Tama County, Iowa Genealogy

Tama County
	Tama County, Iowa
	Map
	; Location in the state of Iowa
	; Location of Iowa in the U.S.
	Facts
Founded	February 17, 1843
County Seat	Toledo
	Courthouse

United States

Iowa

Tama County

Guide to Tama County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Information

Tama County, Iowa Record Dates

Beginning Dates for Major County Records^[1]
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1880	1853	1880	1840	1853	1854

County Courthouse

History

Parent County

1843--Tama County was created 17 February 1843 from Benton County. It was attached to Benton and Linn Counties prior to organization 4 July 1853. County seat: Toledo ^[2]

Tama is pronounced 'Tay-ma' (first 'a' rhymes with 'a' as in day).

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

Neighboring Counties

Benton • Black Hawk • Grundy • Iowa • Jasper • Marshall • Poweshiek

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Resources

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
Tombstone Project
Iowa Gravestones
Billion Graves
See Iowa Cemeteries for more information.

Census

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. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information about these major repositories, see Iowa Church Records.

Lutheran

St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Records of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Tama County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Traer

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

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 Tama 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.

History of Tama County, Iowa at Ancestry.com ($)

A history of Tama County, Iowa. By J. R. Caldwell. Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co., 1910. Online at: Vol. 1 FamilySearch Books Online, Vol.2 FamilySearch Books Online.

History of Tama County, Iowa : its cities, towns and villages with early reminiscences, personal incidents and anecdotes and a complete business directory of the county. By Samuel D. Chapman. Toledo, Iowa : Toledo Times Office, 1879. Online at: FamilySearch Books Online, Internet Archive, HathiTrust; At various libraries(WorldCat.

Hurrah for bonnie Iowa : an authentic story of two families from Scotland who pioneered in Iowa. By Janette Stevenson Murray and Janet Murray Fiske. Lake Mills, Iowa : Graphic Pub. Co., c1963. Online at: FamilySearch Books Online.

Tama County, Iowa in the World War, 1917-1918 : a pictorial history of an American community in the defense of democracy. Tama, Iowa : Tama News, [1919?]. Online at: FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries(WorldCat.

Maps

Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
Iowa USGS Topographic
Choose Airport, Bridge, Building, Cemetery, Church, Civil, Hospital, Lake, Locale, Park, Populated Place, Post Office, School, Stream, Summit, Trail
http://www.topozone.com/states/Iowa.asp?county=Tama

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

Civil War

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

- 10th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C

- 14th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company G

- 24th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company F

Newspapers

Wikipedia has more about this subject: List of online newspaper archives

NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Waterloo newspapers that may have included Tama County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

1955 — Gladbrook Tama Northern at Ancestry.com ($) — Gladbrook, IA, USA

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 - Tama - 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.

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.

Societies and Libraries

Tama County Tracers Genealogical Society and Historical Society
200 N. Broadway
Toledo 52342-0084
Telephone:641-484-6767
Website

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

Websites

References

↑ Alice Eichholz, Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Revised ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992), 225-231. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992
↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

[1] Alice Eichholz, Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Revised ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992), 225-231. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992

[2] The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

[1]

[2]

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