The Society distributes the newsletter to several national, regional, and local archives, libraries, and societies with an emphasis on the Dubuque County area. The Society also exchanges newsletters with other genealogical societies located in the Tri-State region of eastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois, and southwestern Wisconsin.

Obituary Project

On January 1, 1984 the Society entered into an agreement with the Carnegie-Stout Public Library and the Wahlert Memorial Library, Loras College to provide a monthly volunteer to type an indexing of the obituaries printed in the Telegraph Herald newspaper. The Wahlert Memorial Library prints two sets of obituary index cards: one for its own files and one for Carnegie-Stout's files. The obituary indexing for 1833-1983 is both different and incomplete at each library. On January 10, 2007 the Society discontinued indexing the obituaries.

Pioneer Certificates

In 1996, the state of Iowa observed the 150th anniversary of its entry as the 25th state of the U.S.A. The Society honored this event by forming a Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee. The committee prepared a set of guidelines for awarding a Pioneer Certificate to any individual who could document generation-by-generation descent from a male or female ancestor, or a married couple, who settled or resided in Dubuque County, Iowa, for any given period of time prior to 1857. The Pioneer Certificate Application Packet is available upon request. Cost of Certificate is $15.00 plus postage

Queries for the Newsletter

Queries from Society members are printed at no cost to members and non-members are charged $2.00 per query. Limit of two queries per issue per submitter.

Research Requests

Research pertaining to Dubuque County, Iowa, will be done by a Society volunteer upon request and in the order in which the request was received. All research requests must be sent to the Society's regular mailing address. Research requests should be typed and be specific in content. Please provide as much information as possible to allow the, volunteer to help you effectively in your search. A fee of $10.00 per hour (for members) and $12.00 (for non-members) for library and/or courthouse research will help the Society to enlarge its genealogical and historical collection. Please include a minimum payment for the first hour of research and indicate the maximum number of hours of research you wish to pay for. You will be asked to reimburse the Society for actual copying and postage charges. Include E-mail address when possible. Church records can be extremely helpful, so include your ancestors religion.

Resources at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library

For a period of several years the Society had stored its collection in a small space in the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. During that time the members had provided numerous resources for family historians who are patrons of the public library. For example, the Society has donated an annual subscription to the periodical The Genealogical Helper for over a decade. Also, the Society donated or jointly purchased several volumes of the series Germans to America and the Wurttemberg Emigration Index. The Society also added a number of microfilm rolls of census records to the public library's collection.

Surname Card Files

Since 1978 the Society has maintained a card file of surnames as submitted by members and non-members on pedigree charts, in surname lists, and in letters of inquiry. The 7,000-plus cards do not include place names with the surnames. To learn if others may have done research on any of your surnames, please send a list of surnames and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the attention of the Research Committee, specifying a request for a "surname card files search." There is a charge of $1 per page for this search, but several cards will fit on a page.