Iowa Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

=== National  ===

: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 name="DB67">William Dollarhide, and Ronald A. Bremer, ''America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers'' (Bountiful, UT: Heritage Quest, 1988), 67. {{WorldCat|39493985}}; {{FHL|728550|item|disp=FHL 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:

:*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.newberry.org/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. &nbsp;See

=== Statewide  ===

The State Historical Society of Iowa, formerly known as Iowa Historical Society or Iowa State Department of History and Archives has two centers. One is in Des Moines, the other in Iowa City. The Centers have many similar collections, and they share a website and a catalog. The centers are:  

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

::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'''''

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::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>

::*''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 Family History Library has all of these, except for Carroll and Sac counties. [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=370&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" />

=== Regional  ===

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

:*Mortality Schedule Index&nbsp; <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>

=== References  ===