Adams County, Iowa Genealogy
Guide to Adams County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Adams County, Iowa | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Iowa, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Iowa in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | January 15, 1851 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Corning |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Adams County Courthouse 500 9th St. Corning, IA 50841 Phone: (515) 322-4711 Adams County Website |
Contents
County Information
Description
The County was named for John Adams. The County has Corning as its seat and the County was created March 12, 1853. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.[1]
Adams County, Iowa Record Dates
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1880 | 1853 | 1880 | 1860 | 1853 | 1860 | 1847 |
County Courthouse
Adams County Courthouse
500 9th St.
Corning, IA 50841
(515) 322-4711
History
Parent County
1851 - Adams County was created 15 January 1851 from Pottawattamie County. The county was organized 7 March 1853.
County seat: Corning [3]
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
1888 - Courthouse burned on February 1, 1888 and some early records were destroyed.
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
- Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle.
- When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog.
- Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
|
|
|
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties
Adair • Cass • Montgomery • Page • Ringgold • Taylor • Union
Resources
Biographies
Rootsweb Iowa Biographics Project Click title to see alphabetical list, some with links
Cemeteries
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| IAGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| IAGenWeb Archives | Iowa Gravestones | |
| Tombstone Project | FamilySearch Places | |
| Iowa gravestones Project | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Iowa Cemeteries for more information. | ||
|
|
|
Transcriptions of these cemeteries can be found at:
Census
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 1,533 | — |
| 1870 | 4,614 | 201.0% |
| 1880 | 11,888 | 157.7% |
| 1890 | 12,292 | 3.4% |
| 1900 | 13,601 | 10.6% |
| 1910 | 10,998 | −19.1% |
| 1920 | 10,521 | −4.3% |
| 1930 | 10,437 | −0.8% |
| 1940 | 10,156 | −2.7% |
| 1950 | 8,753 | −13.8% |
| 1960 | 7,468 | −14.7% |
| 1970 | 6,322 | −15.3% |
| 1980 | 5,731 | −9.3% |
| 1990 | 4,866 | −15.1% |
| 2000 | 4,482 | −7.9% |
| 2010 | 4,029 | −10.1% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
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.
State Census
- 1895 - Iowa State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1905 - Iowa State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1915 - Iowa State Census, 1915 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1925 - Iowa State Census, 1925 at FamilySearch — index and images
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.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court
Land
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See Iowa Land and Property for additional information about early Iowa land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse, where records are currently housed.
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Adams 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.
Biographical History of Montgomery and Adams Counties, Iowa
- A Brief history of Corning and Adams County, Iowa, on the occasion of observing Corning's first 100 years : 1857-1957 Corning Iowa centurama. Corning, Iowa : Free Press Publishing Co., 1957.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
- Adams County History Book Committee (Corning, Iowa). History of Adams County, Iowa. Corning, Iowa : Corning Departmental Club and Civic Department, c1984.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
Maps
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
- David Rumsey Map Collection is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures.
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military
- 1835-1998 - Iowa, Armed Forces Grave Registrations, ca. 1835-1998 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1949 - Iowa, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1862-1910 - Iowa, Records of Persons Subject to Military Duty, 1862-1910 at FamilySearch — index
Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Adams 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 Adams County, Iowa Genealogy:
- - 4th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H
- - 29th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D
Naturalization and Citizenship
- 1859-1990 - United States, Iowa Naturalization Records, 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers
- 1890-2000 - Adams County Newspaper Archives (1890-2000)
- Adams County Free Press. Corning, Iowa, United States Of America. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
Probate
Online Probate Records
- 1758-1997 - Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
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.
The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for Iowa - Adams - Probate records.
Taxation
Iowa tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. Tax lists were usually made every year, however, there may be gaps of several years. For more information, see the wiki page Iowa Taxation.
- 1934-1958 - Iowa, Old Age Tax Assistance Records, 1934-1958 at FamilySearch — index
Vital Records
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Iowa Department of Public Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also How to order Iowa Vital Records or order electronically online.
Births
- 1850-1939 - Iowa, Delayed Birth Records, 1850-1939 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1880-1935 - Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935 at FamilySearch — index
- 1921-1942 - Iowa, Birth Records, 1921-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
Marriages
- 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1809-1992 Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1838-1934 - Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
Deaths
- 1836-1926 Iowa, Marriages, 1836 - 1926 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1850-1990 - Iowa, Deaths and Burials 1850-1990 at FamilySearch - index
- 1880-1992 - Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — index
- 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1904-1951 - Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1920-1967 Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
Societies and Libraries
Adams County Genealogical Society
% Public Library
603 9th Street
Corning IA 50841-1034
Family History Centers
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Websites
 |
Check back often with these websites. Internet offerings are growing at record rates. Local societies and libraries may know of other websites. |
| State Historical Society of Iowa | Free | Select from research collection topics |
| The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection | Free | digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural insitutions - results of "adams county" in the search box |
| State Library of Iowa | Free | electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa agencies - results of "adams county" in the search box |
| IAGenWeb Project | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions |
| USGenWeb Archives | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| Birth,Death,Marriage records on FamilySearch | Free | Births, 1880-1935; Deaths 1880-1992; Marriages, 1838-1934; all indexes |
| RootsWeb Resources | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| Linkpendium | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| CyndisList | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| Genealogy Inc. | Free | family history resources and government records |
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. |
| GeneaBloggers | enter "Iowa" in search box to see list and links to Iowa blogs | |
| list of groups from "iowa genealogy" search | ||
| list of groups from "Iowa Genealogy" search | ||
| genealogy.com | Iowa Genealogy Forum | |
| ancestry.com | Adams County Message Board | |
References
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Adams, Iowa," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_County,_Iowa.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Adams County, Iowa. Page 230-238 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 222-225.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Adams County, Iowa," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_County,_Iowa, accessed 14 September 2018.
