Genealogical Research in Missouri
- A Brief History of Missouri
- Common Missouri Genealogical Issues and Resources to Overcome Them
- Missouri Genealogical Organizations and Archives
- Additional Missouri Genealogical Resources
- Missouri Genealogical Records
- Missing Matriarchs – Resources for Researching Female Missouri Ancestors
On This Page:
Tracing your family history in Missouri can be a fascinating trip through time. Exciting characters like Kit Carson, Jesse James, former President Harry S. Truman, and the gifted Walt Disney all hail from Missouri. As one of the earliest areas in America settled by Europeans, there are a wealth of genealogical records and resources for tracing your family history in Missouri. Tracking these records down can be an ominous task, but don’t worry, we know just where they are, and we’ll show you which records you’ll need, and help you to understand:
- What they are
- Where to find them
- How to use them
These records can be found both online and off, so we’ll introduce you to online websites, indexes and databases, as well as brick-and-mortar repositories and other institutions that will help with your research in Missouri. So that you will have a more comprehensive understanding of these records, we have provided a brief history of the “Show Me State” to illustrate what type of records may have been generated during specific time periods. That information will assist you in pinpointing times and locations on which to focus the search for your Missouri ancestors and their records.
A Brief History of Missouri
Missouri takes its name from the Missouri Indians who inhabited the area, but many other tribes including the Miamis, Kickapoos, Sacs, Foxes, Osages, Otos, Iowas, Delawares, Shawnees and Kansas also made their home in the region. The French were the first to explore the area, and La Salle claimed the region for France in 1682. In 1762 the area was ceded to Spain who ruled the region for another forty years.
Lead mining was very much at the forefront of Missouri’s early development after as lead ore called Galena was discovered there in 1701. Significant deposits were uncovered and by 1720 mining was in full force, fuelled by the labor of early French settlers. The French established the first official settlement at Ste. Genevieve in the mid 1730s, and it was the sole settlement for around thirty years until a trading post was established at St. Louis in 1764.
Spain ceded the Louisiana Territory back to France in 1802, and Missouri was sold as part of that to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase the following year. In 1804 the famous Lewis and Clarke expedition set sail from St. Louis. In 1812 Missouri was organized as a separate territory and became a state in 1821.
Missouri had become a slave state with the passing of the Missouri Compromise in 1820, but its loyalty remained with the Union cause during the Civil War. This was in spite of the attempts by governor Claiborne Fox Jackson to align Missouri with the Confederacy due to his personal ties to the South. Eventually Jackson and most of his legislature were forced to flee the state after the majority of Missourians refused to recognize his government. 109,000 men from Missouri fought for the Union, 30,000 for the Confederate side.
- Important Dates in Missouri History
- 1682 – Region claimed for France
- 1763 – Ceded from France to Spain
- 1764 – St. Louis founded
- 1800 – Ceded from Spain to France
- 1803 – Part of the Louisiana Purchase
- 1804 – Lewis and Clarke expedition commences from St. Louis
- 1805 – Part of the Louisiana Territory
- 1812 – Created as separate territory
- 1820 – Missouri Compromise makes slavery legal
- 1820 - Statehood
Famous Battles Fought in Missouri
The bloodiest and most important battle fought in Missouri was the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield. Other important conflicts in the state were fought at the Battle of Carthage, the Battle of Lexington, the Battle of Westport, and the Battle of Boonville - the first engagement within the state
These battle accounts that do exist can be very effective in uncovering the military records of your ancestor. They can tell you what regiments fought in which battles, and often include the names and ranks of many officers and enlisted men.
Common Missouri Genealogical Issues and Resources to Overcome Them
Boundary Changes: Boundary changes are a common obstacle when researching Missouri ancestors. You could be searching for an ancestor’s record in one county when in fact it is stored in a different one due to historical county boundary changes. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries can help you to overcome that problem. It provides a chronological listing of every boundary change that has occurred in the history of Missouri.
Name Changes: Surname changes, variations, and misspellings can complicate genealogical research. It is important to check all spelling variations. Soundex, a program that indexes names by sound, is a useful first step, but you can't rely on it completely as some name variations result in different Soundex codes. The surnames could be different, but the first name may be different too. You can also find records filed under initials, middle names, and nicknames as well, so you will need to get creative with surname variations and spellings in order to cover all the possibilities. For help with surname variations read our instructional article on How to Use Soundex.
