Madison County, Iowa Genealogical Records Information

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Madison County History and Information

Madison County Facts

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Madison was created on January 13, 1846 (Organized in 1849) from Unorganized Territory. The County was named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. The County Seat is Winterset.

Counties adjacent to Madison County are Dallas County (north), Warren County (east), Clarke County (southeast), Union County (southwest), Adair County (west). Cities and Towns Include Bevington, Earlham, East Peru, Macksburg, Patterson, St. Charles, Truro, Winterset.

Madison's first courthouse was a one-story log cabin built in Winterset in 1857. The second courthouse was built in 1868-69 completely with Madison County gray limestone, but was destroyed by fire in 1875.

The current Madison County courthouse was built by Andrew Piquenard, planner of both the Iowa and Illinois State Capitols. It was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

In 1969, the courthouse and surrounding square were the setting of the movie "Cold Turkey" starring Dick Van Dyke. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

The Madison County Official Government Website
Search the Iowa USGenWeb Archives
Madison 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 Madison 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. In 1875, a fire destroyed the building in less than four hours.

All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link below, calling or visiting the Madison County Courthouse at PO Box 152, Winterset 50273; Tel: 515-462-4451. 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.

Madison County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1880, Marriage Records from 1849, Death Records from 1880 and Land Records from 1850.
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.

Madison County Clerk of Court Office has Probate Records from 1852 and Court Records from 1852.
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 Madison County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Court Records by clicking the link below:

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

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

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

Madison County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 26, Winterset 50273-0026
Madison County Historical Society, 815 South Second Ave., Winterset, IA 50273; (515) 462-2134
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

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

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Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Madison County USGenweb Archives
Madison County, Iowa Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

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

Madison is in the third tier from the south line of the state, and corners Polk County on the southwest. Its area is about 576 square miles, or 368,640 acres.

A solitary adventurous wanderer from the South who reached the county early in May, 1845, was the pioneer settler of Madison County. This was Hiram Hurst from Andrew County, Missouri. He selected and staked out his claim in Crawford Township, built a cabin, "made" a crop of sod corn, and returned for his family in the Fall. The next were Joel Clanton, Isaac Clanton, Charles Clanton, and Caleb Clark, with their wives and children and worldly goods. They came from the east up the divide between Middle and South Rivers to the creek known as Clanton's Creek, and here located on the 3d of May, 1846. Caleb Clark's daughter, afterwards the wife of Andrew Tusha , was the first white child born in the county. On the same day that the Clanton's arrived, Samuel Guye, his wife and his sons, James, George, Francis, and Houston, came up the divide between Middle and North Rivers and located where the family still reside. In two days they had finished a log house and moved into it. One morning before sunrise they were awakened from slumber by the tinkling of a cow-bell. Breakfast was forgotten, the labors of the day never came to mind in the eagerness which the sound excited, for it told of neighbors. After following the direction of the sound for several miles they came upon the camp-fire of John Evans, south of Cedar Creek. The next day after the Clanton's and Guye's arrived, Crosby B. Jones and Seth Adamson settled on Middle River, in the vicinity of the Huglin mill. Another of the early settlers was P. M. Boyles, afterwards one of the first County Commissioners. He came from Andrew County, Missouri, and immediately constructed a dwelling, six by ten feet of poles covered with basswood bark, in which he and his small family resided six months. It is related that for the first three years he was without means to buy a horse, and once walked to Saylorville and worked two weeks at fifty cents a day to procure money to buy seed corn. Nor was his an exceptional case of privation among the pioneers. Among others who came during the Spring of 1846 were Irwin Baum, Martin Baum, Jacob Combs, John Butler, Lemuel Thornburgh, J. B. Bedell, Wm. Combs, and Wm. Butler; and among those who settled during the Summer and Fall were Alfred D. Jones, E. Bilderback, B. McDonald, David, Enos, and Joseph Bishop, C. J. Casebier, David Cracraft, J. T. Carson, Josh Casebier, Robert Deshaser, John Deshaser, J. K. Evans, John Esley, W. J. Esley, Louisa Fiddler, Wm. Gentry, D. D., Henry W. Harman, A. Hart, C. Jones, P. T. Jones, C. Mendenhall, G. Michael, D. McKenzie, G. W. McKenzie, Clayborn Pitzer, A. Q. Rice, C. Randall, J. B. Sturman, T. Stewart, J. Thornburgh, J. Vanhouten, Michael Whilhit, John Wilkinson, B. Wagoner, and E. Ward.

