Genealogy @ MoDA

4210 Main Street, Elk Horn, IA 51531
By appointment only

The Museum of Danish America offers genealogy research services from the Genealogy and Education Center on Main Street in Elk Horn. Our research library has one of the largest collections of materials on Danish immigrants in the United States. In addition to supporting museum exhibitions and collections, the Center is open to the public for research.

Experienced staff are available to assist patrons virtually or in person with their family history research. Information about many of the resources available at the Genealogy and Education Center appear below under Resources.

We offer patrons the following research option:

  • Independent research in our research library is available by appointment only. Please call (712) 764-7001 to schedule a visit.

The following offerings are suspended at this time:

  • One-on-one research with our resident genealogist, either in person or via Zoom.
  • Request research: Share with us your known family history, and tell us what you’re seeking to discover. We will research your inquiry.

To ensure you get the most out of your visit, please make an appointment.

Learn more about Danish genealogy in our blog posts, and join our Facebook group.

Fees for in-person research at the Genealogy and Education Center

Research at the Genealogy Center comes in two forms: Independent and collaborative research.

Members

Non-members

Independent Research: free

Independent Research: $10/hour

Collaborative Research: $30/hour

Collaborative Research: $40/hour
  • Independent research is performed on your own, using the computers and resources at the GEC. While GEC staff are happy to answer questions, this is self-guided.
  • Collaborative research is performed one-on-one with a trained genealogist, either in person or virtually via Zoom. Please make an appointment in advance by contacting the Genealogy Center.

For both independent and collaborative research, the process is very similar. Research is conducted by identifying likely information sources for your needs, and using them to search for known ancestors. Typical information sources on Danish Americans include the following resources:

  • Death, burial, marriage, confirmation, birth and baptismal records; also marriage applications
  • Obituaries and tombstone inscriptions
  • 40th or 50th anniversary newspaper articles
  • Newspaper articles for ‘round’ (80, 90, 100) birthdays
  • Funeral home records
  • Church records (Lutheran records are especially valuable)
  • Federal census information, beginning in 1940 and working backwards
  • State census information (Some states have excellent mid-decade state censuses)
  • Declarations of intent and final naturalization petitions for foreign-born males over 21 (before 1920) and all foreign-born individuals after 1920. Before 1920 minor children and wives automatically became citizens when the male head of household did; children who had reached majority before then had to apply in their own names.
  • County and town histories in the area(s) of settlement
  • Danish Brotherhood Records (found at the Genealogy Center and at the Danish Immigrant Archives & Library at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska)
  • Social Security applications
  • WWI and WWII draft registration records
  • land records, including homestead files
  • Online sources, such as the Ellis Island passenger arrival records (NYC arrivals 1892-1924), and the USGenWeb for the area(s) in which family members lived

Once the above materials have been checked, family documents such as correspondence (including letters, postcards, diaries, or photographs from relatives in Denmark) can help to form a picture of when immigrants came to this country, where they settled, and often where they came from.

For more details, including a guide on how to create Danish letters and a recommendation on some online archives suggestions, check out our Genealogy Resource Handout.

Resources at the Genealogy and Education Center include:

  • Museum of Danish America Wall of Honor files
  • Danish immigrant biographical files
  • Danish-American obituary collections
  • Over 800 family histories, biographies and memoirs of Danish immigrants
  • Ancestry LibraryEdition™
  • Newspapers.com™
  • Danish Emigrant Archive
  • Danish-American church registers and indexes
  • Danish Brotherhood in America lodge records (1881-1995) and death indexes (1881-1995)
  • Danish maps, gazetteers and local histories
  • Bien (newspaper), 1893-present**
  • The Danish Pioneer (newspaper), 2000-present**
  • Scandinaviens Stjerne (newspaper), 1851-1900
  • Many Danish-American organizational newsletters
  • Cemetery transcriptions
  • Indexes to Elk Horn-Kimballton and area newspapers
  • Microfilmed and print Iowa county histories
  • General genealogical reference materials
  • Handouts for getting started and suggested research resources
  • Internet workstations and wireless access

**Digital versions of Bien and The Danish Pioneer may be viewed at The Danish-American Digital Library.

Request Research:

Research requests are not being accepted at this time. We thank you for your understanding.


The production of this video was made possible through a sponsorship from the J. Brent Norlem Memorial Fund. With the help of our sponsors we are able to make programming like this available to the public. Learn more about becoming a MoDA sponsor.