Black Hawk County, Iowa Genealogy

Guide to Black Hawk County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. Iowa Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Black Hawk. The County has Waterloo as its seat and the County was created 1843. The County is located in the northeast central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Black Hawk County Courthouse 316 E. 5th St. Waterloo, IA 50703-4774

(319) 833-3012

Black Hawk County

Parent County
1843--Black Hawk County was created 17 February 1843 from Buchanan County. Black Hawk County was attached to Buchanan, Benton, and Delaware Counties prior to organization 17 August 1853. County seat: Black Hawk

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Benton • Bremer •  Buchanan •  Butler •  Fayette •  Grundy •  Tama

Census
Iowa recorded not only the federal census but state census through out the years as well. 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 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1915 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1925 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Lutheran
Trinity Lutheran Church, Waterloo


 * Records of the Trinity Lutheran Church, Waterloo, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Washburn


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Washburn, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Local Histories
Local Histories and memories of Cedar Falls, Black Hawk, Iowa. Go to Facebook.com search for:  igrewupin Cedar Falls There are memories of places, events form the early years to date. Wonderful to learn about the residents of a Great town. Have you ever heard of DeTasseling Corn? It is in there. How about a Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich? Who made the best ever? The town's concentration and love for the arts and music... Check out the site.


 * Melendy, Peter. Historical record of Cedar Falls, the garden city of Iowa : containing a brief history of Iowa, of Black Hawk County, and a full and complete description of industrial and picturesque Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls, Iowa : Peter Melendy, 1893.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)


 * Van Metre, Isaiah. History of Black Hawk County, Iowa and representative citizens. Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co., 1904.
 * Online at ROD Library (Free)


 * History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1915.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Iowa
 * Township Map of 1875 Black Hawk County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Iowa USGS Topographic Choose Airport, Bridge, Building, Cemetery, Church, Civil, Hospital, Lake, Locale, Park, Populated Place, Post Office, School, Stream, Summit, Trail []
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military

 * 1835-1998 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1949 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1862-1910 - at FamilySearch — index

Civil War

 * - 1st Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company G
 * - 3rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K
 * - 9th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G
 * - 12th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

World War I

 * 1917-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1859-1990 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Waterloo newspapers that covered local news on Black Hawk County residents. This database is free at some libraries.


 * Cedar Falls Gazette (Cedar Falls, Iowa) at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Waterloo Daily Courier. Waterloo, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * Progress Review. La Porte City, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * Waterloo Sunday Courier. Waterloo, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * 'La Porte City Progress. La Porte City, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * La Porte City Review. La Porte City, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com($)
 * La Porte City Progress Review. La Porte City, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1758 - 1997 Iowa Wills and Probate Records 1758-1997 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Taxation

 * 1934-1958 - at FamilySearch — index

Births

 * 1850-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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 ($) — index
 * 1836-1926 Iowa, Marriages, 1836 - 1926 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1838-1934 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images

Deaths

 * 1850-1990 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1880-1992 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1904-1951 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1920-1967 Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images

Societies and Libraries
Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society P O Box 2274 Waterloo, IA 50704-2274 E-mail: [mailto:neigsinfo@gmail.com neigsinfo@gmail.com] Website

Family History Centers

 * Cedar Falls/Waterloo Iowa Family History Center