Iowa County, Iowa Genealogical Records Information

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IA Court, Land & Wills

IA Public Records

IA Birth, Marriage & Death

Iowa County History and Information

Iowa County Facts

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

Iowa was created on February 17, 1843 (Organized in 1845) from Keokuk County. The County was named for the Iowa River and the Iowa Native American tribe. The County Seat is Marengo.

Counties adjacent to Iowa County are Benton County (north), Johnson County (east), Washington County (southeast), Keokuk County (south), Poweshiek County (west), Linn County (northeast), Tama County (northwest). Cities and Towns Include Ladora, Marengo, Millersburg, North English, Parnell, Victor, Williamsburg.

The county seat, Marengo, was originated on August 13, 1845, 14 years before it was even a town. It seems that a land speculator by the name of E. C. Lyons beat the county officials to the land office and bought the area of Marengo. It took some time for county officials to round up the funds to purchase the county seat from Lyons. Local citizens who contributed were paid back with town lots.

The county seat of Iowa County has always been Marengo, but not without a fight. The first battle came when some settlers disliked the town name. "Marengo" comes from Italy, where Napoleon Bonaparte gained a celebrated victory. The area of the Iowa Valley that contains Marengo is said to resemble that same area in Italy. The settlers changed the name to Valley Forge but later it was discovered that they had no authority, so the name remained Marengo.

A second battle over the county seat came in March 1857, when the enemies of Marengo started a movement to move the county seat to Genoa Bluffs. A petition was presented to the judge asking that the question of the location of the county seat be put on the general election on April 1857. It was soon discovered, however, that the petition contained names of non-legal voters. These names removed, the petition no longer contained sufficient numbers to call for an election.

The final battle came from Williamsburg. A petition was presented, with the sufficient number of signatures, and an election was held in November 1864. Marengo won out by a vote of 968 to 500. See also County History for more historical details.

The Iowa County Official Government Website
Search the Iowa USGenWeb Archives
Iowa County, Iowa History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Iowa 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 Iowa County Courthouse at 901 Court Avenue,PO Box 266, Marengo 52301; Tel: 319-642-3914. 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. Iowa County was attached to Johnson County for a breif time. Some early records may be found there.

Iowa County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1880, Marriage Records from 1847, Death Records from 1880 and Land Records from 1847.
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.

Iowa County Clerk of Court Office has Probate Records from 1848 and Court Records from 1851.
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 Iowa County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Iowa County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Iowa 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 Iowa County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Iowa County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Iowa 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.
Iowa County, Iowa Tax Books at Amazon.com

Iowa 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 Iowa County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Iowa County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Iowa County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 372, Marengo 52301-0372
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

Iowa 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 Iowa County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Iowa 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 Iowa County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Iowa 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.
Iowa County, Iowa Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Iowa 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 Iowa County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Iowa County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Iowa County ] [ Iowa ] [ Main Page ]
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Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Iowa Family Group Sheets
Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
Iowa Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Iowa County USGenweb Archives
Iowa County, Iowa Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875

Iowa is the fourth county from the Mississippi River, in the fourth tier of counties from the south line of the state, and contains a superficial area of 576 square miles, or 368,640 acres. It is more heavily timbered than the generality of counties in the state, the northern and southern parts having considerable surplus over the local demands. It is traversed, both in the north and south, by numerous well wooded streams. In some parts the country near the streams is quite uneven, the hills being covered with light growth of timber. Some of the bottom land, also, is too low and level, but with these slight exceptions, no better farming country can be found. The river and table lands in the vicinity of Marengo, Kostza and Genoa Bluffs are of unsurpassed fertility. The southern portion, which is traversed by the north English River and its tributaries, presents a fine alternation of timber and prairie, pleasing to the eye, and gratifying to the husbandman. The "divide," or plateau between the streams in the northern and southern parts of the county, is one of the choicest prairie sections in the State, consisting of a belt from twelve to fifteen miles wide, running east and west across the country, and dotted with occasional groves.

The soil on the prairies and in the valleys is deep, rich, and exceedingly productive. All the cereals yield large crops, and all vegetables and root crops common to the state are successfully raised. Fruits of various kinds, including apples, cherries, pears, and the smaller fruits, have succeeded well. The county is likewise well adapted to stock raising; the tame grasses are successfully produced, and the numerous small streams afford constant supplies of living water.

According to the census returns of 1873 there were 151,536 acres of land in cultivation, and the amount of grain produced the previous year was 610,718 bushels of wheat, 2,333,814 bushels of corn, 470,748 of oats, and 126,801 of barley.

The Pottawattamie and Musquaka tribes of Indians occupied the lands in the northern part of the county when the "pale faces" first came here, but were generally peaceful and well disposed.

The first settlement was made prior to 1844, at or near what is known as Homestead by Lineas Niles, John Burget and a man named Cleveland. Very soon after, a settlement was commenced at and near where Marengo is now located, and among the earliest settlers here, were Robert McKee, Amos Crocker, Absalom Washington, Charles Kitchen, William Downard, and Ransom F. Mason.

The first house built in the county was by Edward Ricord, in what is now Green Township.

The first blacksmith was John Hill, and the first mill was erected by the Kitchen Bros., on Bear Creek. The first tavern was built by a man named Kirkpatrick, at Marengo. William Downard and H. H. Hull brought the first stock of goods to the county, and sold them at the same place. The first white child was born to Robert McKee and wife.

