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:
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |