Poweshiek County, Iowa Genealogy

United States Iowa Poweshiek County

Guide to Poweshiek County Iowa genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Poweshiek County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	February 17, 1843
County Seat	Montezuma
Courthouse

County Courthouse 

The Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma contains vital records (starting about 1848 for birth, marriage, and death) on the 2nd floor. The staff is friendly and helpful. Access inside the records vault is allowed, although no cameras are permitted. There is no charge for transcribing documents, and since personal computers are allowed inside the records vault, transcription is easy. The cost for having the staff make copies was only a few dollars per copy.

History

Parent County

1843--Poweshiek County was created 17 February 1843 from Keokuk County.  It was attached to Mahaska and iowa Counties prior to organization 3 April 1848.  County seat:  Montezuma

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

Neighboring Counties

Benton • Iowa • Jasper • Keokuk • Mahaska • Marshall • Tama

Template:IAPoweshiek County, Iowa Clickable Neighbors

Resources

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 Trinity Lutheran Church, Malcom, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

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 Poweshiek 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.

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa

Military

Civil War

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

- 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F

- 13th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I

- 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Companies C and H

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

- 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F
:- 13th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
:- 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C
:- 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
:- 46th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company B

Newspapers

NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

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

The Montezuma Public Library contains only an handful of local history books.  All newspapers and genealogical materials are in the Poweshiek County Historical and Genealogical Society in Montezuma (see website below).

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• Poweshiek County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Poweshiek County Historical and Genealogical Society
• Family History Library Catalog
• Poweshiek County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)