The county was organized in 1847; the commissioners appointed to locate the county seat choosing the present location, and naming it Marengo, because, as they looked down upon the site from the bluffs, they imagined a resemblance to Napoleon's Marengo. Robert McKee was the first treasurer, recorder and clerk, these offices being then combined.

MARENGO. - Marengo, the county seat, and the principal town in Iowa County, is located in the northern part, on the Iowa River, and on the line of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, thirty miles west of Iowa City. The town is built around a public square, three hundred feet on each side, which is enclosed with a good fence, and set with a variety of shade trees, including numerous evergreens. Nearly all the business houses front upon this square, and all the business is done around it, except the lumber, grain, and general commission business, which is transacted at the depot, one-third of a mile directly south of the square.

The Chicago & Northwestern and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroads approach, at this point, to within eight miles of each other, which circumstance causes considerable travel between Marengo and Blairstown. The merchandizing done here amounts annually to a large sum. Besides this, the manufacturing business is rapidly increasing in importance and value, and the lumber and grain trade is heavy.

The first settler within the town limits was William Downard, who located here in 1848, and erected the first dwelling house and store room in the place. At that time H. H. Hull was living on a farm about a mile from town, where, in addition to his agricultural duties, he sold goods, and officiated as justice of the peace. Robert McKee was likewise living in this vicinity, though outside of the corporation. He was the first post master at this office. A few more settlers came in and erected cabins during the year, and in 1849 quite a number arrived, among whom was R. B. Groff, the Free Soil candidate for Secretary of State in 1848, on the ticket headed by W. Penn Clark. In the same year the Methodists formed an organization here, though but three members lived in this immediate neighborhood. The members came from a distance of ten miles around to attend the meetings. During that year, Judge W. H. Wallace arrived and settled on a farm near town. He was the first judge of the county.

The town grew gradually until 1859, when its quietude was disturbed by the whistle of the locomotive which proclaimed the completion of the railroad. Though this remained for some time the terminus of the road, the effect upon the place was inconsiderable, most people arguing that when the railroad should be completed beyond here, leaving this a mere way-station, it would lose life. So Marengo sat drowsily looking on, having experienced very little of the quickening influence of railroad enterprise. But all at once, her citizens discovered that the country around had outstripped the town, and required more business enterprise, more capital, and, in fact, a larger town to supply its wants. This discovery infused new life into the place; the population rapidly increased; and business enterprises were projected on a large scale. To meet the wants of the new residents, fifty dwellings were erected in 1865, and one hundred in 1866, the population having increased in those two years one hundred per cent. This renewal of life after the cars had passed by, and all the excitement incident to the advent of a railroad had been forgotten, affords the very best of evidence that the town possesses excellent business advantages.

It is now a live town, enjoying a prosperous business. It is well laid out, its streets and sidewalks are in good repair, and it is the only town in Iowa except Davenport and Des Moines that boasts of water works. These were constructed last year, and enough pipe laid to supply the business portion of the town, with hydrants every three hundred feet.

Marengo was incorporated in 1859, and the election of the officers took place November 12th of that year. They were E. E. Hendershott, Mayor; Robt. McKee, Recorder; H. M. Martin, L. Reno, E. L. Ogle, D. Sturdevant, and J. R. Serrin, Trustees. The officers of 1875 are; T. P. Murphy, Mayor; A. J. Morrison, Recorder; O. Dillin, N. B. Holbrook, W. P. Ketchum, A. B. Eshelman and James S. Shaw, Trustees.

VICTOR - This is a town of about 500 inhabitants, built up by the railroad, and has grown to be a busy place. It is located on the west side of the county, on the C., R. I. and P. Railroad, and does a heavy shipping business. It enjoys considerable mercantile trade, and maintains good schools and several religious societies. The town is well located for business, and surrounded by a fine farming country.

MILLERSBURG - Was laid out by Reuben Miller in 1852-3. It is located in the southwestern part of the county, surrounded by good farming lands and plenty of timber, and has considerable local trade, as it is surrounded by a well settled country.

CHESTER - This is a fine little town, situated on Old Man's Creek, near the center of the county, and about ten miles S.S.E. from Marengo. It is surrounded by a fine country. The town was laid out by Rev. C. S. Jennis, who named the place Williamsburg, which name it bore until it assumed its present name. The post office is called Stellapolis. Chester at one time aspired to the county seat.

The other towns are Kostza, Genoa Bluffs, North English, Lytle City and Nevada, most of which are pleasant little towns, in fine sections of country, and surrounded by a thrifty farming population.

Iowa County Courthouse

The first courthouse was a log cabin that cost $50 to build in 1847. It was rejected by the county as being to small, but they did rent it for some years, until 1850. That was when the second courthouse was completed. This more elaborate building was used until 1861. Construction of a third courthouse began in 1861 an the completed cost was $2,000. In 1869 this building underwent the construction of an addition, but by 1890 the courthouse was too small for county business.

The current courthouse was erected in 1892. It is a two-story, stone building ornamented with turrets and a tower. It was designed by Foster and Liebbe and constructed by P. H. Wind at a cost of $57,608.

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