Chickasaw County, Iowa Genealogy

United States

Iowa

Chickasaw County

Guide to Chickasaw 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: New Hampton Organized: 12 September 1853 Parent County(s): Unorganized territory Neighboring Counties Bremer • Butler • Fayette • Floyd • Howard • Mitchell • Winneshiek See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Chickasaw County was named for the Chickasaw people and is located in northeastern Iowa.

County Courthouse

Chickasaw County Courthouse
8 E Prospect St
PO Box 14
New Hampton, IA 50659-0014
Phone: 641-394-2106
Chickasaw County Courthouse

Chickasaw 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	1853	1880	1865	1851	1880	1847
* Statewide registration started for births in July 1880 and for deaths January 1891. General compliance by 1924.

Record Loss

1880 Courthouse burned on March 26 and many records were destroyed. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

1851--Chickasaw County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Fayette County prior to organization 12 September 1853. County seat: New Hampton 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 [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
Alta Vista Bassett Fredericksburg	Ionia Lawler Nashua	New Hampton North Washington Protivin
Unincorporated communities
Boyd Bradford	Deerfield Jerico	Little Turkey Saude
Townships
Bradford Chickasaw Dayton Deerfield	Dresden Fredericksburg Jacksonville New Hampton	Richland Stapleton Utica Washington

Resources

Bible Records

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

Biographies

• History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa. By W. E. Alexander. Decora, IA. Western Pub. Co., 1883. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa. By Robert Herd Fairbairn. S.J Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, IL., 1919. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw County, Iowa online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave IA Tombstone Transcription Project IAGenWeb Iowa Gravestone Photo Project USGenWeb Archives 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.

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.	%±
1860	4,336	—
1870	10,180	134.8%
1880	14,534	42.8%
1890	15,019	3.3%
1900	17,037	13.4%
1910	15,375	−9.8%
1920	15,431	0.4%
1930	14,637	−5.1%
1940	15,227	4.0%
1950	15,228	0.0%
1960	15,034	−1.3%
1970	14,969	−0.4%
1980	15,437	3.1%
1990	13,295	−13.9%
2000	13,095	−1.5%
2010	12,439	−5.0%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 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.

Church Records and Indexes

• 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
  
• FamilySearch Places

Lutheran

• 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry ($)

Court Records

• 1838-1934 Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934(*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index only
• 1853-1871 Court Records, 1853-1871(*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Funeral Homes

• Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home in Fredericksburg, Nashua and New Hampton
  

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

• 1851-1859 Copies of original entries, ca. 1851-1859 at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1853-1908 Deed records, 1853-1908 at FamilySearch Catalog - images and indexes
• 1854-1901 Mortgage index, 1854-1901, to lands at FamilySearch Catalog - images and indexes
• 1855-1923 Town lot deed records, 1855-1923 at FamilySearch Catalog - images and indexes
• 1866-1929 Land transfer books, 1866-1929 at FamilySearch Catalog - images and indexes
• 1878-1885 Homestead record, 1878-1885 at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• Plat book of Chickasaw County, Iowa. 1892.
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa. By W. E. Alexander. Decorah, IA: Western Pub. Co., 1883. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust; At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa. By Robert Herd Fairbairn. Chicago, IL: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1919. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vols. I & II - HathiTrust; Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).

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, Chickasaw County at Ancestry ($) - index.
• 1875-2007 Chickasaw County 1875-2007 at Historic Map Works - may include names of land-owners.
• 1885-1931 Fire Insurance Maps for Chickasaw County, Iowa at Library of Congress - various years between 1885 and 1931.
• Chickasaw County Maps at FamilySearch Catalog.
• IAGenWeb - Chickasaw County.
• Iowa Digital Library, Chickasaw County at Iowa University Libraries.
• Plat book of Chickasaw County, Iowa. 1892. Philadelphia, PA: Northwest Publishing Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Standard Historical Atlas of Chickasaw County, Iowa(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
• The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, Chickasaw 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

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 Chickasaw 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:

- 7th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B

- 27th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1858-1906 Naturalization Records, 1858-1906(*); Chickasaw County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — 2 index's, 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 ($)
• 1958-1976 The Nashua Reporter at Ancestry ($)
• 1932-1957 Fredericksburg News at Ancestry ($)
• 1891, 1918, 1955 The New Hampton Tribune at Ancestry ($)

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 Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1854-1871 Records, 1854-1871(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1854-1941 Probate Records, 1854-1941(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
• 1859-1937 Will Records, 1859-1937(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
• 1886-1929 Administrative, Executors, and Guardians Letters and Bonds, 1886-1929(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

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 ($)

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

• 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 ($)
• 1838-1934 Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry ($) — 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; Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1880-1992 Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1888-1904 Iowa, Death Records, 1888-1904 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images, coverage may vary
• 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 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 ($)

Divorce

• 1912-1925 Divorce Records, 1912-1925(*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Chickasaw 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

• Cedar Falls/Waterloo Iowa FamilySearch Center
• Mason City 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 Chickasaw County. For state-wide library facilities, see Iowa Archives and Libraries.

New Hampton Public Library
20 W Spring Street
New Hampton, IA 50659
Phone: 641-394-2184
Email: director@newhampton.lib.ia.us
Website
Facebook

Museums

Carnegie Cultural Center
PO Box 243
7 N Water Avenue
New Hampton, IA 50659-0243
Phone: 641-394-2354
Email: info@carnegieculturalcenter.org
Website
Facebook

Chickasaw County Historical Society Museum & Bradford Pioneer Museum
2729 Cheyenne Avenue
Nashua, IA 50648
Phone: 641-435-2567

Societies

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

Chickasaw County Historical Society
3009 Gilmore Avenue
Ionia, IA 50645
Phone: 515-435-4701
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Chickasaw County at Cyndi's List - a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
• Chickasaw County at Genealogy Trails - volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
• Chickasaw County at Iowa USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
• Chickasaw 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.