This is the official site for the Missouri State Archives. Their online records include birth and death records, naturalization records, land records, court records, prison records, military records, and more.

 

 

 

 

Birth Marriage and Death records #OnGenealogy

 Birth, Marriage, & Death Records

 

 

Birth Records

Birth & Death Records Database, pre-1910

 

 

 

Death Records

Death Certificates, 1910 – 1970

Coroner’s Inquest Database – The database search engine allows searches by county, name of deceased, cause of death, and/or year of death (or range of years). A keyword search function is also available. The database offers the following information abstracted from the original records:

  • Case number
  • Name of deceased
  • Age or date of birth
  • Race
  • Gender
  • Date of death
  • Cause of death
  • Location of death
  • Microfilm reel number
  • Box and file number for original record

 

 

Residence records census land migration voting taxation #OnGenealogy

Residence Records

Census

Census Records and Tax Lists – The Missouri State Archives has territorial, state, federal and special census records from 1752 to 2004, which can be used to locate an ancestor’s specific location.  In addition, tax lists are good substitutes when census records are not available.  See the links below for more information.

Territorial Censuses (1752-1818) and Tax Lists (1814-1821) 
State Censuses (1840-1876) and Tax Lists (years vary by county) 
Federal Censuses (1830-1940) 
Special Censuses (1857-2004) 

 

 

Naturalization & Citizenship

Naturalization Records Database – Naturalization Records, 1816 – 1955

 

 

Land Records

Land Records Database – 1777-1969 – The Land Records database contains over 280,000 entries from French and Spanish land concessions, federal land sales and state issued patents. The records may include names of purchasers, claimants and assignees, county, date of purchase, and legal land description (township, section, range and number of acres sold).

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Life Records school work church court government library social life #OnGenealogy

Daily Life Records

 

 

Court Records

Missouri Supreme Court Historical Database – Missouri’s historic Supreme Court cases hold countless details about our state’s past. Tens of thousands of cases, dating back to 1783, examine topics such as slavery, agriculture, industry and education.

Missouri Judicial Records, Missouri State Archives – This database of circuit and probate court files for Greene County Circuit Court, Jasper County Circuit Court, New Madrid County Probate Court, St. Charles County Circuit Court, and St. Louis Probate Court.

Frank and Jesse James Circuit Court Documents
Documents that reveal many of the James brothers’ activities during the late nineteenth century and include several indictments showing criminal charges ranging from grand larceny to murder.

 

 

Diaries

American Civil War in Missouri – The American Civil War in Missouri collection includes manuscripts (letters and diaries) offering valuable insight into how Missourians – both civilians and those in the military – experienced the Civil War.

 

 

Ethnic

I Goes to Fight mit Siegel: Missouri’s Germans and the Civil War – German immigrants transformed Missouri’s economics, politics, religion, and culture. Dr. Ken Luebbering explores the important role Missouri’s German immigrants played in the years prior to and including the Civil War.

 

 

Government Records

County and Municipal Records on Microfilm

Elected Officials Website Archives

Official Manual of the State of Missouri -The Blue Book

Official Directory of Missouri for 1878

Official Directory of Missouri for 1879

Official Directory of Missouri for 1881

Official Directory of Missouri for 1883

Official Directory of Missouri for 1885

Official Directory of Missouri for 1887 – 1888

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1889 – 1890

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1891 – 1892

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1893 – 1894

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1895 – 1896

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1897 – 1898

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1899 – 1900

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1901 – 1902

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1903 – 1904

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1905 – 1906

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1907 – 1908

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1909 – 1910

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1911 – 1912

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1913 – 1914

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1915 – 1916

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1917 – 1918

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1919 – 1920

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1921 – 1922

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1923 – 1924

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1925 – 1926

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1927 – 1928

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1929 – 1930

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1931 – 1932

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1933 – 1934

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1935 – 1936

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1937 – 1938

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1939 – 1940

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1941 – 1942

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1943 – 1944

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1945 – 1946

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1947 – 1948

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1949 – 1950

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1951 – 1952

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1953 – 1954

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1955 – 1956

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1957 – 1958

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1959 – 1960

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1961 – 1962

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1963 – 1964

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1965 – 1966

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1967 – 1968

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1969 – 1970

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1971 – 1972

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1973 – 1974

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1975 – 1976

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1977 – 1978

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1979 – 1980

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1981 – 1982

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1983 – 1984

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1985 – 1986

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1987 – 1988

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1989 – 1990

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1991 – 1992

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1993 – 1994

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1995 – 1996

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1997 – 1998

Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1999 – 2000

 

Government & Politics

Benjamin Gratz Brown, 1871-1873
The records include commissions, correspondence, court proceedings, indictments, invitations, invoices, legal opinions by the Attorney General, maps, newspaper clippings, petitions, proclamations, receipts, reports, telegrams, and writs of election.