Alfred D. Jones, was one of the most conspicuous men in the early affairs of the county. He settled on the "Narrows," four miles east of Winterset, where the old Fort Des Moines road enters the timber, and erected here two log houses; one he used for a dwelling, and the other became the first store in the county. P. M. Boyles hauled the first goods for him from Keokuk with oxen. Here, also, the first post office was established, with Mr. Jones as post master. It was called Mt. Pelier, and the mail was brought by A. Snyder from Raccoon Forks semi-occasionally. Wm. Compton erected the first grist mill on Middle River, where the Town of Buffalo has grown up around it. He purchased the site of Hart & Hinkley, who had in operation a small "corn cracker." Doctor J. H. Gaff was the first physician who located in the county, and hi son, Francis M., was the first white male child born in the county. John Evans was the first preacher in the county. The first pair united in matrimony were David S. Smith and Jane Carson, April 19, 1849. The ceremony was performed by Seth Adamson, J. P. Number two was Meshack Casteel and Sarah Evans, August 19, 1849.

The county was surveyed into sections in 1849, by John A. Pitzer and Enoch Eastman, having been previously divided into townships. Mr. Pitzer had charge of the survey in the north half of the county. The land was brought into market the following year, and the first entries were made in November.Mr. Pitzer thereafter remained in the county, and started the first store in Winterset. He became one of the most prominent men in the county, and was honored with the office of County Judge from 1851 to 1860.

In the Spring of 1849 the settlers organized a great snake hunt to get rid of the venomous reptiles which were very numerous. The hunt resulted in the death of 3,750 rattlesnakes.

Prior to 1849 the utmost privation was undergone by the pioneers. They had no market for their produce, but the season of 1849 brought a market to their doors for all they could spare in the California immigration. Those were truly golden days for the early settlers of the county.

Madison County was defined by an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved January 13, 1846, but it was not fully organized until April, 1850. William Combs, David Bishop, and Wm. Gentry were the County Commissioners to locate the seat of justice, who selected the site of Winterset in July, 1849, for the seat of justice, then the premises of John Gulberson, who received for it the sum of $194.50., from the county. It is said to have obtained its name in this wise; The day was quite cold and blustry, and the Commissioners had been upon the ground all day and met in Berger's house for the purpose of giving it a name. A score or more of names were suggested, and Summerset was the favorite, whereupon Combs, who had been nodding under the influence of a fluid popularly known as "sod corn," suddenly broke out with, "I think we'd a darned sight call her Winter- (hic)-set;" and his suggestion was unanimously adopted. The town was surveyed and platted July 18, 1849, by Alfred D. Jones, assisted by P. M. Boyles and Enos Berger.

The first county officers were elected probably in April, 1849. The Commissioners were those named above; Clerk, G. W. McClellan; Recorder, P. M. Boyles; Treasurer Joseph K. Evans; Surveyor, Alfred D. Jones, Prosecuting Attorney, Alfred D. Jones.

The first court in the county was held May 31, 1849, by Judge William McKay, of Des Moines. A room used for the joint purpose of a store and saloon was given up for the use of the court, and here the judge took his place behind the bar or counter to transact the business of the term.

Soon after the location of the county seat, a large double log cabin was erected for county purposes, on the lot later known as Monumental Square. Besides accommodating the courts and county offices, it was used for a school house, meeting house, and a resting place for weary travelers, to whom its doors were open at all hours. In 1851 the county found it necessary to provide for offenders, and erected a two story log building for a jail. It was torn down in 1866.

