Missouri Historical Societies

This directory lists 8 historical societies, museums, and archives in Missouri. They include the State Historical Society of Missouri, whose research centers hold the state's largest newspaper collection, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal. Each card gives the organization's address and website; the guide below tells you which records to expect from the state, the county, and the society itself.

Missouri was organized as a territory in 1812 and admitted as the 21st state on August 10, 1821. It now has 114 counties plus the independent City of St. Louis, which keeps its own records. Three quirks matter for researchers: the 1810 and 1820 territorial census schedules were lost; the earliest land titles were French and Spanish grants that had to be confirmed by a federal board after 1805; and statewide birth and death registration did not begin until January 1, 1910, after a failed county attempt in 1883-1893.

Featured Historical Societies

Missouri's principal archives and libraries

• Missouri State Archives, 600 West Main Street, Jefferson City. The official repository for permanent state records and the host of Missouri Digital Heritage, a free portal to more than 9 million records: Missouri death certificates, pre-1910 birth and death registers, World War I service and biography records, naturalization and penitentiary databases, county histories, county plat books and city directories. Its Local Records program microfilms county and municipal records, and the County and Municipal Records Database tells you which county books are available on film at the Archives. Appointments are recommended for the research room. sos.mo.gov/archives and sos.mo.gov/mdh
• State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO), headquartered in Columbia with research centers in other cities. Holds Missouri newspapers from about 1800 with card indexes to some early titles, manuscripts, maps and the state's digital collections at digital.shsmo.org.
• Midwest Genealogy Center, Mid-Continent Public Library, 3440 S. Lee's Summit Road, Independence. One of the largest public genealogy libraries in the country, with census, newspaper and vital record databases, a Memory Lab for digitizing family material, and the Kansas City area's oral history project. mymcpl.org/genealogy
• Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center, St. Louis. The main manuscript and photograph collection for St. Louis and the fur-trade era; check its website for current research hours before visiting.

Vital records in Missouri

The Bureau of Vital Records, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, maintains births, deaths and fetal deaths from January 1, 1910 to the present, and a central registry of marriages and divorces from July 1, 1948. For a divorce it issues a Certified Statement Relating to Divorce giving both names, the date and the county, which points you to the circuit clerk for the decree. health.mo.gov/data/vitalrecords

• Deaths 1910 onward, free: the Missouri State Archives posts death certificate images on Missouri Digital Heritage as each year passes the state's privacy period, so for most twentieth-century deaths you can download the certificate without ordering it.
• 1883-1893: a state law required counties to register births and deaths but did not make reporting mandatory, and the General Assembly repealed it in 1893. The surviving county registers are indexed in the Archives' Missouri Birth and Death Records Pre-1910 database. Expect partial coverage.
• Marriages: recorded by the county Recorder of Deeds from the county's formation; statewide registration began in 1881 and files are mostly complete after that date. FamilySearch has free Missouri marriage indexes from 1750-1920.
• Divorces: the decree is held by the Circuit Clerk of the county where it was granted; the state has only the post-1948 registry.
• City of St. Louis: kept its own birth and death registers before 1910 as an independent city, separate from St. Louis County.

Land, deed, and property records

Missouri is a public-domain state with a colonial layer. Before the Louisiana Purchase, French and Spanish governors granted land along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers; the Missouri State Archives holds the original French and Spanish grants (1790-1803). In 1805 Congress created a Board of Commissioners to confirm those earlier titles, and the Recorder of Land Titles kept record books (1795-1808) and an index to French and Spanish land grants (1795-1812). Confirmed claims are also printed in the American State Papers, which are indexed in the published Grassroots of America.

• Federal land: after confirmation of private claims, the remaining land was surveyed and sold through eight federal land offices, the first opening in 1818. Cash sales, homesteads and military bounty warrants all appear in the BLM General Land Office Records. glorecords.blm.gov
• County deeds: every later transfer, mortgage and plat is recorded by the Recorder of Deeds in each county (the same office that holds marriage records), with grantor and grantee indexes from the county's organization. Many early deed books are on microfilm at the State Archives through the Local Records program.
• Plat books: Missouri Digital Heritage hosts digitized county plat books showing landowner names on each parcel, a quick way to place a family on the map between censuses.