Claiborne Fox Jackson, 1861
The Records of Governor Jackson consist of four items of correspondence. He served as governor for less than a year before a convention was called to decide whether Missouri would secede from the Union.

Hamilton Rowan Gamble, 1861-1864
The Records (1861-1863) of Governor Hamilton Rowan Gamble include appointments, resignations, letters of recommendation, correspondence, memoranda, petitions, an oath of loyalty, and a proclamation.

Hancock Lee Jackson, 1857
The Records (1856-1857) of Governor Hancock Lee Jackson (1796-1876) include correspondence and petitions related to appointments, criminal cases, elections, extraditions, pardons, railroads, and swamp lands.

Joseph Washington McClurg, 1869-1871
Records include: appointment commissions; correspondence; legal opinions from the Missouri Attorney General; loyalty oaths; newspaper clippings; pardons; petitions; Thanksgiving proclamations; resolutions; trial transcripts; committee and other reports; railroad statistics; and writs of election.

Missouri House and Senate Journals, 1820-1881
This collection contains 19th Century Journals of the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate. These Journals record the proceedings of the state legislature.

Robert Marcellus Stewart, 1857-1860
The Records (1857-1860) of Governor Robert Marcellus Stewart (1815-1871) include appointments, correspondence, petitions, and swamp land records.

Thomas Clement Fletcher, 1865-1869
The collection include affidavits, testimonies, and other court materials; appointment requests; certifications of vacancies and gubernatorial orders of elections; commissions; correspondence; minutes; oaths of loyalty; petitions; and proclamations.

Willard Preble Hall, 1864-1865
This collection consists of the records of Governor Willard Preble Hall, including commissions, correspondence, and petitions. When the state convention of July 1861 vacated statewide offices, Hall was chosen to serve as lieutenant governor.

 

 

Libraries, Museums, & Archives

Archives’ Online Catalog

Finding Aids

Local Records Inventory Database

 

 

Newspapers

Border Star
This collection includes issues of the Border Star newspaper published weekly in Westport, Missouri from the years 1858 to 1860, covering various concerns of Westport, especially slavery.

Cape Girardeau Argus
A weekly newspaper for Cape Girardeau, Missouri, which was published by W. H. Hamilton. The paper runs from June 18, 1863 through June 1, 1871, covering the Civil War era.

Hannibal Clipper
The issues from this Hannibal, Missouri newspaper are from 1874-1875 and 1877.

Liberty Tribune
A newspaper from Clay County, Missouri covering the years 1846-1848, 1852-1867, 1869-1878, 1880, 1882, and 1883.

Phelps County New Era
Missouri University of Science and Technology has digitized the Phelps County New Era for 1875-1878; issues are displayed here.

St. Louis Christian Advocate
The St. Louis Christian Advocate Newspaper was published weekly by a committee of ministers for the Methodist Episcopal Church South in St. Louis. This collection covers August 22, 1857 through October 22, 1879.

St. Louis Daily Missouri Republican, 1861-1865
The Daily Missouri Republican printed four pages each day, providing extensive war coverage with descriptions of significant events and the many Missourians who played key roles in the larger conflict.

 

 

Photographs

Missouri Digital Heritage

Guerrillas and Outlaws
Part of the Missouri Valley oversize artwork, these 53 drawings feature members of William Quantrill’s Guerrillas, the James-Younger gang, and others associated with these men, like Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby.

Trans-Mississippi Theater Photo Archive – Hundreds of photographs from the Civil War.

Trans-Mississippi Theater Virtual Museum – Civil War-era artifacts including letters, maps, diaries, weapons, flags, uniforms and photographs.

 

 

Prisons & Prisoners

Missouri State Penitentiary Database

Palmyra Massacre Collection – The Palmyra Massacre occurred in 1862 in Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri, when 10 Confederate prisoners were shot in retaliation for the abduction of a local Union sympathizer.

 

 

Slaves and Slavery

Freedom Suits Case Files, 1814-1860 – These case files consist of 301 legal petitions for freedom by people of color originally filed in St. Louis courts between 1814 and 1860. They make up the largest corpus of freedom suits available to researchers in the United States.