Missouri Genealogical Organizations and Archives
Genealogical resources include not only records, but the organizations that house them, or can direct you to them. These institutions include: Archives, Libraries, Genealogical Societies, Family History Centers, Universities, Churches, and Museums.
Missouri Archives
- Following are links to their websites, and a summary of the records.
- State Historical Society of Missouri (State Archives) - land records, military records, family histories
600 East Locust
Des Moines, Missouri 50319
515-281-5111 - National Archives at Kansas City - naturalization records, Native American records, census records, and immigration records
400 West Pershing Road
Kansas City, MO 64108.
Phone: 816-268-8000
E-mail: kansascity.archives@nara.gov - University of Missouri Digital Library – manuscripts, historic newspapers, historical maps, ethnic and women’s histories
Missouri Genealogical and Historical Societies
Genealogical and historical societies have access to extensive catalogues of genealogical data. They are also able to offer expert guidance for genealogical researchers. Many members are professional genealogists who are most willing to share their expertise in finding ancestors.
Missouri Genealogical Society – census, vital records, religious records, city directories, military records, family histories
6000 Douglas Ave.
P.O. Box 7735
Des Moines, IA 50322
Telephone: 515-276-0287
Old Fort Genealogical Society – cemetery records, township maps, old settlers list
Ft Madison Public Library
1920 Ave E
Ft Madison, IA 52627
Additional Missouri Genealogical Resources
Missouri Mailing Lists
Mailing lists are internet based facilities that use email to distribute a single message to all who subscribe to it. When information on a particular surname, new records, or any other important genealogy information related to the mailing list topic becomes available, the subscribers are alerted to it. Joining a mailing list is an excellent way to stay up to date on Missouri genealogy research topics. Rootsweb have an extensive listing of Missouri Mailing Lists on a variety of topics.
Missouri Message Boards
A message board is another internet based facility where people can post questions about a specific genealogy topic and have it answered by other genealogists. If you have questions about a surname, record type, or research topic, you can post your question and other researchers and genealogists will help you with the answer. Be sure to check back regularly, as the answers are not emailed to you. The message boards at the Missouri Genealogy Forum are completely free to use.
Missouri Newspapers and Periodicals
Many genealogy periodicals and historical newspapers contain reprinted copies of family genealogies, transcripts of family Bible records, information about local records and archives, census indexes, church records, queries, land records, obituaries, court records, cemetery records, and wills.
- Missouri newspapers and periodicals that you can search online or on-site.
- State Historical Society of Missouri (State Archives) – historic books, periodicals, historical newspapers from 1836 to present
600 East Locust
Des Moines, Missouri 50319
515-281-5111 - University of Missouri Digital Library – miscellaneous historical newspapers
- Newspaper Archives of Plymouth County – searchable online index of historical Missouri newspapers dating from the 19th century
- GenealogyBank.com – free searchable database of Missouri newspaper archives, 1837–1900
- Library of Congress Digital Newspaper Directory – free searchable database of historical U.S. newspapers dating from 1690-present
- The Online Books Page – links to historical books and periodicals available for viewing online, dating from mid-16th century
- NewspaperArchive.com – largest online database of historical newspapers in the world.
Historical Missouri Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are an integral part of genealogical research. They help us to locate landmarks, towns, cities, parishes, states, provinces, waterways and roads and streets. They also help us to determine when and where boundary changes might have taken place, and give us a visualization of the area we’re researching in.
For locating place names, a gazetteer is the best possible resource for any genealogist. Gazetteers are also sometimes called “place name dictionaries”, and can help you to locate the area in which you need to conduct research.
- Maps and gazetteers for research in Missouri.
Missouri City Directories
City directories are similar to telephone directories in that they list the residents of a particular area. The difference though is what is important to genealogists, and that is they pre-date telephone directories. You can find an ancestor’s information such as their street address, place of employment, occupation, or the name of their spouse. A one-stop-shop for finding city directories in Missouri is the Missouri Online Historical Directories which contains a listing of every available city and historical directory related to Missouri.
