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Guides for Missouri Research
Vital Records
Statewide
vital records are available generally beginning after 16 August 1909, and
they can be obtained from Vital Records; PO Box 570; Jefferson City, MO 65102.
At the city level, deaths were recorded in St. Louis from 1850 -
1910, and births from 12 July 1870 - 1910. Although the recording was quite
sporadic. These records can be obtained from St.
Louis City Vital
Records; PO Box
14702; St. Louis,
MO 63178.
Marriage
records from St. Louis
County are kept from
1876 to present day. These are in an archival card file, with entries for
brides and grooms.
In Kansas City,
the birth and death records date from 1874, but recording at this time was
sparse. These records can be obtained from Kansas City Vital Records, City Hall, 414 E. 12th Street,
Kansas City, MO
64106.
In 1863, a non-compulsory birth registration law was put into effect. It
stated that county recorders could upon request record births in the regular
deed books, sometimes they were recorded in the marriage books. These records
are not indexed and there was very little compliance.
A state law was passed in 1883 requiring the registration of all births and
deaths at a county level. In 1893, this law was inadvertently repealed, and
never reenacted. Some counties had high rates of compliance, while other
records are no where to be found. The records that remain have been
microfilmed and are available at the Missouri
State Archives,
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Marriage records are generally available from the date of county inception,
although there was no law that required licensing until 26 June 1881. Prior
to this date, the marriage could be recorded at any convenient courthouse, there was no requirement to be married in the
county of residence. Most of these records are kept by the Recorder of Deeds,
and are consistently complete and indexed. These records have also been
filmed by the Missouri
State Archives.
Many books have been published with compiled vital records for various
counties in Missouri.
The Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence,
MO, has many of these books in
the genealogy reference collection. Some of them are available for
inter-library loan in the AFRA Genealogy circulating collection. A catalog
lists the titles available called "Genealogy from the
Heartland".
State-wide references:
Guide
to Public Vital Statistic Records in Missouri,
Missouri Historical Records
Survey, WPA, (St. Louis, MO, 1941) lists Birth,
Death, Marriage and Divorce records available by county and at the state
level.
Robert E. Parkin's Guide to Tracing Your Family Tree
in Missouri, Robert E. Parkin, Genealogical
Research & Productions, (St. Louis, MO, 1979), is an excellent reference
work. It lists the records available at the county level. It also gives the
titles of compiled books by county for birth, death, and marriage
records.
A Guide to County Records on Microfilm, Missouri
State Archives, (Jefferson City, MO,
1998
Federal
Census Schedules
Federal
census schedules for Missouri
are available on microfilm for census years 1830 through 1920. The exception
is the 1890 census, which was destroyed by fire. Census records are closed
for 72 years after they are created; the 1930 census will be opened for
public use after 2002.
Statewide printed indexes are available for 1830 through 1870, and the Soundex index on microfilm is available for 1880, 1900,
1910, and 1920. A Special Veterans Census for 1890 is available on microfilm,
with a printed index.
The 1830 and 1840 census reports only list the head of household, and then
indicate the number of people in the household by age and gender. Beginning
in 1850, census reports contain the name of each person in the household,
age, occupation, and place of birth. After 1880, the relationship to the head
of the household is shown, as well as the place of birth for the parents. A
variety of other information is available on individual census reports, such
as education level, occupation, immigration dates, and more.
Source: Missouri Secretary of State
Microfilm
Records
Records
for all 114 Missouri
counties are available on microfilm. These records vary from county to county.
Many begin with the formation of
the county and continue into the 20th century. Some counties have more
extensive records than others. Many of Missouri's courthouses were destroyed by
fire, resulting in numerous records being lost.
The information available on microfilm comes from the records of a number of
county offices. These offices include the following:
-
Recorder of Deeds
-
County Clerk
-
Circuit Court
-
Probate Court
-
County Assessor
-
Court of Common Pleas
-
County Superintendent of Schools
The
records contained within these offices are as follows:
Marriages, deeds, plat books - Recorder
of Deeds
Birth and death records, tax books,
county
court records - County Clerk
Naturalization records, civil and
criminal
court case records, divorces-Circuit
Court
Wills, settlements, inventories, probate
records - Probate Court
A more detailed look at what is available from each county office can be
found in the Guide to County Records on Microfilm, a publication of the
Missouri State Archives. The Guide also indicates what records are available
on microfilm for each county.
Source: Secretary of State of Missouri
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