Free Online Iowa Digital Archives

The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 24 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.

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 much of 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 links to free online digital archives for the state. 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

(Updated November 2023)

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 Archives

• Access Genealogy – Iowa
• Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
• American History & Genealogy Project – Iowa
• Ancestry Free Index Collections
• Buena Vista University Digital Collections
• Burlington Public Library
• Chronicling America – Iowa
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
• Coe College Digital Collections
• Cyndi’s List – Iowa
• Davenport Public Library
• David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
• Dead Fred
• Death Indexes – Iowa
• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America – Iowa
• Drake University Archives and Special Collections
• Drake University Digital Collections
• FamilySearch
• FamilySearch – Iowa Online Genealogy Records
• FamilySearch Catalog
• FamilySearch Wiki – Iowa
• FindAGrave
• Fort Madison Public Library
• Genealogy Trails – Iowa
• Google
• Google Books – Iowa
• Grinnell College Digital Collections
• Grout Museum of History and Science Library
• HathiTrust – Iowa
• I Dream of Genealogy
• Interment.net – Iowa
• Internet Archive – Iowa
• Iowa Digital Library
• Iowa Genealogical Society
• Iowa Heritage Digital Collections
• Iowa State Historical Society Digital Archives
• Iowa State University Digital Collections
• LDS Genealogy – Iowa
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Linkpendium – Iowa
• Loras College Digital Collections
• Luther College Digital Collections
• Marshalltown Public Library
• Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center
• Morningside University Digital Collections
• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Archives at Kansas City
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• National Archives Resources for Genealogists
• Nationwide Gravesite Locator
• New Horizons Genealogy – Iowa
• Newberry Library
• Northwestern College of Iowa Digital Collections
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• RootsWeb.com
• Sanborn Maps – Iowa
• Simpson College Digital Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library
• St Ambrose University Digital Collections
• State Library of Iowa
• The Official Land Records Site
• University of Dubuque Digital Collections
• University of Iowa Digital Collections
• University of Northern Iowa Digital Collections
• Upper Iowa University Digital Collections
• Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive
• US GenWeb – Iowa
• US GenWeb Archives – Iowa
• Waldorf University Digital Collections