Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy

United States

Iowa

Kossuth County

Guide to Kossuth 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: Algona Organized: March 1, 1856 Parent County(s): Unorganized territory Neighboring Counties Emmet • Hancock • Humboldt • Palo Alto • Pocahontas • Winnebago • Wright • Faribault (MN) • Martin (MN) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Kossuth County was named for Lajos Kossuth and is located in northern Iowa.

County Courthouse

Kossuth County Courthouse
114 W State St # 10
Algona, IA 50511
Phone: 515-295-3240
Kossuth County Website

Kossuth 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	1857	1880	1869	1855	1877	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

1851--Kossuth County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Boone and Webster Counties prior to organization 1 March 1856. County seat: Algona 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
Algona Bancroft Burt Fenton Lakota	Ledyard Lone Rock Lu Verne Swea City	Titonka Wesley West Bend Whittemore
Census-designated places
Irvington Sexton	St. Benedict	St. Joseph
Townships
Buffalo Cresco Eagle Fenton Garfield German Grant Greenwood Harrison	Hebron Irvington Ledyard Lincoln Lotts Creek Lu Verne Plum Creek Portland Prairie	Ramsey Riverdale Seneca Sherman Springfield Swea Union Wesley Whittemore

Resources

Bible Records

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

Biographies

• History of Kossuth and Humboldt Counties, Iowa: Together with Sketches of Their Cities, Villages and Townships. Springfield, IL: Union Publishing Co., 1884. Online at: HathiTrust.
• History of Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago Counties, Iowa: Together With Sketches of Their Cities, Villages and Townships; Biographies of Representative Citizens. Springfield, Illinois Union Pub. Co., 1884. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust.

• Kossuth 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 Kossuth 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)	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	416	—
1870	3,351	705.5%
1880	6,178	84.4%
1890	13,120	112.4%
1900	22,720	73.2%
1910	21,971	−3.3%
1920	25,082	14.2%
1930	25,452	1.5%
1940	26,630	4.6%
1950	26,241	−1.5%
1960	25,314	−3.5%
1970	22,937	−9.4%
1980	21,891	−4.6%
1990	18,591	−15.1%
2000	17,163	−7.7%
2010	15,543	−9.4%
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.

• 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 — index & images ($)

Court Records

• 1869-1877 Circuit Court Record, March 1869-March 1877(*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1907-1935 Powers of Attorney and Affidavits, 1910-1924; Index, 1907-1935(*); Recorder at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Directories

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

Funeral Homes

• Harris Funeral Home in West Bend
  
• Lenz Funeral Home in Algona, Burt and Wend Bend
  
• Oakrest Funeral Services in Algona, Bancroft, Lu Verne, Titonka, Wesley and Whittemore
  

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

• 1856-1994 Deed records, 1856-1994; indexes, 1857-1994 at FamilySearch Catalog - index & 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 Kossuth 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 Kossuth County, Iowa... From Earliest Times to Midsummer of 1912. By Benjamin F. Reed. Chicago, IL: S. J. Clarke, 1913. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust; Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library; HathiTrust.
• History of Kossuth and Humboldt Counties, Iowa. Springfield, IL: Union Publishing Co., 1884. Online at: HathiTrust.
• History of Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago Counties, Iowa. Springfield, Illinois Union Pub. Co., 1884. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust.

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, Kossuth County at Ancestry ($) - index.
• 1904-2007 Kossuth County 1904-2007 at Historic Map Works - may include names of land-owners.
• 1892-1933 Fire Insurance Maps for Kossuth County, Iowa at Library of Congress - various years between 1892 and 1933.
• 1946 Kossuth County, Iowa, Plat Book, 1946(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
• IAGenWeb - Kossuth County.
• Iowa Digital Library, Kossuth County at Iowa University Libraries.
• Kossuth County Maps at FamilySearch Catalog.
• The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, Kossuth 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

Civil War

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1859-1990 United States, Iowa Naturalization Records, 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1864-1932 Naturalization Records, 1864-1932; Index, ca. 1870-ca. 1906(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — 2 indexes, images

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Iowa, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1951-1958 Kossuth County Advance. 1951-58. Algona, IA, USA. Online at Ancestry ($)
• 1956 West Bend Journal. 1956. West Bend, IA, USA. Online at Ancestry ($)
• 1958-1960 Algona Kossuth County Advance. 1958-60. Algona, IA, USA. Online at Ancestry ($)

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, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1856-1947 Probate Records, 1856-1945; Index, 1893-1947(*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog - index & 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 ($)
• 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

• 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 ($)
• 1838-1934 Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1880-1951 Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 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 Kossuth 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

• Fort Dodge Iowa FamilySearch Center
• Spencer Iowa FamilySearch Center
• Waseca County Historical - Minnesota - an affiliate library

Libraries

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

West Bend Public Library
316 S Broadway Avenue
P.O. Box 46
West Bend, IA 50597
Phone: 515-887-6411
Email: wbplib@ncn.net
Website

Museums

Kossuth County Historical Society Museum
122 S. Dodge Street
Algona, IA 50511
Phone: 515-320-0834
Email: kossuthhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Website

Societies

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

Kossuth County Iowa Genealogical Society
c/o Algona Public Library
210 North Phillips Street
Algona, IA 50511
Phone: 515-320-2091
Email: kossgensoc@gmail.com
Facebook

Kossuth County Historical Society
122 S. Dodge Street
Algona, IA 50511
Phone: 515-320-0834
Email: kossuthhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Website

Websites

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