Cass County, Iowa Genealogy
Guide to Cass County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Cass County, Iowa | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Iowa | |
 Location of Iowa in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | January 15, 1851 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Atlantic |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Cass County Courthouse 7th St. Courthouse Atlantic, IA 50022 Phone: (712) 243-2105 Cass County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 County Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Parent County
- 5 Boundary Changes
- 6 Record Loss
- 7 Places/Localities
- 8 Populated Places
- 9 Neighboring Counties
- 10 Resources
- 11 Sources and Footnotes
County Information
Cass County, Iowa Record Dates
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1880 | 1853 | 1880 | 1840 | 1853 | 1880? |
County Courthouse
Cass County Courthouse
7th St. Courthouse
Atlantic, IA 50022
(712) 243-2105
History
Parent County
1851--Cass County was created 15 January 1851 from Pottawattamie County and organized 7 March 1853.
County seat: Atlantic [2]
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
1932 Courthouse was destroyed by fire in March, but there is no reported record loss.
Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Adair • Adams • Audubon • Guthrie • Montgomery • Pottawattamie • Shelby
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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
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. 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.
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 Cass 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.
- Compendium of history and biography of Cass County, Iowa : pioneer history and formation of present county system, patriotic war record, detailed township history, with sketches of towns, biographies of old settlers, and others who have made Cass County what it is. Chicago, Illinois : Henry Taylor, 1906.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
- History of Cass County, Iowa : together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, portraits of prominent persons and biographies of old settlers and representative citizens; history of Iowa. Springfield, Illinois : Continental Historical Co., 1884.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
- Beard, J. C. Cass County in the World War, 1917-1918-1919. Atlantic, Iowa : J.C. Beard, 1919.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
- Chase, Charles F. Exposition souvenir album. Atlantic, Iowa : Democrat Pub. Co., 1904.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
Maps
- 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. This collection features the city of Cass County.
Migration
Early migration routes to and from Cass County, Iowa Genealogy for European settlers included:
- Mormon Trail 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah[3]
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 Cass 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 Cass County, Iowa Genealogy:
- - 23rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
- - 23rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I
Newspapers
NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.
Obituaries
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 - Cass - 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.
Births
- 1850-1939 - Iowa, Delayed Birth Records, 1850-1939 at FamilySearch — index and images
Marriage
- 1838-1934 - Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
Deaths
- 1850-1990 - Iowa, Deaths and Burials 1850-1990 at FamilySearch - index
- 1880-1992 - Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — index
- 1921-1940 - Iowa, Death Records, 1921-1940 at FamilySearch — index and images
Societies and Libraries
Cass County Genealogical Society
507 Poplar St
Atlantic, Iowa 50022-1241
Telephone:712-243-5466
E-mail: casscgs@yahoo.com
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.
- Atlantic Iowa Family History Center 56999 650th St., Atlantic, IA 50022
United States Location Map
Websites
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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 institutions - results of "cass 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 "cass 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 |
| [1] [2][3] 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 ($) |
| CyndisList | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| StateofUS.com | 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. |
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| GeneaBloggers | enter "Iowa" in search box to see list and links to Iowa blogs | |
| Google+ | list of groups from "iowa genealogy" search | |
| list of groups from "Iowa Genealogy" search | ||
| genealogy.com | Cass County, IA Genealogy Forum | |
| ancestry.com | Cass County Message Board | |
Sources and Footnotes
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ National Park Service, "Auto Tour Route Maps" in Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail at http://www.nps.gov/mopi/planyourvisit/maps.htm (accessed 18 July 2011).
