Sioux Center

Submitted by Wilma J. Vande Berg of the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society.

Cemetery

• Memory Gardens Cemetery was started as a church cemetery for the Reformed Church. The records are kept by Jim Horstman. The first recorded burial was in 1878. Early records are incomplete. From 1914 they are complete and give burial information and plot ownership.

Morticians

• Oolman Funeral Home formerly VanderPloeg’s has records as early as 1910, mostly of the Sioux Center area. They have some Rock Valley and Hospers records.
• The Coop Funeral Home has been in business for about 60 years. but only have records for the last 25 years.

Churches

• The historical churches are:
  • Reformed Church was established in 17 May 1877. There are several church histories written. Rev. De Pree was the first minister beginning in 1880 and was there for many years. There are records of births, marriages and deaths by Rev. De Pree that have been made into a booklet of same, contact GSCGS in Sioux Center.
  • First Christian Reformed Church was organized 10 Nov. 1890.
  • Presbyterian Church was organized 7 Oct. 1887, it became -Central Reformed Church in April 1898.
  • Netherlands Reformed Church has also been in existence for many years.
• Today Sioux Center churches number in the teens.

Library 

• Sioux Center Public Library On-Line Catalog -- search ‘genealogy’ for over 300 listings.
  David Netz is the Director of the Sioux Center Public Library. The library has one of the areas largest collections of Genealogical books and local archives. Items of interest are many genealogy and historical books ; including three Sioux Center histories, many local town histories, cemetery indexes, emigration indexes, many family histories, local news section Niuewsblad (Dutch) paper index 1983-1929, genealogy periodicals and magazines, several state and local Atlases including the 1908 Atlas of Sioux County which has much local history and photographs of many of the early settlers, churches, homes ; and many other items too numerous to mention. The library has a new micro film reader and printer, and had micro film of some of the newspapers back to 1893. Bound copies of the Sioux  Center News from 1958 to present. Micro film of the early Sioux County Court House Records from 1870 to about 1925 including births (early ones are very incomplete), marriages, deaths, naturalization, and probate records. Land records will be acquired in the future. Micro film of Sioux County censuses; 1880,1895, 1900,1910,1915,&1920. 
  • The GSCGS, the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society is based at the Sioux Center Library. The Mark Twain Room in the lower level of the library housed many of the societies archives.

Histories

• Sioux Center 1891 - 1966; 
• Pocket of Civility 1976 by Mike Vanden Bosch;
• A People with Convictions - History of Sioux Center 1871-1991, this large 800 page book is for sale at the Library for $50. plus 4.50 postage. It is packed with local, town, church, business, over 700 family histories plus other features.

Other

• Societies - GSCGS (Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society) was started in 1982. The small group of members has been collecting items of genealogical interest that are at the Sioux Center library or in the Mark Twain room. Resources in the Mark Twain room include; two vertical files with over 4000 local area surnames files; some older area churches membership rolls, obituary clipping cards of all local area obituaries 1980 - present, also an index of the maiden names listed on the clippings; Index of headstones of Sioux County cemeteries done in 1979 by the North West IA Genealogical Society; WPA 1939 Sioux County Cemetery Index, Some early Holland Michigan area cemetery indexes; Marion County IA older Cemetery records;
  Contact - Wilma J. Vande Berg of Sioux Center IA, does quite a bit of the archival acquistions & research for genealogical inquires.
  Mike Vanden Bosch is one of the town historians and has written the book Pocket of Civility in 1976 among other works.
• Dordt College Memorial Collection - Items of interest:
  Oral histories by Mike Vanden Bosch; Sioux County Atlas, 1908; some famliy histories; microfilm of the minutes of disbanded churches (CRC); histories of many of the area Christian Reformed Churches.

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