The Revised Dred Scott Case Collection – The records displayed in this exhibit document the Scotts’ early struggle to gain their freedom through litigation and are the only extant records of this significant case as it was heard in the St. Louis Circuit Court.

 

 

Women

Occupied Women: Gender, Military Occupation, and the American Civil War – In this documentary, 12 distinguished historians consider how women’s reactions to occupation affected both the strategies of military leaders and ultimately even the outcome of the Civil War.

 

 

 

Military records Wars Veterans #OnGenealogy

Military Records

 

War of 1812 – WW1 Database

Missouri Soldier’s Database: War of 1812 – WWI – Over 380,000 records of Civil War soldiers can be found in this database, which also includes the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, the Heatherly War, the Mormon War, and the Iowa War.

 

 

Civil War Records

Union Provost Marshal Records – During the war, each division, brigade, and corps of the Union Army included a provost marshal. These records offer a unique look at the lives of citizens who came into contact with the military.

Civil War Records at Missouri Digital Heritage, more than 500,000 digitized Civil War records

 

 

Civil War History

American Civil War in Missouri – The American Civil War in Missouri collection includes manuscripts (letters and diaries) offering valuable insight into how Missourians – both civilians and those in the military – experienced the Civil War.

Boone County Historical Society Civil War Collection – This Civil War collection of personal letters, diaries and photographs is held by the Boone County Historical Society.

Civil War eBook Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri – This collection contains various documents related to the Civil War in Missouri.

Civil War Manuscripts, State Historical Society of Missouri – A selection of documents coving topics such as the impact an encamped army has on nearby towns, families with relatives imprisoned for Confederate sympathies, guerrilla warfare in Missouri, and the organization of troops.

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865 – Documents related to the hostilities that shook the Missouri-Kansas border region before and during the American Civil War. The collection includes photographs, letters, diaries, maps, and military records from over 25 contributing institutions.

Community and Conflict: the Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks – An online digital collection of documents and artifacts that depict life in the Ozarks between 1850 and 1875 through letters, maps, diaries, court records and photographs.

Confluence and Crossroads – The Civil War in the American Heartland – A digital repository Civil War documents in southeast Missouri and southern Illinois covering 1854-1877, which represents the time period between the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the end of Reconstruction.
 
Missouri Civil War Battle Flags – As part of a long-term project to conserve its collection of Civil War battle flags, the Missouri State Museum has conserved 45 of the collection’s approximately 135 flags. Missouri’s Civil War flags represent both Union and Confederate regiments.
Northwest Missouri State University Civil War Books – Collection of eight monographs dating from 1867-1920. Two of the books are novels about the Civil War, while the rest are personal accounts and histories of various battles and events during the Civil War.
Over There: Missouri and the Great War – Over There: Missouri and the Great War contains letters, diaries, memoirs, photographs, postcards, and other materials documenting the lives of Missouri soldiers and civilians during the First World War.
Palmyra Massacre Collection – The Palmyra Massacre occurred in 1862 in Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri, when 10 Confederate prisoners were shot in retaliation for the abduction of a local Union sympathizer.
St. Louis Area Civil War Digitization Project – A wonderful resource includes items such as letters, diaries, photographs, military certificates, muster rolls, broadsides, loyalty oaths, and many more unique documents.
Trans-Mississippi Theater Photo Archive – Hundreds of photographs from the Civil War.
Trans-Mississippi Theater Virtual Museum – Civil War-era artifacts including letters, maps, diaries, weapons, flags, uniforms and photographs.
Harrison Gleim Civil War Papers, 1860-1891 – Papers of Harrison Gleim, who served in the Civil War as Lieutenant and quartermaster in the Missouri Light Artillery, and later as Major and aide-de-camp in the 2nd Missouri Cavalry. Includes military orders, personal and official correspondence, and quartermaster records.
Where the Wilson Meets the James – This virtual museum uses archaeological research and historic documents to tell the story of the events of Wilson Creek, including the infamous Civil War battle.
Civil War Monographs – Contributed by: University of Missouri – Columbia
The Civil War in the United States is a fascinating era in our history. This collection focuses on the Civil War in Missouri.
Civil War’s First Blood: Missouri 1854-1861 – Authors John Bradbury and James Denny discuss the complicated role Missouri played during the first year of the Civil War, key political and military figures involved, military operations carried on throughout the state.
Occupied Women: Gender, Military Occupation, and the American Civil War – In this documentary, 12 distinguished historians consider how women’s reactions to occupation affected both the strategies of military leaders and ultimately even the outcome of the Civil War.

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