Clay County, Iowa Genealogy
Guide to Clay County, Iowa ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Clay County, Iowa | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Iowa, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Iowa in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | January 15, 1851 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Spencer |
| Courthouse | |
Contents
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Henry Clay Jr. The County has Spencer as its seat and the County was created 1851. The County is located in the north area of the state.[1]
Clay County, Iowa Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1880 | 1866 | 1880 | 1869 | 1858 | 1871 | 1847 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Clay County Courthouse
215 W 4th Street
Spencer, Iowa 51301
(712) 262-1081
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1851--Clay County was created 15 January 1851 from unorganized territory. It was attached to Woodbury County prior to organization 15 October 1858. County seat: Spencer [3]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[4]
| Cities | ||
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Buena Vista • Cherokee • Dickinson • Emmet • O'Brien • Osceola • Palo Alto • Pocahontas
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| [hhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial Findagrave.com] | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| IAGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| IAGenWeb Archives | FamilySearch Places | |
| Tombstone Project | ||
| Iowa Gravestones | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Iowa Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 52 | — |
| 1870 | 1,523 | 2828.8% |
| 1880 | 4,248 | 178.9% |
| 1890 | 9,309 | 119.1% |
| 1900 | 13,401 | 44.0% |
| 1910 | 12,766 | −4.7% |
| 1920 | 15,660 | 22.7% |
| 1930 | 16,107 | 2.9% |
| 1940 | 17,762 | 10.3% |
| 1950 | 18,103 | 1.9% |
| 1960 | 18,504 | 2.2% |
| 1970 | 18,464 | −0.2% |
| 1980 | 19,576 | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 17,585 | −10.2% |
| 2000 | 17,372 | −1.2% |
| 2010 | 16,667 | −4.1% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Iowa recorded not only the federal census but state census through out the years too. The state census contains very valuable genealogical information. Where the census information can be found, what years it was taken, mortality schedules, census substitutions and much more is discussed in the very informative Iowa Census article. 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[edit | edit source]
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.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Land[edit | edit source]
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 [edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Clay 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.
- Gillespie, Samuel. History of Clay County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1909 : also biographical sketches of many prominent citizens of the county as well as its illustrious dead. Chicago, Illinois : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1909.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Iowa
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
- 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
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1859-1990 - United States, Iowa Naturalization Records, 1859-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- Spencer Public Library Archives, Clay County (1884-1936)
- The Spencer Daily Reporter. 1951-1953, 1956, 1959 Spencer, IA, USA. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)
Probate[edit | edit source]
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 - Clay - Probate records.
Taxation[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 1518-1996 - Iowa, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1809-1992 Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1836-1926 Iowa, Marriages, 1836 - 1926 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1838-1934 - Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1880-1951 Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1951 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
Deaths[edit | edit source]
- 1850-1990 - Iowa, Deaths and Burials 1850-1990 at FamilySearch - index
- 1880-1992 - Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 at FamilySearch — index
- 1900-1939 Iowa Death Index, 1900-1939 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1904-1951 - Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1920-1967 Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1967 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
See also a List of Iowa Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Libraries
- Spencer Iowa Family History Center 1701 W 11th St., Spencer, IA 51301 United States Location Map
Websites[edit | edit source]
 |
Check back often with these websites. Internet offerings are growing at record rates. Local societies and libraries may know of other websites. |
| State Historical Society of Iowa | Free | Select from research collection topics |
| The Iowa Heritage Digital Collection | Free | digital images from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions - results of "clay county" in the search box |
| State Library of Iowa | Free | electronic depository of documents intended for the general public produced by Iowa agencies - results of "clay county" in the search box |
| IAGenWeb Project | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions |
| USGenWeb Archives | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| [1] [2][3] FamilySearch | Free | Births, 1880-1935; Deaths 1880-1992; Marriages, 1838-1934; all indexes |
| RootsWeb Resources | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| Linkpendium | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| CyndisList | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| StateofUS.com | Free | family history resources and government records |
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. |
| GeneaBloggers | enter "Iowa" in search box to see list and links to Iowa blogs | |
| list of groups from "Iowa Genealogy" search | ||
| genealogy.com | IA Genealogy Forum | |
| ancestry.com | Clay County Message Board | |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Clay, Iowa," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Iowa.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Clay County, Iowa. Page 230-238 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 222-225.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Clay County, Iowa," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Iowa, accessed 30 August 2019.
