State Historical Society of Iowa

RG 081 Secretary of State

The office of Secretary of the Territory was created by the Organic Act of 1838, which established the Iowa Territory, while the Office of Secretary of State was created in 1846 under Article V of the Constitution of 1846. Over the years, the Secretary of States Office has been responsible for numerous state functions. The records of the office have been divided into five subgroups (Corporation Records, Census Records, Election Returns, State Land Records, and Records of the Legislature). The following is a partial list of records in our holdings arranged by subgroup:

General
Title Date Span
Agreements - 28E 1966-1999
Agricultural Reports/ Fiduciary Agricultural Reports 1976-2000
Bids, Specifications and Contracts 1857-1871, Undated
Certificates - Notaries Public 1855-1873
City Boundary Adjustments 1947-1996
Correspondence 1839-2008
Criminal Matters - Discharge Warrants 1851-1904
Iowa Department Rules 1952-1978
Miscellaneous Records: Attorney General Opinions 1941-1964
Miscellaneous Records: Justice of the Peace 1900-1907
Miscellaneous Records: Railroads 1857-1874, Undated
Miscellaneous Records: Record of Blind Asylum 1853-1883
Miscellaneous Records: Semi-Centennial of Iowa 1896
Miscellaneous Records: Township Clerks 1903-1907
Oaths of Office 1846-1904
Official Bonds 1838-1908
Original Notices 1923-1997
Proclamations - Governors 1838-1904
Record of Official Bonds 1846-1919
Register of Motor Vehicles 1904-1908
Reports: Corporation Mergers 1890-1891
Reports: County Criminal Returns Undated
Reports: County Officers 1858-1884
Reports: County Officers Elected 1857-1890
Reports: Crop Statistics 1901-1907
Reports: District Courts 1870-1903
Reports: Oil Inspections and Oil Inspectors 1897-1909
Reports: Railroads 1856-1904
Reports: Requisitions and Orders 1853-1897
Reports: State Officers and Institutions 1877-1900
Reports: Vouchers 1851-1910
Census Records
Title Date Span
Federal Census Returns - Agriculture 1850-1870
Federal Census Returns - Industrial 1850-1870
Federal Census Returns - Mortality 1850-1870
Federal Census Returns - Population 1850-1870
Federal Census Returns - Social Statistics 1850-1870
Corporations
Title Date Span
Affidavits of Withdrawal (Foreign) 1907-1964
Applications for Certificates of Authority (Foreign) 1910-1982
Applications for Certificates of Authority to Use Trade Name, Renew Trade Name or Renew Assumed Name (Foreign) 1864-1876
Applications for Registration of Label, Trademark or Form of Advertising 1918-1998
Applications to Adopt or Renew an Assumed Name (Foreign), Dead 1969-1973, 1978
Applications to Elect or Renew an Assumed Name (Domestic) 1961-1983
Articles of Incorporation Books, Businesses 1935-1965
Articles of Incorporation Books, Non-Pecuniary 1943-1965
Articles of Incorporation, Cities and Towns 1859-1941
Assignment of Trademarks 1948-1965
Certificates of Assignment of Label, Trademark or Form of Advertising 1948-1970
Certificates of Authority and Withdrawal (Foreign) Unknown-1983
Certificates of Authority/Incorporation 1931-1984
Certificates of Registration of Label, Trademark or Form of Advertising 1848-1988
Correspondence, Corporations Undated
Correspondence, Letters 1874-1904
Domestic Cooperative Register 1947-1949
Executive Council Resolutions - Stock Issues 1940s-1960s
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Banks c.1870-c.1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Bridges, Ferries and Construction Companies c.1850-c.1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Building, Loan, Investment and Trust Companies c.1870-c.1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Electric, Gas and Power Companies c.1855-c.1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Insurance Companies c.1857-1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Manufacturing and Mercantile c.1866-1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Railroads 1851-1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Telegraph and Telephone 1858-1909
Incorporation Records of Businesses - Water Companies 1855-1909
Incorporation Records, Non-Pecuniary - Cemeteries 1860-1883
Incorporation Records, Non-Pecuniary - Churches and Religious Societies c.1854-c.1873
Incorporation Records, Non-Pecuniary - Colleges and Seminaries 1852-1876
Incorporation Records, Non-Pecuniary - Libraries 1853-1878
Incorporation Records, Non-Pecuniary - Lodges and Orders 1859-1895
Proof of Publications 1959-1979
Public Utility Agreements 1940s-1960s
Receipts 1957-1959, 1976-1979
Reinstatements - All Chapters 1968-1975
Reinstatements - Cooperatives 1939-1983
Election Records
Title Date Span
Abstract Record of Soldiers Vote 1862-1864
Candidates Sworn Statements of Election Expenses 1908, 1944-1972
Canvass and Abstracts
Correspondence, Elections, Correspondence, Elections, Soldiers Vote 1862-1864
Correspondence, Elections, General 1847-1910
Election Returns, General 1887-2004
Election Returns, Primary 1908-2004
Election Returns, Special 1916-1940
Elections, Superintendent of Public Education 1918
Elections, Treasurer 1918
Minutes and Proceedings of the Electoral College 1874-1885
Minutes and Proceedings of the State Board of Canvassers & Soldiers Votes During Civil War
Minutes of Executive Council as Board of Canvassers
Miscellaneous
Nomination Papers Filed for Primary Election 1907-1916
Nominations - Congressional 1918
Nominations - Judges of Supreme Court 1918
Nominations - Judicial 1918
Nominations - Railroad Commissioners 1918
Nominations - Representatives 1918
Poll Records of Civil War Soldiers 1862-1865
Precinct Boundaries and Maps, Counties 1972-1992
Precinct Boundaries and Maps, Schools 1983-1992
Record of Contested Elections 1885-1938
Land Records: Surveyor General's Office
Title Date Span
Account Books 1847-1866
Correspondence, Commissioner of the General Land Office 1843-1884
Correspondence, Deputy Surveyor General to Surveyor General 1832-1858