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Adoption Bible Records Cemeteries Census Church Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Divorce Records Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Occupation & Business Records Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Public Records Schools and Education Records Substitute Records Substitute Records Taxation Vital Records Voter Records

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United States

Iowa

Record Finder

Record Finder Table for [STATE]

The following Record Finder table assists researchers in determining record types that may list the information they are looking for.

Order of Records

The typically most reliable sources are listed at the top of the list. However, depending on the time period of the record and location, multiple records in the list may need to be searched to achieve the objective. Alternative records are listed as well in case traditional records do not provide the desired information.

List of Topics

This Record Finder table links to the [STATE] topic Wiki pages, containing databases and other information about accessing the records.

Vital Events

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Birth date and place	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Census|Census]]
Marriage place and date	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Land and Property|Land and Property]]
Death date, place, and burial	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]]	[[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]]

Maiden Names and Family Members

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Maiden name	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]]	[[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]]
Parents, children, spouses, and other family members	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]]
Living relatives	[[[STATE] Directories|Directories]] [[[STATE] Court Records|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]]

Immigration and Country of Origin

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Immigration date	[[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]]
City or Country of foreign birth	[[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization and Citizenship]]	[[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]]

Residences and Locations

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Residence	[[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Land and Property|Land and Property]] [[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Directories|Directories]] [[[STATE] Taxation|Taxation]]	[[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]]

Personal Details and Affiliations

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Nationality or Race	[[[STATE] Cultural Groups|Cultural Groups]] [[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Periodicals|Periodicals]]
Occupation	[[[STATE] Census|Census]] [[[STATE] Directories|Directories]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]]	[[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Court Records|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]]
Religion	[[[STATE] Church Records|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]]
Social activities	[[[STATE] Biography|Biography]] [[[STATE] Newspapers|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Societies|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Obituaries|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Court Records|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Directories|Directories]]
Physical description	[[[STATE] Military Records|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Vital Records|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]]

Adoption

For information about adoptees and their biological families, please refer to: United States Adoption Research.