Missouri Genealogical Records
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records – Also known as vital records, birth, death, and marriage certificates are the most basic, yet most important records attached to your ancestor. The reason for their importance is that they not only place your ancestor in a specific place at a definite time, but potentially connect the individual to other relatives. Below is a list of repositories and websites where you can find Missouri vital records
Some county clerks kept vital records as early as 1838. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of these documents for many counties which can be accessed at Missouri Family History Centers. Existing originals are found in the county clerk’s office or in the Missouri Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) for that county.
Original copies of Missouri Vital Records for death, birth, marriage, and divorce may be ordered from:
Missouri Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
605 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Telephone: (217) 782-6553
Fax: 217-785-3209
The Missouri Archives has an Missouriwide Marriage Index, 1763–1900 which contains one million marriages, or two million names.
Census Reports
Census records are among the most important genealogical documents for placing your ancestor in a particular place at a specific time. Like BDM records, they can also lead you to other ancestors, particularly those who were living under the authority of the head of household.
Federal census records for Missouri exist from 1800 to 1990. Unfortunately the 1800 census was lost, and the 1810 census contains only a few names from Randolph County. The 1890 census was destroyed, though a few names from Mound Township in McDonough County remain.
- All other Missouri census records from 1820 to 1930
- U.S. National Archives – Federal censuses form 1790-1930
- The Free Census Project has transcribed many Missouri indexes and new material is added daily
- Access Genealogy - Missouri census records from 1820-1930
- African American Census Schedules Online – slave schedules, mortality schedules, slave-owners census
- Native Americans in Census Records (US National Archives)
Missouri Church Records
Church and synagogue records are a valuable resource, especially for baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place before 1900. You will need to at least have an idea of your ancestor’s religious denomination, and in most cases you will have to visit a brick and mortar establishment to view them.
Most church records are kept by the individual church, although in some denominations, records are placed in a regional archive or maintained at the diocesan level. Local Historical Societies are sometimes the repository for the state’s older church records. Below are links archives that maintain church records, as well as a few databases that can be viewed online.
The Family History Library contains many church records from a variety of denominations on microfilm.
The Missouri Archives collected some early Missouri church records that are now held by the Missouri Library.
Central Repositories for Denominational Records
Most of the records of individual denominations are kept in central repositories.
- Major congregational archives for Missouri
- Baptist
American Baptist Historical Society
1106 South Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14620
Phone: (716) 473-1740 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early, for Mormons in Missouri Wards and Branches can be found on microfilm at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers can be searched online at the Family History Library Catalog
- Lutheran
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA Archives)
8765 West Higgins Road
Chicago IL 60631-4198
Phone: (800) 638-3522 or (773) 380-2700
Fax: (773) 380-1465 - Mennonite
Missouri Mennonite Historical and Genealogical Society
675 State Route 116
Metamora, IL 61548-7732
Phone: (309) 367-2551 - Methodist
Missouri Great Rivers Annual Conference
United Methodist Church Historical Society
1211 North Park Street
Bloomington, Missouri 61701
Phone: (309) 828-5092, ext. 227 - Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Attn: Archives
2121 Sheridan Road
Evanston, Missouri 60201
Phone: (847) 866-3909 - Roman Catholic
Archives of the Archdiocese of Chicago
Joseph Cardinal Bernadine Archive and Record Center
Attn: Assistant Research Archivist
711 West Monroe
Chicago, Missouri 60661
Phone: (312) 831-0711 - Diocese of Belleville
222 South Third Street
Belleville, IL 62220
Phone: (618) 277-8181 - Diocese of Joliet
425 Summit St.
Joliet, IL 60435
Phone: (815) 722-6606 - Catholic Diocese of Peoria
419 NE Madison Avenue
Peoria, IL 61603
Phone: (309) 671-1568 - Diocese of Rockford
555 Colman Center Drive
P.O. Box 7044
Rockford, IL 61108
(815) 399-4300 - Diocese of Springfield
Catholic Pastoral Center
1615 West Washington St.
P.O. Box 3187
Springfield, Missouri 62708-3187
Phone: (217) 698-8500
Missouri Military Records
More than 40 million Americans have participated in some time of war service since America was colonized. The chance of finding your ancestor amongst those records is exceptionally high. Military records can even reveal individuals who never actually served, such as those who registered for the two World Wars but were never called to duty.
