Buchanan County, Iowa Genealogy

United States

Iowa

Buchanan County

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

Iowa Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Independence Organized: October 4, 1847 Parent County(s): Dubuque Neighboring Counties Benton • Black Hawk • Bremer • Clayton • Delaware • Fayette • Linn See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Buchanan County was named for James Buchanan and is located in east-central Iowa.

County Courthouse

Buchanan County Courthouse
210 5th Avenue NE, Suite B
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-334-2196
Buchanan County Website

Clerk of the District Court has birth and death Records from 1880; marriage records from 1848; divorce, probate, and clerk records from 1845.

Buchanan County, Iowa Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1880	1848	1880	1845	1846	1845	1847
* Statewide registration started for births in July 1880 and for deaths January 1891. General compliance by 1924.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Created from from Dubuque County December 21, 1837. County seat: Independence Iowa Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Iowa Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Iowa county boundary changes

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:

Cities
Aurora Brandon Fairbank Hazleton	Independence Jesup Lamont Quasqueston	Rowley Stanley Winthrop
Unincorporated communities
Bryantsburg Doris Gatesville	Littleton Monti	Otterville Shady Grove
Townships
Buffalo Byron Cono Fairbank Fremont Hazleton	Homer Jefferson Liberty Madison Middlefield	Newton Perry Sumner Washington Westburg

Resources

Bible Records

Listed below are resources for Bible records specific to Buchanan County. To find more resources, go to the Iowa Bible Records page.

• Buchanan County Iowa Bible Records at USGenWeb Iowa Archives — transcriptions
• Family Bibles at Buchanan County IAGenWeb - transcriptions

Biographies

• History of Buchanan County, Iowa: with illustrations and biographical sketches. Cleveland, OH: William Bro. Pub., 1881. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($).
• Buchanan County, Iowa Biographies Project at RootsWeb — links to biographies and local histories
  

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

• Iowa, State Employees at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Buchanan County, Iowa online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave IA Tombstone Transcription Project IAGenWeb Iowa Gravestone Photo Project WPA 1930's Graves Registration Survey Iowa, Church and Civil Deaths (cemetery records), incomplete
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	FamilySearch Places Find a Grave
See Iowa Cemeteries for more information.

• 1796-1988 Iowa, Buchanan County Obituaries and Cemetery Records, ca.1796-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records

Iowa recorded not only federal, but state censuses for several in-between years as well. For more information, see the very informative Iowa Census article.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	517	—
1860	7,906	1429.2%
1870	17,034	115.5%
1880	18,546	8.9%
1890	18,997	2.4%
1900	21,427	12.8%
1910	19,748	−7.8%
1920	19,890	0.7%
1930	19,550	−1.7%
1940	20,991	7.4%
1950	21,927	4.5%
1960	22,293	1.7%
1970	21,746	−2.5%
1980	22,900	5.3%
1990	20,844	−9.0%
2000	21,093	1.2%
2010	20,958	−0.6%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1852 1852 State Special Census of Iowa, Buchanan County at IAGenWeb
• 1885 Iowa State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1895 Iowa State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1905 Iowa State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images (individual cards, not family context)
• 1915 Iowa State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1925 Iowa State Census, 1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information about these major repositories, see Iowa Church Records.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• Churches of Buchanan County at IAGenWeb
• FamilySearch Places

Lutheran

• 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1845-1987 Iowa, Church and Civil Deaths, 1845-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; selected counties, incomplete; includes, death, church, and cemetery records
  

Directories

• 1886 Plat Book of Buchanan County, Iowa(*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Funeral Homes

• Reiff Family Center in Independence and Winthrop
• White Funeral Home in Independence, Jesup and Quasqueton

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. They include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Iowa Land and Property for information about early Iowa land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, transactions were usually recorded and housed at the county courthouse.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• 1847-1939 Deed records, 1847-1939 at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1848-1905 Town lot deeds, 1848-1905 at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Buchanan County, which may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see Iowa Local Histories.

• History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its People, Vol. 1 & 2. By Harry Church and Katharyn Joella Chappell. Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Pub., 1914. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vols. I & II - Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Buchanan County, Iowa. Cleveland, OH: William Bro. Pub., 1881. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).
• Brief History of Buchanan County at IAGenWeb

Maps and Gazetteers

County and state maps, historical and more current, are valuable research tools. For online maps and collections in libraries and societies, see Iowa Maps. Historical maps may be especially useful.

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1860-1918 U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918, Buchanan County at Ancestry ($) - index.
• 1875-2007 Buchanan County 1875-2007 at Historic Map Works - may include names of land-owners.
• 1885-1920 Fire Insurance Maps for Buchanan County, Iowa at Library of Congress - various years between 1885 and 1920.
• 1910 Atlas of Buchanan County, Iowa, 1910(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
• Buchanan County Maps at FamilySearch Catalog.
• IAGenWeb - Buchanan County.
• Iowa Digital Library, Buchanan County at Iowa University Libraries.
• Plat Book of Buchanan County, Iowa(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
• The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, Buchanan County at State Library of Iowa.
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places.

