Friday, May 12, 2017

Tools For The Dig: State Focused Research | Iowa


State Focused Research | Iowa


Some of my favorite research sites are slightly off-radar by today's definition.

First I'd like to talk about Genealogy Trails. From their homepage: "Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data and placing it online for the free use of all researchers. We are all about adding data for you to use in researching your family lines!!!We know that what you're looking for is data -- and we have LOTS of it right here.
Our hosts work continuously to bring you fresh, interesting and NEW data (well.... as new as hundred year old data can be!!!)" Pretty much everything you need to know to begin your Iowa research is contained within the pages of  Iowa Genealogy Trails. This is a thorough, well thought out site - and they are always looking for volunteers!

Companion Yahoo! Group: Genealogy Trails/Midwestern States

Next up, RAOGK. Another volunteer site. A treasure trove of links, well organized and easy to understand. From this site you can request look-ups from a team of Iowa volunteers. Or add you name to the volunteer list if Iowa is your home-base.

IAGenWeb is an oldie but a goody! Volunteer based also, this database was founded in 1996! From their home page: "IAGenWeb isn’t an ordinary genealogy website. Ordinary websites are those where text and sometimes pretty pictures are present, but trying to get in touch with a real person to help you with your research… impossible. The strength of IAGenWeb is its many volunteers, some of whom have spent over a decade assisting others with their Iowa research. Using our county page visit the Iowa county your ancestors lived in and first try and find any information the county may freely provide on their pages (most have some sort of search built in). If the particular fact isn’t available online, then reach out to the county coordinator (cc) and they will try and assist you as best they can. Most county coordinators have their email address available on their website, though some will use contact forms."

Linkpendium is another all around resource hub. So What is Linkpendium, Anyway? "Linkpendium is a 10,000,000+ resource directory to everything on the Web about families worldwide and genealogically-relevant information about U.S. states and counties. We cover both free and subscription sites, with a strong emphasis upon free resources provided by libraries, other government agencies, genealogical and historical societies, and individuals. We are particularly proud of our unique indexes to online biographies."

Cyndi's List Iowa page.


FamilySearch:
Iowa State Wiki
Iowa State Catalog
Iowa Online Genealogy Records


State societies and archives include:
Iowa Genealogical Society
State Historical Society of Iowa
Digital State Archives/Iowa
Iowa.Gov/Archives


A comprehensive list of newspapers can be found at The Ancestor Hunt's Iowa page.


For social context look at LOC Iowa Collection and Iowa Digital Library.


As I discover more resources I'll update this post. Do you have any Iowa favorites that I've missed? Please share!


©2017 Anne Faulkner - Ancestor Archaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

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