumberland, Griswold, Lewis, Marne, Massena, Wiota. Townships Include Bear Grove, Benton, Brighton, Cass, Edna, Franklin, Grant, Grove, Lincoln, Massena, Noble, Pleasant, Pymosa, Union, Victoria, Washington.

Religious persecution was responsible for bringing the first white men to Cass County. The Mormons, fleeing from Illinois, were the earliest settlers, and established a community at Indiantown in 1846.

At Indiantown, two of the three commissioners selected to locate a county seat were chosen. The site they chose was one mile from Indian Town and named Lewis. Most of the people and businesses in Indian Town moved to Lewis shortly after it was laid out. In 1856 a frame courthouse was built, and eight years later a small stone building was completed for the county treasurer’s office.

In 1857 there was an attempt to relocate the county seat to Grove City, it was unsuccessful. On October 20, 1869, after a due canvass of the vote on the re-location of the county seat, the Board declared the city of Atlantic the seat of county government and ordered the county officers to that place.

In 1872 the first courthouse built in Atlantic was completed. Until it was completed county offices were held in various empty buildings.

Ten years later the county built its second courthouse at Atlantic. The $65,000 building was destroyed by a fire in 1932. The fire started in the clock tower and gutted all of the second floor. Most of the county records and equipment were saved.

The present, fourth, courthouse was completed in 1934. While that was being built, county offices were located in the Atlantic Motors building, where an attempted robbery of the treasurer’s safe took place. The robbers were interrupted and escaped, but without any money. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

The Cass County Official Government Website
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Cass County, Iowa History Books at Amazon.com
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Records at the Cass County Courthouse

PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link below, calling or visiting the Cass County Courthouse at Five West Seventh Street, Atlantic 50022; Tel: 712-243-2105. See Also Courthouse Street Addresses for current courthouse addresses for all Iowa Counties. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Cass County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1880, Marriage Records from 1853, Death Records from 1880 and Land Records from 1853.
The Recorder's Office was created in 1839 by the First Legislative Assembly. The Recorder continues to maintain official records of documents affecting title to real estate. Every real estate transaction that takes place begins in the Recorder's Office. One of the major duties of the office is the management of public records. As a result, accuracy and preservation of records are a must in the Recorder's Office. Instruments that are recorded are not only important for today, but serve as a historical library for all of the tomorrows.

In addition to real estate transactions, the Recorder's Office issues titles and liens; records veterans discharge papers; processes passport applications; accepts marriage applications and issues the subsequent license; issues certified copies of birth, death and marriage records as well as other numerous duties.

Cass County Clerk of Court Office has Probate Records from 1880? and Court Records from 1880?.
In each of Iowa's 99 counties, a clerk of district court office manages and maintains all trial court records, including pleadings, evidence and orders. The clerks of court have hundreds of administrative duties. They accept and process fines, fees and court costs owed to the state, child support checks, and civil judgments owed to litigants. They maintain a record of liens on all real estate in the county. Clerks help with involuntary hospitalization cases. They have the authority to dispose of scheduled violations which are not contested and do not require a court hearing. Clerks are also responsible for informing state and local government agencies of court orders.

The Iowa district court has general jurisdiction of all civil, criminal and juvenile cases and probate matters in the state. The district court, which is also known as the trial court, is the point of entry in the court system for most cases. The Iowa district court is composed of different kinds of judicial officers with varying amounts of jurisdiction-judicial magistrates, associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, district associate judges, and district court judges.

Click Here to Search Iowa Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Cass County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Cass County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Cass County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

The tax rolls for personal property and real estate were kept by the auditor or the treasurer of each county. A few of these records have been microfilmed and are available at the State Historical Society of Iowa. Original county tax rolls are usually not transferred.