- Websites and archives that contain Missouri military records.
- Missouri Archives – Indian War records, Civil War records, Mexican War records, Spanish American War records, War of 1812 Veterans index, muster rolls, and Roll of Honor
Margret Cross Norton Building
Capital Complex
Springfield, IL 62756
Telephone: 217-782-4682
Fax: 217-524-3930NB: The Missouri Archives responds only by mail to inquiries, so any telephone, fax, or e-mail inquiries must be accompanied by a mailing address.
- U.S. National Archives – WWI Draft registration cards, casualties lists, WWI and WWII service records, Korean War records, Vietnam War records, Civil War and Spanish-American War records, and casualties lists.
- US Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator – includes information on veterans and their family members buried in veterans and military cemeteries having a government grave marker.
- United States Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892-1926 – military pension records of soldiers who fought in the Indian Wars between 1817 and 1898
- United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914 - index of men who enlisted in the United States Army, 1798-1914.
- United States Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926 - index to Mexican War pension files for service between 1846 and 1848
- Civil War Soldiers Service Records - Service records for both Union and Confederate soldiers indexed by soldier's name, rank, and unit.
Missouri Cemetery Records
As convenient as it is to search cemetery records online, keep in mind that there are a few disadvantages over visiting a cemetery in person. They are:
- Tombstone information is not always accurately transcribed
- The arrangement of the graves in a cemetery can be crucial as family members are often buried next to each other or in the same grave. This arrangement is not always preserved in the alphabetical indexes that are found online.
- Databases that can be searched online for Missouri Cemetery records
- Missouri Tombstone Transcription Project - death and burial records
- African American Cemeteries Online – African American, slave, and Native American cemetery records
- Access Genealogy – huge database of Missouri cemetery record transcriptions
- Find a Grave – over 100 million grave records can be searched on this site. Search can be conducted by name, location, or cemetery name.
- Interment.net - A free online database containing approximately 4 million cemetery records from around the world.
- Billion Graves – as the name implies, you can search a billion records including headstone photos, transcriptions, cemetery records, and grave locations.
Missouri Obituaries
Obituaries can reveal a wealth about our ancestor and other relatives. You can search our Missouri Newspaper Obituaries Listings from hundreds of Missouri newspapers online for free.
Missouri Wills and Probate Records
The documents found in a probate packet may include a complete inventory of a person’s estate, newspaper entries, witness testimony, a copy of a will, list of debtors and creditors, names of executors or trustees, names of heirs. They can not only tell you about the ancestor you’re currently researching, but lead to other ancestors. Most of these records must be accessed at a county court or clerk’s office, but some can be found online as well. You can obtain copies of the original probate records by writing to the county clerk.
Since 1964, the circuit court in each county has custody of the earlier court records including those of the former Cook County Superior Court and a few other Chicago area courts. They can be found at:
Clerk of Circuit CourtArchives Room 1113
Richard J. Daley Center
50 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone: 312- 603-6601
Fax: 312-603-4974
The Missouri Regional Archives has a huge database of court and county records for the entire state of Missouri
Family Search – has an online collection of probate records, which includes will, indexes, dating from 1819-1970
Missouri Immigration and Naturalization Records
The naturalization process generated many types of records, including petitions, declarations of intention, and oaths of allegiance. These records can provide family historians with information such as a person's birth date and place of birth, immigration year, marital status, spouse information, occupation, witnesses' names and addresses, and more.
US National Archives – Immigration and Naturalization records for the entire United States
Family Search has two searchable online indexes, the Missouri, Northern District (Eastern Division), Naturalization Index, 1926-1979, and the Missouri, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950
Missouri Native American Records
- Best resources for tracing native Missouri ancestry.
- Access Genealogy – Missouri Native American census records, tribal histories, and much more
- U.S. National Archives - information on American Indians who maintained their ties to Federally-recognized Tribes (1830-1970).
- Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Missing Matriarchs – Resources for Researching Female Missouri Ancestors
Looking for female ancestors requires an adjustment of how we view traditional records sources. A woman’s identity was often under that of her husband, and often individual records for them can be difficult to locate. The following resources are effective in locating female ancestors in Missouri where traditional records may not reveal them.
