Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa Kossuth County

Kossuth County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 15, 1851
County Seat	Algona
Courthouse

History

Parent County

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

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

Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

• Algona
• Bancroft
• Irvington
• Lakota
• Titonka
• Wesley
• Whittemore

Neighboring Counties

Emmet • Hancock • Humboldt • Palo Alto • Pocahontas • Winnebago • Wright • Faribault County, Minnesota • Martin County, Minnesota

Template:IAKossuth County, Iowa Clickable Neighbors

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 American Lutheran Church, Kossuth 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 Kossuth 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.

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

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

Websites

Check back often with websites. Local societies and libraries may know of other websites.

Sites with online indexes or images of records pertaining to Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy
State Historical Society of Iowa	Free	list and links to data and "hard copy" material - results of "kossuth county" placed in search box
The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection	Free	digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions - results of "kossuth county" in the search box
State Library of Iowa	Free	electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa agencies - results of "kossuth county" in the search box
IAGenWeb	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
USGenWeb Archives	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
genealogytrails.com	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
[1] [2][3] FamilySearch	Free	Births, 1880-1935; Deaths 1880-1992; Marriages, 1838-1934; all indexes

Sites that search for links pertaining to Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy
RootsWeb Resources	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
Linkpendium	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
CyndisList	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
Iowa-genealogy.com	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
StateofUS.com	Free	family history resources and government records

Major catalogs for hard copy collections of Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy Books, microfilm, or manuscripts of genealogical records
FamilySearch Catalog	Select topics. To select towns, add a comma to the search box.
WorldCat	To find nearby libraries that have specific items, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
Allen County Public Library	located in Indiana They are heavily involved in digitizing.
See also local libraries and Iowa Archives and Libraries

Social networking sites pertaining to Kossuth County, Iowa Genealogy
GeneaBloggers	enter "Iowa" in search box to see list and links to Iowa blogs
Google+	list of groups from "iowa genealogy" search
Facebook	list of groups from "Iowa Genealogy" search
genealogy.com	Kossuth County, IA Genealogy Forum
ancestry.com	Kossuth County Message Board

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