Union County, Iowa Genealogy

United States

Iowa

Union County

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

Union County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Location of Iowa in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 15, 1851
County Seat	Creston
Courthouse

County Information

Description

The County was named for the Union that people wanted to preserve. The County has Creston as its seat and the County was created 1853. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

Union County, Iowa Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1880	1856	1880	1880	1854	1880	1847
Statewide registration started for births in July 1880 and for deaths Jan 1891. General compliance by 1924.

History

Parent County

1851--Union County was created 15 January 1851 from Pottawattamie County and from non-county area which, in 1846, was in Clarke County until that county's boundaries changed in 1847 (shrinking along with neighboring Lucas County). County seat:  Creston

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

1893 Fire destroyed the courthouse.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill. Online at: Family History Circle.
• When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle. Online at: Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Places/Localities

Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

• Platte

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:

Cities
Afton Arispe Creston	Cromwell Lorimor	Shannon City Thayer
Unincorporated communities
Talmage
Census-designated places
Kent
Townships
Dodge Douglas Grant Highland	Jones Lincoln New Hope Platte	Pleasant Sand Creek Spaulding Union

Neighboring Counties

Adair • Adams • Clarke • Decatur • Madison • Ringgold • Taylor

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
Iowa Gravestones
Billion Graves
See Iowa Cemeteries for more information.

• Inscriptions Found on Tombstones and Monuments in Early Latter-day Saint Burial Grounds Ancestry.com (Free)

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.

Directories

• Creston, Iowa Directory, 1889 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 Union 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.

• Illustrated centennial sketches, map and directory of Union County, Iowa. Creston, Iowa : C. J. Colby, 1876. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust; At various libraries(WorldCat).

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• Mount Pisgah : history of a temporary settlement of the "Mormons" while on their westward journey. By Andrew Jenson. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
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. This Collection features the city of Creston.

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Union County, Iowa Genealogy for European settlers included:

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• Mormon Trail 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

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 Union 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 Union County, Iowa Genealogy:

- 29th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company H

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1859-1990 - United States, Iowa Naturalization Records, 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a large collection of digitized Iowa newspapers online. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

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 - Union - Probate records.

Taxation

• 1934-1958 - Iowa, Old Age Tax Assistance Records, 1934-1958 at FamilySearch — index

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
• 1921-1942 - Iowa, Birth Records, 1921-1942 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

Death

• 1850-1990 - Iowa, Deaths and Burials 1850-1990 at FamilySearch
• 1880-1992 - Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — index
  
• 1904-1951 - Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951 at FamilySearch — index and images

Societies and Libraries

Union County Genealogical Society
Matilda Gibson Memorial Library
200 W. Howard Street
Creston, IA 50801
Website

Union County Historical Society
c/o Marcella Howe
1101 N. Vine
Creston, IA 50801
Museum Location: McKinley Park, Creston, Iowa
Telephone:641-782-8159

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.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Websites

• Union County, IA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Iowa Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Iowa Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Union County, Iowa Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)