Search All Location:

Be sure to search all three of the Iowa County affiliated sites. The main page search box does not include the IAGenWeb Message Boards or the Gravestone Photo Project.

Searching the Main Site

This is the same search engine you find at the top of the Home page.

Because of mispellings in the orignal, or through transcription error, it is a good idea to try alternate spellings. When transcribing old handwritten records, such as census material, the first letter of a name can be misinterpreted. Try changing the first letter of the name you are searching. For example if you are searching a surname of "Forn", also try "Torn" and "Horn".

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By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search results indicating this has been done.

In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behavior.

1. phrase search
   The search engine supports three types of phrase search.
   • To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
     Example: "free search engine"
     
   • To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
     Example: [free search engine]
     
   • To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { around the words }
     Example: {free search engine}
     
2. + and - qualifiers
   If you prepend a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
   If you prepend a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
   Example: +always -never
3. * wildcard
   If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
   Example: gift*
4. ? wildcard
   If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
   Example: b?g
5. boolean search
   You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters.
   Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us)

All of these techniques can be combined: +alway* -ne??r*

Searching the Message Boards

Whenever you visit the Message Boards you will be able to search messages or post your own messages. You will want to search the numberous Queries, Obituaries, Biographies, and other Documents posted here:
Iowa County Message Boards

Searching the Iowa Gravestone Photo Project

We have over 700 gravestone pictures posted for Iowa County. Vist the Surname Index Search or the Custom Search page to find these photographs and burial information.