Library Guides: Genealogy Research Guide: Early Settlers

Early Settlers

Useful Books & Websites
County Histories

Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy: First Families of America
7 volume set - not currently available online.
American Ancestry
This compilation gives the name and descent, in the male line, of Americans whose ancestors settled in the United States prior to 1776. This is also available free online in full-text for most volumes in Hathi Trust Digital Library.
Century Farms of Iowa
The bulk of this book is in order by surname - for each farm in Iowa that has been owned by the same family for 100 years (as of 1986).
Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States
Naturalization records include such items as place and date of birth, foreign and current places of residence, marital status, names, ages and places of birth of other family members, occupation, port and date of entry into the U.S., and more.
Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States
Free online full-text! Twelve volume set covering Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
Index to American Genealogies
Available in the library in print and also free online through Hathi Trust Digital Library. The set is in order by surname, it will provide information on which published books have information on that particular person. Only covers books published before 1908. Supplement section covers books published 1900-1908.
Mayflower Ancestral Index

In the late 1800's,there was a national effort to document U.S. county histories, including brief biographical sketches of prominent families. These histories can be located using the Quick Search box on the library homepage. The most effective search is to do an Advanced Search and change "Any Field" to "Title" and then search for:

"history" AND "[fill in county name here] County" AND "Biographical Sketches"

In addition, the ISU Library owns many Iowa county histories or maps which contain genealogical information. The most effective search is to use Advanced Search, change "Any Field" to "Title" and search for:

"[fill in county name here] County" AND iowa AND history

Davenport, past and present: including the early history, and personal and anecdotal reminiscences of Davenport
Includes biographies. Scroll down to "view entire text" button or click on links of individual pages.
Pioneers of Marion County
Includes biographies. Scroll down to "view entire text" button or click on links of individual pages.

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Lorrie Pellack

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