Free Online Iowa Digital Archives

The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 20 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.

It occurred to me, however, that there is a massive amount of genealogy and historical material that can help us researchers as we discover who belongs in our family tree, and more importantly, what is their life story. But this genealogical and historical material doesn’t fit nicely into a specific genealogy record category.

As researchers, we should avail ourselves of the types of materials listed below. They definitely will help us in our genealogy and family history research  These online resources are available generally at state libraries and archives, larger public libraries, and college and university digital collections. Hence the creation of these lists of free online digital archives. I hope they prove useful to you in your pursuit

Types of Information Available in Digital Archives

• Scrapbooks
• Diaries
• Family Papers, Biographies, and Other Collections
• Letters
• Oral Histories
• Maps
• Bulletins and Newsletters
• Corporate Collections
• Local Community and County Histories
• Photographs and Postcards
• Rare Books and Manuscripts
• Government Publications and Documents
• and Yes, Genealogy Record Collections and Indexes

The Free Online Digital Archives for the state are listed below, preceded by Archives that are available for the region or the country:

Multistate Archives

• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library

Iowa

• Buena Vista University Digital Collections
• Coe College Digital Collections
• Drake University Digital Collections
• Grinnell College Digital Collections
• Iowa Digital Library
• Iowa Heritage Digital Collections
• Iowa State Historical Society Digital Archives
• Iowa State University Digital Collections
• Iowa Wesleyan University Digital Collections
• Loras College Digital Collections
• Luther College Digital Collections
• Morningside University Digital Collections
• Northwestern College of Iowa Digital Collections
• Simpson College Digital Collections
• St Ambrose University Digital Collections
• University of Dubuque Digital Collections
• University of Iowa Digital Collections
• University of Northern Iowa Digital Collections
• Upper Iowa University Digital Collections
• Waldorf University Digital Collections