Iowa genealogy records searches are growing in popularity. These records searches provide an opportunity for individuals to learn about their past. Genealogy records track a person's life including their birth, death and significant events within their years. They can also establish connections to other people. You may learn of uncles and aunts, grandparents and even children you did not know about when conducting searches to build your family tree. Some use this information to help flesh out their family's property ownership or even to find out where the family came from prior to arriving in the US.
 

If you wish to create Iowa genealogy records for your family, you will need to start at the beginning. Generally, the first step is to gather the vital records of individuals you know of and then to build outwards from there. In Iowa, the state did attempt to collect this information early on. In fact, it is one of the first states outside of the more established New England area to make it a requirement to report the birth, marriages and deaths of individuals in the state to the state's offices. If you are looking for any birth records or marriage records from July of 1880 or death records from 1891 onward, one of the best places to start is with the state's department of health. You can write to them or visit them in person at the following address:
 

Iowa Department of Public Health

Vital Records Bureau

Lucas State Office Building, 4^th Floor

321 East 12^th Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319
 

If you do not find the records you need there for your Iowa genealogy records, you will want to turn to local town clerks. Since much of the region remained more remote for some time, the town clerks would gather information about families and hold it. This was often done in the centralized government offices of the town. Some towns still have these records on file. Most are not only but they may be available.
 

In addition, Ida County in particular took to recording information through the Farmer's Directory. It was published in 1884, 1906, and in 1923. It can provide a great deal of information for you when locating people in that area.
 

Other resources for the development of genealogy records include the churches and cemeteries in the area. Those founded in the 1700's and 1800's often were some of the longest lasting. They not only established a place for families to visit but they also gathered information and kept logs of what families did. This includes information on the births, deaths and marriages occurring there. You may also find a good deal of information available on the burial documents that many cemeteries have. This includes information on families like siblings, parents and even addresses of where people lived. The use of this information can be very helpful in the creation of Iowa genealogy records. Your search could prove you with a vast amount of information you did not have any idea existed.

• Iowa Genealogy