Start with these
- State Historical Society of Iowa
The official state archives: original state and county records, finding aids and research help.
- FamilySearch Wiki: Iowafree
County-by-county guide to what records exist, the years they cover, and where they're held.
- Vital records office (CDC directory)
Where to order Iowa birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates, with fees.
Key record dates
- Statewide birth & death registration
- 1880
- State-level marriage records
- 1880
Births and deaths: the year Iowa began requiring them to be registered with the state. Compliance often took years, and earlier records may be in county, town or church records.
Marriages: the year marriages began to be recorded or indexed at the state level, or in a few states, the year a state law began requiring county marriage licenses. Either way, the original marriage records are usually kept by the county (or town) that issued the license, and most begin well before this date. Start your search there.
Dates are from Family Tree Magazine's vital records chart, with corrections. Laws, compliance and the years a particular office holds can differ, so confirm with the state vital records office. See Finding Ancestors Before Statewide Vital Records.
Newspapers
- Chronicling America: Iowa newspapersfree
Free digitized historic newspapers from the Library of Congress.
Land records
Iowa is a federal-land (public-land) state. The first transfer from the government is a federal land patent, searchable free at the BLM. Later sales are in county deed books.
- BLM General Land Office Recordsfree
Search Iowa land patents by name, county or legal description.
New to land records? Read Land Records: The Paper Trail of Property.
Link directories
- Cyndi's List: Iowafree
Categorized links for statewide and county resources.
- Linkpendium: Iowafree
Links organized by county, including cemetery, church and family pages.
- USGenWeb Projectfree
Volunteer-run Iowa state and county sites with transcribed records.
Research tip
Most pre-1900 records were kept at the county level. Before searching, confirm which county your ancestor's home was in at the time; boundaries changed often. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows every change.