Iowa Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

:One of America's most complete genealogical centers: censuses and indexes, 80,000 family histories, 100,000 local histories, 565,000 microfilms, 7,000 maps, and newspapers. Surrounding states like '''Iowa''' are well represented.<ref>William Dollarhide, and Ronald A. Bremer, ''America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers'' (Bountiful, UT: Heritage Quest, 1988), 67. {{WorldCat|39493985}}; {{FSC|728550|item|disp=FS Library Book 973 J54d}}.</ref> <ref>[http://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy Midwest Genealogy Center] in ''Mid-Continent Public Library'' (accessed 7 March 2014).</ref><br><br>

:The National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri has the records of regional federal courts and offices for '''Iowa''', Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, including:

:*Federal naturalization records including [http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/aliens/a-files-kansas-city.html A-files]  

:*Bureau of Indian Affairs and other American Indian records  

:*Copies of federal census, military, and immigration records<br><br>

:A large Chicago repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records '''some from Iowa''', the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.<ref>[http://www./genealogy-and-local-history Genealogy and Local History] in ''The Newberry'' (accessed 27 February 2015).</ref> They have over 17,000 printed genealogies. The collection is noteworthy for its colonial America, especially New England holdings. They have church, town, and county histories from all parts of the United States, Canada, and the British Isles. This includes a comprehensive set of New England town histories, and strong collection of county histories from the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Their Civil War unit histories collection is one of the best.<ref name="DB39">Dollarhide and Bremer, 39.</ref> This library has research guides on various subjects related to genealogy and library holdings cataloged from 1978.  See

:*[http://www./genealogy-collection-guides-and-research-tools Genealogy Collection Guides and Research Tools] for more information about the collections. ''<br>''  

:*A surname index to genealogical periodicals and local history books in the Newberry Library was completed in 1915 and published as ''The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library''<ref>''The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library''. Boston, Massachusetts: G.K. Hall, 1960. {{WorldCat|83367401}}  {{FSC|130151|item|disp=FS Library films 928135–928137}} and {{FSC|130151|item|disp=FS Catalog book 973 D22n vols. 1–4}}</ref> Since this index is old, be sure to use the [http://www./sites/default/files/textpage-attachments/Genealogical%20Index.pdf online guide sheet] to this collection before using the source.<br><br>

:'''''Des Moines Center'''''

:Library and Archives<br>600 East Locust<br>Des Moines, Iowa, 50319<br>Telephone:  515-281-6200 (Library)<br>Website:  [https://iowaculture.gov/history/research/collections State Historical Society]<br>

::Biggest collection of county records on microfilm, including book, manuscripts, and periodicals—the starting place for Iowa genealogists.<ref name="DB45">Dollarhide and Bremer, 45.</ref><br><br>

:'''''Iowa City Center'''''

:Centennial Building<br>State Historical Society of Iowa (Iowa City)<br>402 Iowa Avenue<br>Iowa City, Iowa, 52240-1806<br>Telephone: 319-335-3916  (Library)<br>Website:  [https://iowaculture.gov/history/research/collections State Historical Society]<br>

::Not a repeat of Des Moines—this is an outstanding set of records for genealogists.<ref name="DB45" /> The Special Collections rooms of the facilities include manuscript records of the state, government records, photographs, newspapers, and more. They also have family histories in book and manuscript form.<br><br>

:The State Archives of Iowa contains records of enduring value created or collected by Iowa state agencies. These materials document all facets of the state’s history. The following are some groups of state and local government records which may be of particular interest for family historians:<br>

::*General history books for Iowa and other states; city directories; plat maps; cemetery surveys;  biographies and memoirs; school yearbooks; selected government documents; and extensive genealogy resources are available in the libraries; periodicals.  

::*Photo Collections - about a half million from daguerreotype to digital. A webpage has been created on the Flickr's photo-sharing site to showcase some representative portions of the holding.  