Military Records

Multiple Wars

• 1835-1998 Iowa, Armed Forces Grave Registrations, ca. 1835-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index only
• 1862-1910 Iowa, Records of Persons Subject to Military Duty, 1862-1910 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Buchanan County Military Page at IAGenWeb

Civil War

• 1861-1949 Iowa, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1949 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Civil War service men in Buchanan County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:

- 4th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company B

- 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 6th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company G

- 27th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies C and H

- 47th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company D

World War I

• Iowa Buchanan County, Record of soldiers in World War I, 1919-1939; index, World War I to present

World War II

• World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing for Buchanan County, Iowa at USGenWeb Archives

Naturalization and Citizenship

Please see the Iowa Naturalization and Citizenship page for state-wide information.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1852-1930 Naturalization Records, 1852-1930(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — 1 index, images
• 1859-1990 United States, Iowa Naturalization Records, 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Iowa, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1947, 1955, 1962, 1966 Bulletin Journal (Independence, Iowa) at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1957 Winthrop News (Winthrop, Iowa) at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Historical Iowa Newspapers at NewspaperArchive ($)
• NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

Obituaries

• 1796-1988 Iowa, Buchanan County Obituaries and Cemetery Records, ca.1796-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Buchanan County, Iowa Obituaries at IAGenWeb

Probate Records

In most counties in Iowa, probate records have been kept by the county judge. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1758-1997 Iowa, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1848-1905 Town Lot Deeds, 1848-1905(*); Recorder at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1850-1863 Probate Records, 1850-1863(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1851-1953 Probate Records, 1851-1953(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1857-1928 Will Records, 1857-1928(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1866-1945 Administrators, Guardians and Executors Bonds, 1866-1945(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1869-1910 List of Heirs and Description of Real Estate of Decedents, v. 1-2, 1869-1910(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1890-1925 Probate Records, 1890-1925(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

School Records

• Buchanan County Schools at IAGenWeb

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

Iowa tax records complement land records and can supplement the years between censuses. Iowa's unique Old Age Assistance tax gives names, addresses and birth years. There may be gaps of several years. For more information, see the wiki page Iowa Taxation.

Online Tax Indexes and Records

• 1862 Buchanan County Tax Roll 1862 at IAGenWeb
• 1934-1958 Iowa, Old Age Tax Assistance Records, 1934-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded by civil officials on registers, certificates, and other documents. Copies or extracts may be purchased from the Iowa Department of Public Health or the County Clerk's office. See also Iowa Vital Records.

Birth

• 1850-1939 Iowa, Delayed Birth Records, 1850-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1880-1935 Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1921-1942 Iowa, Birth Records, 1921-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1921-1947 Iowa, Birth and Stillbirth Records, 1921-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images, coverage may vary

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 ($)
• 1838-1934 Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1848-1858 Buchanan County, Iowa Marriages Book 1 1848-1858 at IAGenWeb
• 1854-1910 Buchanan County, Iowa Marriages 1854-1910 at I Dream of Genealogy
• 1880-1951 Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1941-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1941-1951 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

• 1845-1987 Iowa, Church and Civil Deaths, 1845-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; selected counties, incomplete; includes, death, church, and cemetery records
  
• 1850-1990 Iowa Deaths and Burials, 1850-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and some images; Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1880-1992 Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1888-1904 Iowa, Death Records, 1888-1904 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images, coverage may vary
• 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1904-1951 Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1920-1967 Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Buchanan County. For state-wide library facilities, see Iowa Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Belle Plaine Iowa FamilySearch Center
• Cedar Falls/Waterloo Iowa FamilySearch Center
• Cedar Rapids Iowa FamilySearch Center
• African American Museum Of Iowa - an affiliate library
• Genealogical Society of Linn County, Iowa - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Buchanan County. For state-wide library facilities, see Iowa Archives and Libraries.

Independence Public Library
805 1st Street East
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-334-2470
Email: indylib@indytel.com
Website

Oelwein Public Library
201 E Charles
Oelwein, IA 50662
Phone: 319-283-1515
Email: oelwein@oelwein.lib.ia.us
Website

Museums

Buchanan County Historical Society Museums
P.O. Box 321
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-334-4616
Email: bchs.lkh@gmail.com
Website

Winthrop Historical Center
P.O. Box 144
Winthrop, IA 50682
Phone: 319-935-3317
Email: history@cityofwinthrop.com
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Buchanan County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Iowa Societies.

Buchanan County Genealogical Society
103 4th Avenue SE
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-334-9333
Email: buchanancoia@yahoo.com
Website

Buchanan County Iowa Historical Society
P.O. Box 321
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-334-4616
Email: bchs.lkh@gmail.com
Website

Fairbank Historical Society
P.O. Box 325
Fairbank, IA 50629
Email: Fairbankhs@gmail.com
319-269-6795
Website

Littleton and Chatham Historical Society
1503 River Road Blvd
Independence, IA 50644
Phone: 319-415-1175
Email: tonybengston@yahoo.com
Website

Websites

• Buchanan County at Cyndi's List - a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
• Buchanan County at Genealogy Trails - volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
• Buchanan County at Iowa USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
• Buchanan County at Iowa USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
• State Historical Society of Iowa — select from research collection topics
• State Library of Iowa — electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa agencies
• The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection — digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

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Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.