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Obituaries by state

Iowa Obituaries

2 min read

Iowa’s newspapers date to 1836, and the State Historical Society of Iowa holds hundreds of titles on microfilm. Many Iowa papers have also been digitized and made free through local libraries and the Society’s partners.

Iowa obituaries in historic newspapers

The Dubuque Visitor was printed in 1836, when Iowa was part of Wisconsin Territory. As settlement moved west across the state, nearly every county seat founded a weekly paper, and many towns supported two, one for each political party.

Iowa had a strong immigrant press, including the Norwegian-language Decorah-Posten, which circulated nationally from 1874 to 1972, along with German, Danish, Czech and Dutch papers. Small-town Iowa obituaries are often long and detailed, naming birthplaces, marriages, church membership and surviving family members.

The State Historical Society of Iowa has digitized more than 400,000 pages through the National Digital Newspaper Program. Many other Iowa papers have been digitized from its microfilm and made free by Advantage Preservation for local libraries, and the Society’s research centers in Des Moines and Iowa City offer free access to Iowa titles on NewspaperArchive.

Where to find Iowa obituaries

Digitized Iowa newspapers

Archives and libraries

Nationwide newspaper archives

  • Chronicling America, Library of Congress — Free digitized newspapers from every state. Narrow a search to Iowa and the years you need.
  • Google News Archive — Free scans of hundreds of older newspapers, browsable by title and date.
  • Internet Archive newspapers — Free digitized newspapers and microfilm uploaded by libraries.
  • FamilySearch — Free obituary indexes, death records and the Social Security Death Index (free account).
  • Find a Grave — Volunteer-built cemetery memorials, many with transcribed obituaries.
  • Newspapers.com — Large subscription archive of U.S. papers. Many public libraries offer free access.
  • GenealogyBank — Subscription archive of historic newspapers and modern obituaries.
  • Legacy.com — Obituaries published since about 2000 in most U.S. daily newspapers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Iowa

  • Pin down the date and place first. A death index or death certificate gives the exact date and county, and then you only need to search the local papers for the following week or two.
  • Search more than one town. Obituaries often ran in the paper where the person was born or had lived before, not just where they died. Small-town weeklies sometimes published a notice weeks later.
  • Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks. See death notices vs. obituaries.
  • Try every spelling. Search initials, nicknames and misspellings, and for married women in older papers, search the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). Digitized text often misreads old type.
  • Ask a librarian. Many public libraries and state archives will look up an obituary for free or a small fee, and newspaper microfilm can often be borrowed through interlibrary loan.