During the 1976 Bicentennial celebration local historians decided to research all the cemeteries in Buchanan County while the pioneer tombstones were still legible. This turned into a lengthy project and the book “Buchanan County, Iowa, Cemeteries, 1980” was published. The Buchanan County Genealogical Society was formed as a branch of the Buchanan County Historical Society. Since that time thousands of obituary/cemetery cards have been filed and are being updated each month.
LIBRARY HOLDINGS
- Over 30,000 Obituary/Cemetery card files
- Newspapers of Buchanan County, 1856 to present which include Jesup, Lamont, Winthrop, and Independence (papers and microfilm)
- Federal Census 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 (also some of the surrounding counties in Iowa)
- State Census 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 (Buchanan County, all indexed but 1905 and 1915)
- Probates 1850-1941
- Burial Permits 1931-1982
- Some death and funeral home records
- Coroner’s reports 1858-1960
- Marriage Indexes 1852-1990
- Marriage Registry 1880-1908 (parents are listed)
- Births 1880-1913 & misc. other years
- Naturalization records 1853-1906
- Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
- Family Histories
- 1881 Buchanan County History
- 1914 History of Buchanan County
- 1990 Heritage of Buchanan County
- 1980 Cemetery book of Buchanan County
- Various history books of towns in Buchanan County
- Various years of Plat Books
- Church Directories and School Annuals of Buchanan County
- Some cemetery and history books of surrounding counties (Linn, Bremer, Black Hawk, Fayette, Delaware)
We have had numerous family history donations. If you have a family history (even just family sheets printed out or family data on a CD) that you would like to donate, please call or mail it to us, we would be glad to add it to our collection.
We are located in the basement of Independence City Hall.
Monday from 10-2 and Thursday from 4-7
Phone: 319-334-9333