In the Spring of 1868 was commenced the erection of the present magnificent court house at Winterest. The building is in the form of a Greek cross, one hundred feet each way, with four fronts exactly alike. The building is constructed of cut stone, taken from the excellent quarries near the place, and is surmounted by a grand octagonal dome. The height of the spire is about one hundred and fifty feet from the ground, the top of the dome more than a hundred feet. The basement extends eight feet above the ground level, and is used chiefly for storing fuel. The first floor is fitted up into offices, and furnished with fire-proof vaults. The second story is about twenty-two feet high, and contains the court room, judge's and attorney's rooms and jury rooms; besides which, one of the arms of the cross is fitted up as a jail.

Madison County sent seven hundred and ten men to the Union armies during the War of the Rebellion, without counting re-enlistments-nearly one-tenth of its entire population-and was represented in eighteen different regimental organizations. Forty-two of the number held commissions. To honor and perpetuate the memory of those who gave their lives for the defense of their country, a marble monument was erected on the park known as Monumental Square, in Winterset, in 1867. The monument committee was chosen in October, 1865, consisting of Colonel H. B. J. Cummings, 39th Iowa, President; Flora Winkly, Secretary; J. J. Davies, Treasurer; E. W. Fuller, Mrs. Mary A. Hutchings and Miss Emma McCaughan, Executive Committee. Sub-committees were appointed in each township to solicit contributions. Festivals, lectures, exhibitions, etc., were given in Winterset and elsewhere to procure funds. The county donated the "old court house" lot and "old jail" lot for a site. The jail lot was sold, and another purchased adjoining the court house lot. These grounds are fenced and decorated, and in the center a beautiful shaft of marble rises twenty feet above the level of the park. It was dedicated October 7, and completed in December, 1867.

The Madison County Teachers' Institute was organized at Winterset in October, 1858, and has been the means of accomplishing a great deal for the good of the cause of education. Its meetings are invariably well attended, both by teachers and citizens interested in the progress of education.

WINTERSET - This prosperous young city, the county seat of Madison County, lies in the geographical center of the county. It is pleasantly located on excellent ground about one mile distant from Middle River. Surrounded, as we have seen, by a superb agricultural district, with wood and stone very convenient, and coal easily accessible, it is a commercial center of more than usual importance among the country towns of Iowa. The number of stone edifices it contains gives it an appearance unlike any other city in that region. The sidewalks are generally paved with the same material.

Enos Berger was the first settler in Winterset, and built the first house soon after it was surveyed in 1849. He was also the first post master of the office established there soon after. Berger was for some years treasurer and recorder of the county, and it is related of him that at one time having more public funds in his possession than he could conveniently carry, there being no bank or safe for deposit near, he kept them in his wife's stocking under the bed. A neighbor observed that this was rather a loose way to keep the funds, when Berger replied, "Tut, tut, man; there is no vault in America safer than my wife's stocking." John A. Pitzer built the first stone house in the Summer of 1849, on the west side of the square. Soon afterward Alfred D. Jones erected another log store, and a man by the name of Roberts built a third, on the north side of the square. The "Old Goe House," the first hotel, was erected the same season by Berger. It was a story-and-a-half log building, the largest in the county. A. D. Jones, E. R. Gulberson and others erected log dwelling houses the same season. The residence of John A. Pitzer, erected the following season, was the first frame house in the county. In 1856 Mr. Pitzer built the Pitzer House, afterward the St. Nicholas Hotel, then the largest hotel in southwestern Iowa, at a cost of $12,000. In this year the town began building and improving rapidly, and several substantial stone edifices were erected.

Madison County Courthouse

In 1849, a log courthouse was built in Monumental Square in the city of Winterset. This building also served as a school, church, and resting spot for travelers.

A second courthouse was built of stone with a jail on the second floor. In 1875, a fire destroyed the building in less than four hours.

The present courthouse was built in 1876, in the precise center of the county. The structure has four wings which join to form a Greek cross. A silver-colored dome atop the center of the roof stretches 136 into the air and houses a 1500-pound bell. The exterior was designed in Italianate-Revival-Classic style and the interior displays woodwork of solid walnut. The total cost of the building was about $120,000. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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