General Information:

A few territorial settelers came to this area before the land was purchased from France in 1803. Des Moines County was formed from Wisconsin Territory in 1834.

Some Sooners settled on Indian land in defiance of Federal Treaties with the resident Indian tribes. The US Army removed many Sooners from the settlements and transported them east of the river, then burned their cabins and outbuildings.

But as treaties changed legal settlements sprang up, land was cleared and farms started. Clearing land and farming was hard work, and with new lands available in the west, many settlers just sold or abandoned their farms and migrated further west.

For those who stayed in Des Moines County, land owners who failed to pay their taxes forfeited their land and holdings to the Territorial or County Sheriff, who then sold the land at auction. 

The original record of lands sold at auction was hand written by the Sherriff's Department, but in 1855 the Hawkeye Newspaper type set the records and posted them in the newspaper.

We hope you will provide copies of other copyright free tax records for display on this website. You will be credited for contributions of records and a thank you for helping researchers.

 

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Delinquent_Taxes_Sale_1854 (Table removed by transcriber.)

We will try to restore this record if we can find the backup text document.

 

1860 Tax Roll

 

Transcriptions to text or to html and page layout by Don Kelly 2004. 

Other tax records are under transcription.