Bibliographies
- In Her Place: A Guide to St. Louis Women’s History, 1764-1965, Catherine T. Corbett (Missouri Historical Society Press)
- Show Me Missouri Women, Selected Biographies: Missouri Women’s History Project, Mary K. Dains (Thomas Jefferson University Press)
- Kansas City Women of Independent Minds, Jan F. Flynn (Fifield Publishing, 1992)
- Women of the Earth Lodges: Tribal Life on the Plains, Virginia B. Peters (Archon Books, 1997)
- Death Records of Pioneer Missouri Women, 1808-1853, Lois Stanley (Southern Historical Press, 1990)
Selected Resources for Missouri Women’s History
State Historical Society of Missouri Womens Collection
1020 Lowry Street
Columbia, Missouri 65201-7298
Toll Free: (800) 747-6366 or (573) 882-7083
Fax: (573) 884-4950
Blanche Skiff Ross Memorial Library
Cottey College
225 South College
Nevada, MO 64772
Common Missouri Surnames
The following surnames are among the most common in Missouri and are also being currently researched by other genealogists. If you find your surname here, there is a chance that some research has already been performed on your ancestor.
Aaron, Abbott, Adair, Adams, Adamson, Adcock, Adkins, Aiken, Ainsworth, Akin, Aldridge, Alexander, Alford, Alfrey, Alger, Allen, Allison, Alspach, Amos, Anders, Anderson, Andress, Andrews, Andrus, Anjou, Apple, Archer, Armstrong, Ashton, Ashworth, Atkinson, Atwood, Austin, Avery, Ayers, Babb, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Barber, Barnett, Barnhart, Barrett, Barrow, Barton, Bass, Bateman, Batson, Baughman, Beatty, Bell, Bennett, Benningfield, Berry, Black, Black Cloud, Block, Boling, Booth, Born, Boyd, Bradley, Brady, Bright, Brooks, Brown, Buck, Bumstead, Burch, Burgundy, Burns, Butler, Byerly, Byrd, Cain, Campbell, Cardwell, Carr, Carroll, Carter, Caudil, Causey, Chance, Chapman, Choate, Clark, Clayton, Cloud, Clubb, Cochran, Cole, Collier, Collins, Conner, Cope, Coward, Cox, Crane, Cravey, Crawford, Cullers, Cunningham, Dalton, Daniel, Davidson, Davis, de Beauchamp, de Brueys, Deatherage, DeGarmo, Dennis, Deville, Dickerson, Dodd, Dozier, Draper, Duncan, Earp, Eaton, Edge, Edwards, Elliott, England, Epperson, Etheridge, Faircloth, Fargason, Faulk, Ferguson, Flowers, Foddrell, Ford, Formby, Fortenberry, Foster, Fowler, France, Frazier, Gailey, Garner, Garrett, Gilbert, Glass, Gorden, Gordon, Graham, Gray, Gregory, Griner, Grubb, Hale, Hall, Hammond, Harlan, Harper, Harris, Harrison, Henry, Herring, Hicks, Hill, Hodges, Hoffman, Holland, Hooks, Hopkins, Hudson, Ice, Isbell, Ivey, Jackson, James, Jenkins, Jett, Jones, Jordan, Keith, Kelley, King, Kirkland, Lacy, Lane, Leslie, Lewis, Marshall, Martin, McCoy, McDaniel, Mills, Mitchell, Morris, Neville, Odom, Owen, Pate, Payne, Perkins, Pinkard, Pitts, Ponthieu, Prather, Puckett, Pyle, Qualls, Reece, Ritenour, Rose, Rushing, Sanders, Seabolt, Seale, Sellers, Seybold, Slocombe, Swearingen, Talley, Terwilliger, Thomas, Thrasher, Trotti, Underwood, Van Den Berge, Van Ness, VanDeventer, Vaughan, Vincent, Wakefield, Waller, Watts, Welch, Whipple, Whittington, Wiess, Woolsey, Wynn, Yarbrough, Yates, Yocum, Yongue, Younger, Zabriskie, Zellers, Zuercher