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A searchable database of documented deceased ancestors and 2,046 surnames — built entirely on public records.

The Heartland Ancestor Database
21,325,394 documented ancestors across 12 Midwestern states, searchable by name & place. Look for your name:
Documented lines

2,046 surnames

The 2,046 best-documented surnames, ordered from the most records to the fewest — each opens to that surname's deceased ancestors from the public record. Many thousands more surnames are searchable in the full database. Living family members are never listed.

Johnson13130Smith12731Miller10073Anderson8600Brown6521Jones5652Davis5347Nelson5172Wilson4807Thompson4790Peterson4756Williams4487Clark3949Hansen3746Moore3352Olson3270Martin3267White3129Meyer3074Thomas2913Larson2851Jensen2842Taylor2826Baker2766Petersen2601Young2412Carlson2330Allen2327Wright2271Hall2234Scott2222Campbell2220Walker2184Christensen2150Adams2106Lewis2097Schmidt2037Hanson2035Harris2024King2000Robinson1903Evans1888Hill1888Murphy1871Fisher1856Cook1846Roberts1812Lee1772
Who's Who of Iowa

Notable Iowa families, companies & figures

Profiles of the families, companies, and people behind Iowa — from Casey's, Albaugh, and Pioneer Hi-Bred to Herbert Hoover, John Wayne, and Norman Borlaug. Organized by region, profiled from public sources.

The Lamberti FamilyThe Italian-immigrant coal miner's family that grew a Des Moines corner store into Ankeny's Fortune 500 pizza-and-fuel giant, Casey's.Read profile →The Albaugh FamilyThe family behind Albaugh, LLC — the world's largest privately held crop-protection company, built from Ankeny.Read profile →The Wallace FamilyThree generations of Iowa agriculture — the family that founded hybrid seed corn, ran Wallaces' Farmer, and gave the nation a Vice President.Read profile →The Maytag FamilyThe Newton family behind America's washing machines — and Maytag Blue Cheese.Read profile →Hy-Vee“A helpful smile in every aisle” — the employee-owned grocery chain born in a tiny southern-Iowa town in 1930.Read profile →The Hanson Family (Winnebago Industries)The Forest City businessman who put a small Iowa town at the center of America's road-trip dreams.Read profile →Herbert HooverThe orphan from West Branch who became a global humanitarian, a mining engineer, and the 31st President of the United States.Read profile →John Wayne“The Duke” — the Winterset-born actor who became the face of the American Western.Read profile →

See all Iowa profiles →

Who's Who of America

Notable American families & dynasties

21 of the great American family dynasties — the Kennedys, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Fords, Roosevelts and more — profiled from public sources.

The Kennedy FamilyThe Irish-American dynasty from Boston that produced a president, senators, and the “Camelot” era of American politics.Read profile →The Rockefeller FamilyThe family whose Standard Oil fortune made the first American billionaire — and funded a century of philanthropy.Read profile →The Vanderbilt FamilyThe shipping-and-railroad dynasty that ruled the Gilded Age — and built some of America's grandest houses.Read profile →The Ford FamilyThe Michigan family whose Model T and moving assembly line put the world on wheels.Read profile →The Roosevelt FamilyThe New York dynasty of Dutch-American roots that gave the nation two presidents and a world-changing First Lady.Read profile →The Disney FamilyThe brothers whose cartoon studio grew into the world's best-known entertainment empire.Read profile →

🗺 Explore notable families by state →  ·  See all American dynasties →

Done-for-you

Want your whole family history researched & written?

HeartlandAncestry Research uses open source to trace your family line. Both sides back to the documented wall. As a book and an interactive site. No DNA test required.

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