::*Newspapers from hundreds of communities from all of Iowa’s 99 counties from 1836 to the present. The collection features several foreign language and special interest newspapers published in Iowa. <br>  

::*County government records: including marriage, birth and death records, naturalization papers and land deeds. Microfilm copies of many of these county records are available in the libraries’ reading rooms.  

::*Manuscript, Audio-Visual and Map Collections: including collections of personal papers; records of organizations an extensive photograph collections; and maps.<br>Census materials. Both state and federal from 1840 through 1930. Special schedules: Mortality, agricultural, industrial, and social census records for selected years. <br>  

::*Digital Collections: Maps, children's diaries, photographs, and more.

::'''Publications of State Historical Society of Iowa'''

::*''Annuls of Iowa''  

::*''Iowa Historical Record ''  

::*''Iowa Journal of History''  

::*''Palimpsest''<br><br>

:Many of the works found here are cannot be found anywhere else, including published genealogies, periodicals, histories, county indexes and unpublished family histories. This is one of the largest societies in America with important publications of indexes, abstracts, and county records from all over Iowa. They have also collected material from states contributing to Iowa's population such as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and New England.<ref name="DB45" />

:To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Iowa counties, use the 11 inventories of county archives published by the Historical Records Survey from 1938 to 1942. They are available for Carroll, Cherokee, Dallas, Dubuque, Ida, Jasper, Montgomery, Polk, Sac, Taylor, and Woodbury Counties. The FamilySearch Library has all of these, except for Carroll and Sac counties. [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=51&query=%2Bplace%3A%22United%20States%2C%20Iowa%22%20%2Bkeywords%3Ahistorical%20%2Bkeywords%3Arecords%20%2Bkeywords%3Asurvey&subjectsOpen=463661-50,464418-50 Historical Records Survey (Iowa)]<br><br>

:They have the largest collection of books and periodicals in Iowa, including county histories, and biographies.<ref name="DB45" />

:But from their [http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/services/services/genealogy/genealogy-information website]: '''Genealogy Information: Iowa Library Services does not have genealogy materials.'''<br>

:[http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cwd/ Iowa Digital Library prestents: Civil War Diaries and Letters], Special Collections and University of Iowa Libraries. <br><br>

:This is a good solid regional genealogical resource library including sources related to the migration of Germans, Dutch, and French. Located on the Mississippi River, they have many river boat, and river traffic related sources.<ref name="DB45" /><br>

:The [http://www.qcmemory.org/ Davenport Public Library] has the following databases on line, by clicking on Local databases:

:*Obituaries  

:*Scott County Marriage Certificates: Index, pre 1836-c1925  

:*Marriage Announcement Index  

:*Gazette (Davenport Daily Gazette:  

:*1856 Census  

:*1885 Census  

:*1925 Iowa State Census  

:*Civil War Enlistments   

:*Mortality Schedule Index  <br><br>

:This little rural library has a regional-size genealogy collection including books, manuscripts, surname folders, pedigree charts, special name indexes, and genealogical periodicals. This is a good all-around genealogical facility.<ref name="DB45" /><br><br>

:This huge library is also a resource for genealogists with ancestors who lived beyond the borders of just Iowa. They have a very large family folder collection, guides and indexes to cemeteries, and county histories.<ref name="DB45" /><br><br>

:Huge book collection including many county histories. They also have a great newspaper archives and good map collection.<ref name="DB45" /><br><br>

:They have a good regional genealogy section and DAR collection of printed genealogies, periodicals, newspaper archives, and family folders with coverage beyond Iowa's borders.<ref name="DB45" /><br><br>

:They are strong on rare books, manuscripts, histories, oral histories, and have one of the largest German language book collections in America. They also have very large book, and periodical collections, with good newspapers, and ethnic resources.<ref name="DB45" /><br><br>

::'''United States, Iowa - Archives and Libraries'''  

::'''United States, Iowa, [County] - Archives and Libraries'''