Washington County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa Washington County

Guide to Washington County Iowa genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Washington County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 18, 1838
County Seat	Washington
Courthouse

History

Parent County

1838--Washington County was created 18 January 1838 from Henry, Louisa, and Muscatine Counties. It was formerly named Slaughter County, but the name changed to Washington County 25 January 1839.
County seat: Washington

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Iowa County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Iowa County Boundary Maps" (1816-1872) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

For a list of record loss in Iowa Counties see: Iowa Counties with Burned Courthouses

Places/Localities

Neighboring Counties

Henry | Iowa | Jefferson | Johnson | Keokuk | Louisa

Resources

Church

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.

Lutheran

• Records of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, Washington County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Land

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.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Washington County, Iowa Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Iowa Local Histories.

The History of Washington County, Iowa, 1880

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa

Military

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Washington County, Iowa Genealogy 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 in Washington County, Iowa Genealogy:

- 7th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H

- 8th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C

- 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F

- 13th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies I and K

- 17th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D

- 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I

- 19th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C

- 25th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies A and I

- 30th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 31st Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K

- 45th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company B

Newspapers

NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

Probate

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.

Taxation

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.

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.

Societies and Libraries

See also a List of Iowa Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• Washington County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Family History Library Catalog
• Washington County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.