Cedar County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa Cedar County

Guide to Cedar County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Cedar County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	December 21, 1837
County Seat	Tipton
Courthouse
Address	400 Cedar Street Tipton, IA 52772 Phone:(563) 886-2230 Cedar County Website

County Information

Cedar County, Iowa Record Dates

Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1880	1840	1880	1840	1838	1839

County Courthouse

Cedar County Courthouse
400 Cedar Street
Tipton, IA 52772
Phone:(563) 886-2230

History

Formed from sections of Dubuque County on December 21, 1837, Cedar County was named for the Red Cedar River which runs through the county. During the Great Depression, farmers rose in violent protest against state policy. The Cedar County War ensued in 1931.

• A Topical History of Cedar County, Iowa
• History of Cedar County, Iowa 1878

Parent County

1837--Cedar County was created 21 December 1837 from Dubuque County. The County seat is Tipton

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

• Bennett
• Clarence
• Downey
• Durant
• Gower Township
• Mechanicsville Township
• Springdale
• Springdale Township
• Tipton
• West Branch

Populated Places

Cities

Bennett Clarence Durant Lowden

Mechanicsville Stanwood Tipton West Branch Wilton

Other localities

Cedar Bluff Cedar Valley Centerdale Downey Lime City

Plato Rochester Springdale Sunbury Wald

Townships

Cedar County is divided into seventeen townships:

Cass Center Dayton Fairfield Farmington

Fremont Gower Inland Iowa Linn

Massillon Pioneer Red Oak Rochester Springdale

Springfield Sugar Creek

Neighboring Counties

Clinton • Johnson • Jones • Linn • Muscatine • Scott

Template:IACedar County, Iowa Clickable Neighbors

Cemeteries

• Cemetery Locations

Andre Cemetery Bolton Burial Site Brink Cemetery Burtonwood Cedar Bluff Cemetery Center Cemetery Center Ross Cemetery Clarence Cemetery Dayton Valley Cemetery Downey Cemetery Dumont Cemetery Durant Evergreen Hill Cemetery Hanna Cemetery Fairview Cemetery Friends Village Cemetery Gower Cemetery Hanna Cemetery Healey Cemetery Hebron Cemetery Hickory Grove Cemetery Honey Grove Cemetery

Howard Cemetery Inland Cemetery Jordan Grove Kempton Cemetery Lime City Cemetery Lowden Cemetery Mason Cemetery Mason-Wallick Cemetery Masonic Cemetery Massillon Cemetery Moneka Cemetery Mount Zion Church Cemetery North Liberty Cemetery Ocheltree Family Cemetery Parr Cemetery Pee Dee Cemetery Pioneer Cemetery Plato United Brethren Red Oak Cemetery Rochester Cemetery Rose Hill Cemetery Rosewood

Saint Johns Cemetery Saint Josephs Cemetery Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery Sand Hill Cemetery Scattergood Cemetery Sharon Cemetery Shawver Cemetery South Bethel Cemetery Springdale Cemetery Stanwood Cemetery Tipton Cemetery Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery Union Cemetery Van Horn Cemetery Virginia Grove Cemetery Wentzel Cemetery West Bethel Cemetery West Branch Cemetery Whitmer Cemetery Wood Bridge Cemetery Wright Cemetery York Prairie Cemetery

Transcriptions

• FindAGrave for pictures and transcriptions of individual graves.
• Iowa Gravestone Project
• WPA Website

Census

Iowa recorded not only the federal census but state census through out the years too. The state census contains very valuable genealogical information. Where the census information can be found, what years it was taken, mortality schedules, census substitutions and much more is discussed in the very informative Iowa Census article.

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 St. John's Lutheran Church, Cedar County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Methodist

Methodist Church. West Branch circuit Church Records Contents

Baptisms, 1860-1861, 1866-1878 -- marriages, 1866-1877 -- probationers -- alphabetical list of members. Also contains records for Zion Chapel, Brick Chapel, Zion Church, Brick Church, Morris Schoolhouse, McCormick in Cedar and Johnson Counties.

Court

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 Cedar 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.

• Jackson, A. W. An historical sketch of Gower Township, Cedar County, Iowa. [S.l. : s.n.], 1901.
  • Online at FamilySearch (Free)
• The History of Cedar County : with a history of Iowa. Chicago, Illinois : Historical Pub. Co., c1901.
  • Vol 1 online at FamilySearch (Free)
  • Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)
• The History of Cedar County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, town, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion .... Chicago : Western Historical, 1878.
  • Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Googlebooks (Free)
• Aurner, Clarence Ray. A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1910.
  • Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at Googlebooks (Free)
  • Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
• Township Map of 1875 Cedar County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)
  
• David Rumsey Map Collection is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures.

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Cedar County, Iowa Genealogy for European settlers included:

• Mormon Trail 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Military

Civil War

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

- 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies B, C and D

- 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E
:- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company B
:- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C
:- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
:- 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I
:- 5th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A

Newspapers

• NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Cedar Rapids newspapers that may have included Cedar County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

Obituaries

• Cedar County Obituaries

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

• Cedar County Historical Society & Museum
  1094 Hwy 38 PO Box 254
  Tipton IA 52772
  Phone:(563) 886-2899

Family History Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

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 Cedar County, Iowa Genealogy
State Historical Society of Iowa	Free	list and links to data and "hard copy" material - results of "cedar county" placed in search box
The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection	Free	digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions - results of "cedar 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 "cedar county" in the search box
IAGenWeb Project	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
USGenWeb Archives	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or may be 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 Cedar 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 ($)
CyndisList	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
StateofUS.com	Free	family history resources and government records

Major catalogs for hard copy collections of Cedar 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 Cedar 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	Cedar County, IA Genealogy Forum
ancestry.com	Cedar County Message Board

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

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)