Iowa Record Finder

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Beginning Research

Record Types

Iowa Background

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Iowa

Record Finder

This table can help you decide which records to search. It is most helpful for research from 1800 to the present.

Step 1. In column 1 select a research goal. Choose an ancestor you would like to know more about. What new information would you like to learn about that person?

Step 2. In column 2 find the types of records most likely to have the information you need.

Read the FamilySearch Wiki articles about those types of records. They explain what the records might tell you, how to search them, and how to find them in the FamilySearch Catalog. Some records are not at the library.
Records of previous research (such as Genealogy, Biography, History, Periodicals, and Societies) are useful for most goals but are not listed unless they are especially helpful.

Step 3. In column 3 find additional record types that may be useful. If you do not find the desired information see the United States Record Finder for more suggestions.

What you are looking for:	Try these records first:	Other useful records:
Adoptions	Probate Records, Court Records, Obituaries	Census, Societies,Church Records, Probate Records
Age	Census, Vital Records, Cemeteries	Military Records, Obituaries, Naturalization and Citizenship
Birth date	Vital Records, Church Records, Cemeteries	Bible Records, Obituaries, Military Records
Birth place	Vital Records, Church Records, Census	Obituaries, Genealogy, Military Records
Boundaries and origins	History, Maps	Gazetteers, Historical Geography
Children	Census, Probate Records, Obituaries, Genealogy	Bible Records, Vital Records, Church Records, Land and Property
City or parish of foreign birth	Vital Records,Naturalization and Citizenship	Obituaries, Church Records
Country of foreign birth	Census, Naturalization and Citizenship, Obituaries	Military Records, Vital Records, Church Records
Death information	Vital Records, Cemeteries, Probate Records	Bible Records, Church Records, Obituaries
Divorce	Court Records, Vital Records, Divorce Records	Newspapers
Ethnic background	Minorities, Native Races, Census	Societies, Church Records, Naturalization and Citizenship
Historical background	History, Periodicals, Biography	Minorities
Immigration date	Naturalization and Citizenship, Census, Emigration and Immigration	Newspapers, Obituaries, Genealogy
Living relatives	Genealogy, Directories, Obituaries	Census, Church Records, Probate Records
Maiden name	Vital Records, Church Records, Bible Records	Cemeteries, Military Records, Probate Records, Obituaries
Marriage information	Vital Records, Church Records, Census, Divorce Records	Bible Records, Cemeteries, Probate Records,Land and Property
Naturalization	Naturalization and Citizenship, Census	Obituaries, Land and Property (sometimes in homestead records)
Occupations	Census, Directories, Land and Property	Court Records, Obituaries, Military Records
Other family members	Census, Probate Records, Obituaries	Bible Records, Genealogy, Land and Property
Parents	Vital Records, Church Records, Census	Probate Records, Obituaries, Land and Property
Physical description	Military Records, Biography, Emigration and Immigration	Naturalization and Citizenship (after Sept. 1906),Vital Records, Genealogy
Place-finding aids	Gazetteers, Maps, Historical Geography	History,Periodicals
Places of residence / Place of residence when you know only the state	Census, Land and Property, GenealogyCensus (indexed), Genealogy, Military Records, Vital Records, and other records with a statewide index	Military Records, Obituaries, DirectoriesBiography,Probate Records, History, Obituaries, Directories
Previous research	Genealogy, Periodicals, Societies	History, Biography
Record-finding aids	Archives and Libraries	Periodicals
Religion	Church Records, Biography	Cemeteries, Obituaries
Social activities	History, Biography, Newspapers