This searchable database includes thousands of scanned obituaries from the newspapers of Grinnell and the surrounding communities in Poweshiek County. Obituaries date from the late 1800s to the present day.

The newspapers in this database are primarily the Grinnell Herald Register, Montezuma Republican, and Brooklyn Chronicle. Obituaries from other newspapers are included when they have been submitted. Here are the abbreviations used in the database for each newspaper:

• BC: Brooklyn Chronicle
• CH: The Chronicle (a precursor to Poweshiek County Chronicle Republican for a short time in 2009)
• DT: Diamond Trail
• HR: Grinnell Herald Register
• MR: Montezuma Republican
• PCCR: Poweshiek County Chronicle Republican (Brooklyn and Montezuma combined papers in 2009)
• Record: Poweshiek County, Montezuma, Deep River and Montezuma School District

This database was made possible by many years of hard work from volunteers at the Grinnell Historical Museum in maintaining paper files of area obituaries. These files provided the foundation for the start of this online database. The Grinnell Historical Museum continues to do amazing work preserving the history and stories of the Grinnell area, and they are a regular partner with the library in related efforts.

Looking for more resources? Try our Oral Histories page, our Poweshiek History Preservation Project page, our Property Research Page, or our Digital Archive Repository.