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1860 United States Federal Census

Original Images

This database contains images of original records.

Sample Forms
Download blank Census forms
You can fill out the form with information on your ancestor, or just use it to better read the column headings.

Handwriting Help
View a sampling of handwriting examples
The examples should help you read the text on the original images more easily.

Please choose a county in Iowa:

Adair Floyd Monroe
Adams Franklin Montgomery
Allamakee Fremont Muscatine
Appanoose Greene O'Brien
Audubon Grundy Page
Benton Guthrie Palo Alto
Black Hawk Hamilton Plymouth
Boone Hancock Pocahontas
Bremer Hardin Polk
Buchanan Harrison Pottawattamie
Buena Vista Henry Poweshiek
Butler Howard Ringgold
Calhoun Humboldt Sac
Carroll Ida Scott
Cass Iowa Shelby
Cedar Jackson Sioux
Cerro Gordo Jasper Story
Cherokee Jefferson Tama
Chickasaw Johnson Taylor
Clarke Jones Union
Clay Keokuk Van Buren
Clayton Kossuth Wapello
Clinton Lee Warren
Crawford Linn Washington
Dallas Louisa Wayne
Davis Lucas Webster
Decatur Madison Winnebago
Delaware Mahaska Winneshiek
Des Moines Marion Woodbury
Dickinson Marshall Worth
Dubuque Mills Wright
Emmet Mitchell
Fayette Monona

Census Records - Counties

After separating the census records into groups by state, the federal government subdivided these records into county groups. Searching for an ancestor on the county level provides a smaller region for research if you remain uncertain about the specific township where your ancestor resided. Researchers should also be aware of boundary line or jurisdictional changes through time. These changes may affect where an ancestor was enumerated on the census, so it remains important to search the counties surrounding the area where your ancestor lived.