Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy

United States

Iowa

Muscatine County

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

Muscatine County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	December 7, 1836
County Seat	Muscatine
Courthouse

County Information

Muscatine County, Iowa Record Dates

Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1880	1837	1880	1840	1838	1838

History

Parent County

1836--Muscatine County was created 7 December 1836 from Des Moines County. County seat:  Muscatine

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

1864 Courthouse was destroyed by fire, but no records were reported lost.

Places/Localities

Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

• Bloomington Township
• Fruitland
• Muscatine
• Nichols
• Wapsinonoc Township
• West Liberty
• Wilton

Neighboring Counties

Cedar • Johnson • Louisa • Scott • Mercer County, Illinois • Rock Island County, Illinois

Template:IAMuscatine County, Iowa Clickable Neighbors

Resources

Biography

• Portrait and biographical album of Muscatine County, Iowa : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of promine at Ancestry.com ($)

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

Zion Lutheran Church

• Records of the Zion Lutheran Church, Muscatine County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

• Muscatine, Iowa Directory, 1891-93 at Ancestry.com ($)

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 Muscatine 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.

• Early recollections of Bloomington and its surroundings. By Josiah Proctor Walton. [S.l. : s.n., 1887]. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).

• History of Muscatine County, Iowa : from the earliest settlements to the present time. By Irving B. Richman. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1911. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust; At various libraries (WorldCat).

• Log cabin history of the settlement of Wapsinonoc, Pike and Springdale townships. By L. O. Mosher. West Liberty, Iowa : Enterprise Printing House, 1903. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).

• Portrait and biographical album of Muscatine County, Iowa : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of promine at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
• Township Map of 1875 Muscatine County, Iowa with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)
  

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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy:

- 1st Regiment, Iowa Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company A

- 1st Regiment, Iowa Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company C

- 2nd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company A

- 2nd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company G

- 7th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company A

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company A

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company D

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H

- 11th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company I

- 16th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company C

- 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company E

- 18th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company K

- 44th Regiment, Iowa Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company B

• Muscatine County, Iowa Civil War Soldiers at Ancestry.com ($)

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

• The Muscatine Journal. 1940 and 1952. Muscatine, IA, USA. 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 - Muscatine - 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

Marriages

• 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 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

Muscatine County Genealogical Society
323 Main
Muscatine IA 52761-3867
E-mail: ebmccleary@machlink.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.

• Muscatine Iowa Family History Center 2902 Lucas St., Muscatine, IA 52761 United States Location Map

Websites

Sites with online indexes or images of records pertaining to Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy
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 "muscatine 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 "muscatine county" in the search box
IAGenWeb	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
USGenWeb Archives	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
genealogytrails.com	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
[1] [2][3] FamilySearch	Free	Births, 1880-1935; Deaths 1880-1992; Marriages, 1838-1934; all indexes

Sites that search for links pertaining to Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy
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 ($)
CyndisList	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
Muscatine County at LDS Genealogy	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
StateofUS.com	Free	family history resources and government records

Major catalogs for hard copy collections of Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy 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.
See also local libraries and Iowa Archives and Libraries

Social networking sites pertaining to Muscatine County, Iowa Genealogy
GeneaBloggers	enter "Iowa" in search box to see list and links to Iowa blogs
Google+	list of groups from "iowa genealogy" search
Facebook	list of groups from "Iowa Genealogy" search
genealogy.com	IA Genealogy Forum
ancestry.com	Muscatine County Message Board

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library