Old age pension tax is a resource genealogists should consider in Iowa. A 1934 directive to collect an old age assistance tax was based on a list of all persons over twenty-one years of age. Although the tax was discontinued in 1936, the information included could be important: name, address, sex, date of birth, place of birth, and names of both parents. Many counties have had these lists microfilmed and they are available through the FHL.

Below is a list of online resources for Cass County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Cass County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Cass County Tax Assesors Office
The Treasurer is responsible for collection of property taxes and other fees for state, county, city, school districts, community colleges, and other taxing entities such as townships, fire districts, and drainage districts.
Cass County, Iowa Tax Books at Amazon.com

Cass County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Iowa Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Cass County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Cass County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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Local Iowa Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
State Historical Society of Iowa, Capitol Complex, Des Moines, IA 50319
Iowa Genealogical Society, 6000 Douglas, P.O. Box 7735, Des Moines, IA 50322
State Historical Society of Iowa Research Library, 402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, IA 52240
State Historical Society of Iowa Library, Capitol Complex, Des Moines, IA 50319
National Archives; Central Plains Region, Kansas City, 2312 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64131-3011; Email: kansascity.archives@nara.gov; Phone: 816-268-8000
Iowa Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Iowa Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Cass County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Iowa Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Cass County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Cass County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Predominant church groups in Iowa include Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, and Baptist. Less in size, but equally important in religious history in the state are the Quakers, Mormons, Mennonites, and Congregationalists. The first church building in Iowa, a Methodist church built of logs, was constructed in Dubuque in 1834. A year later the Catholics erected a parish building in the same city. In 1843 the “Iowa Band” of Congregational and Presbyterian clergy began ministering to the settlers in Iowa. In 1854 a small group of the Community of True Inspiration arrived from Germany, settling along the Iowa River in the mid-section of the state. A year later additional members of their group joined them, establishing the unique Amana colonies of present-day Iowa.

Many of the local chapters of the Iowa Genealogical Society have publications of cemetery records in their respective counties which can be ordered through the chapter. A state-wide publication listing is available through the state society. A large number of cemetery transcription collections as well as records of funeral homes, casket lists, and obituary indexes are held by the FHL

Below is a list of online resources for Cass County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Cass County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

IOWA WPA GRAVES REGISTRATION SURVEY - These records contain burials throughout much of Iowa that were compiled by WPA workers in the 1930 s, including grave markers which no longer exist today. Records may be searched within a county or state-wide.
Iowa Cemetery Records: These cemetery records represent seventy-six counties and Graceland Cemetery of Sioux City, Iowa, in the united States, that were transcribed by the Works Project Administration. Records in this database generally include the page number where the record can be found in the WPA index, the name of the deceased, birth date, death date, age, cemetery name, town name, and additional comments if any.
Iowa Civil War Soldier Burial Records: Listing of 30,000 Civil War veterans who served or lived in Iowa following the war.
Cass County, Iowa Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Cass County, Iowa Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Iowa Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Cass County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Cass County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Cass County ] [ Iowa ] [ Main Page ]
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Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Cass County USGenweb Archives
Cass County, Iowa Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Cass County Courthouse

As the Mormons moved westward across America in the winter of 1846-47 to escape religious persecution, about 20 families stopped in a place called Indiantown. They stayed there for several years.

Cass County was not organized until 1853 when the first commissioners met in Indiantown to fix the location of the original Cass County seat. Their choice was a site called Lewis, in honor of Lewis Cass, and a two-story house was used for court and county business.

The railroad passed through the city of Atlantic and this growing city offered a block of land for a courthouse in hopes of becoming the new county seat. Their offer was accepted in 1869 and a small frame building was constructed. It soon became inadequate and the county rented the Park House across the street for $1,200.

In 1888, a new two-story brick and stone building was built. In March 1932, a fire destroyed the courthouse, but the county records were saved. Salvaged materials, insurance money, and a federal grant were used to construct the present courthouse, which cost $119,000.

This brick building is trimmed with Indiana limestone and stands three stories high. It was dedicated in 1934.

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