Marriage Records States Genealogy Genealogy Directory Search for Ancestors Surname Queries

Missouri Genealogy

State records typically begin in 1910, and that is when most Missouri genealogy material will start to become available. They do have strict access rules for some documents so you may have to be creative in where you begin your search.

Missouri Vital Records

Of all types of vital records, the birth records in Missouri are the hardest to get copies of. They are held confidential permanently, with no expiry date for that restriction. The only people who are allowed to request copies are the people on the record themselves, or their parents. These records are held by the Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City, and also by the local health department office in your area.

Death records are also confidential but the Bureau of Vital Records only keeps them for 50 years. After that, they can be accessed in digitized form (not certified copies) from the State Archives. Marriage records are also available through the vital records office but also from the Recorder of Deeds Office where the marriage took place.

If you are going to make a request through the Bureau of Vital Records, you just have to submit the completed form (which is available from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website), along with a notarized signature and the search fee. You'll need the same documents if you are going to the health department office in your area as well.

Visiting in person usually gets your your Missouri genealogy documents while you wait but mailed in requests will take up to a month. The fee for a birth or marriage record is $15 and for a death record is $13. You can pay in cash if you go to the office in person, otherwise, send a check or money order. The fees cover the cost of the search and are not returned should your documents not be found.

Missouri State Archives

You can find quite a lot more Missouri genealogy material at the Archives than just through the Vital Records office.

As mentioned above, you can get copies of death records that are more than 50 years old via microfilm. Their website also allows for searches through their indexes and you can print out images of most records that way as well. Aside from that, you can also find military records (including Civil War material), land records, judicial documents, photographs, census records, naturalization files and a lot more.

Their research room offers public access to their collection 6 days a week (closed Sundays) for normal business hours. Thursdays are open later into the evenings. They are located in Jefferson City, but you can make some research requests via email for their staff if you are not in the area for your own visit.

Genealogy Groups and Societies

Joining a local Missouri genealogy group can lead you to many unique types of references that you may not find on your own. The Missouri State Genealogy Association is the largest group for the entire state and there are dozens of smaller groups for each county in Missouri. Other specific regions may also have their own groups, such as the Ozarks Genealogy Society or the St. Louis Genealogical Society.

State Resources Sites

  • A Guide to Missouri Genealogy
    Look ups, societies, publications available from societies and individuals, lost female ancestors queries, and related links for genealogy research in Missouri.
      
  • Search Missouri State Databases at Ancestry.com
      
  • African Americans in Missouri  Resources for African Americans in Missouri -- includes a slave database for slaveowners and slaves from 5 Missouri Counties and the states of Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Also included is a database of Frontier Families of Missouri from the Upper Territory from 1790 to 1840. Slaveowners are noted under the NAME INDEX with an asterisk. Black marriage records, cemeteries, slave schedules, and 1870 census extractions of Black families are found under MISSOURI SLAVE DATA. View queries for family information.
      
  • Genealogy in St. Louis  The premier site for useful information on the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri genealogy
      
  • Julie Wollard Trout's Genealogy Page    Pictures and GEDCOMS of my family trees with links to transcribed records, mostly for Polk Co., MO. Contains information about lots of Polk Co., MO families and also details my research services in Polk Co., MO 
      
  • MoCooper Gen Web    Genealogical information on present and past residents of Cooper County, Missouri. Vast amounts of transcribed genealogical source data including, census, cemeteries, military, biographical, bible, and historical records 
      

  • St. Louis City/County History
    Pitzman's 1868 Land Map of St. Louis
    Colonial Militia Rosters with genealogical notes.
    1904 Rand McNally Missouri Map
    U.S. Grant Camp, No. 68 Sons of Union Veterans
    Civil War history
    Early images of St. Louis
    Enjoy Historic Music of St. Louis 
      

Census Records

Crime and Criminals

Death Records and Obituaries

History

Libraries

Marriages

Military

People

Other Resources:

Maps

Queries

Charts and Resources

Select a state
AL  | AK  | AZ  | AR  | CA | CO  |  CT  | DE  | FL | GA  |  IA  | ID  | ILIN | KS  | KY  | LA  | MA | MD | MI  | MN  |  MO  | ME  | MSMT  | NC  |  NDNE  | NH | NJ  | NM  | NV | NY  | OH | OK   | OR  | PA  | RI  |  SC | SD  | TN  | TX  | UT  |  VAVT  |  WA  |  WIWV  | WY

  

  View and post searchable marriage records
  
  All Genealogy Sites Directory

 

 

 

Home

African American
Beginners
Birth Records
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Coal Mines
Colonial America
Commercial Sites
Crime/Criminals
Databases
Death/Obits
Diaries & Letters
Family Bibles
Females
Goodspeed's History
History
International
Libraries
Marriage Records
Medical Terms
Military
Native American
Orphan Trains
Prisons/Prisoners
Resource Sites
States
State Archives
Supplies
Surnames

  

New Sites
You'll Want to See!

Ancestor Archive  Find photos of your ancestors 

All Ancestors  Find the records your ancestors left!

All Surnames  Surname resources

Surname Archive  Find your surnames!

Genealogy Finds   Scanned documents with names! 

Colonial Ancestors  The colonies

All Biographies  Online Biographies

Ancestor Surnames 

Female Ancestors
Genealogy Data
Contact Us
Add a Site
Death Records on Surname Archive 

Free Searches:
Search for Ancestors
Free Look Ups

The Genealogy Register

Site Index