Newspapers and city directories

The State Historical Society of Missouri is the state's newspaper library, holding Missouri papers from about 1800, a county-by-county map of titles on microfilm, card indexes to some early papers, and interlibrary loan of film. Its digital collections site (digital.shsmo.org) carries the Society's digitized newspapers alongside photographs and manuscripts.

• Chronicling America (Library of Congress) includes Missouri titles digitized through the National Digital Newspaper Program and can be filtered by state.
• St. Louis: the St. Louis Public Library lists its newspaper microfilm (1808-2008) and maintains the St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary index.
• City directories: Missouri Digital Heritage has a Missouri City Directories collection; St. Louis and Kansas City runs are also held by the Missouri Historical Society and the Midwest Genealogy Center. Our article on old city directories explains how to read the abbreviations.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

• Federal census: 1830 is the first surviving enumeration; the 1810 and 1820 territorial schedules were lost for every county. Coverage runs 1830 through 1950.
• State census fragments: Missouri took state censuses but only pieces survive: 1844 and 1848 (Benton and Callaway counties), 1856 (Audrain, Atchison and Callaway), 1876 (selected counties), 1880 (Cass County) and 1887 (Phelps County, heads of household). Records for 1840 and 1860 are available online or on request from the State Archives, which also holds county tax lists that stand in for lost censuses.
• Military: Missouri Digital Heritage's World War I Biography and Service Records, plus Civil War and other soldiers' databases at the State Archives.
• Court and prison: the Supreme Court of Missouri Historical Records database (case files with name searching) and the Missouri State Penitentiary Database at the Archives.
• Online indexes: FamilySearch Missouri births 1817-1939, marriages 1750-1920 and deaths 1867-1976; Reclaim the Records has published a Missouri birth index 1910-2024.

Researching a house or building in Missouri

The Missouri State Historic Preservation Office sits within Missouri State Parks, part of the Department of Natural Resources, in Jefferson City. Its National Register and Survey program handles Missouri nominations, and its Maps and Records unit keeps statewide GIS databases of architectural and archaeological surveys, National Register listed and eligible properties, and certified local districts. mostateparks.com: National Register and Maps and Records

• Check whether the building already has a survey form or National Register nomination; nominations contain a researched construction date and ownership summary.
• Pull the deed chain at the county Recorder of Deeds (or the Recorder of Deeds for the City of St. Louis), following tracing a property deed history. If the chain reaches a Spanish or French survey number, continue in the Recorder of Land Titles books at the State Archives.
• Date the structure with Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress and SHSMO), county plat books on Missouri Digital Heritage, and city directories, then confirm with the techniques in when was my house built and researching an old building.

Working with Missouri historical societies

Missouri local history is split between county historical societies, which usually hold cemetery surveys, family files and the county's own photograph collection, and the two metropolitan institutions in St. Louis and Kansas City that hold most of the manuscript material for their regions. Because the State Archives has filmed so many county books, ask a county society for what the film does not capture: funeral home registers, church records, school district lists and newspaper obituary indexes. Many societies in the Ozarks and the Bootheel open only on set weekday afternoons, so write first with the surname and township. For burials, county society cemetery indexes are often more complete than online databases; see finding where someone is buried.

Additional Missouri History Resources

• Missouri State Archives - State archives in Jefferson City; county records on microfilm, court and penitentiary databases
• Missouri Digital Heritage - Free death certificates from 1910, pre-1910 registers, WWI records, plat books, city directories
• DHSS Bureau of Vital Records - Births and deaths from 1910; marriage and divorce registry from July 1948
• Missouri SHPO: National Register program - State Historic Preservation Office at Missouri State Parks
• Missouri SHPO: Maps and Records - Statewide GIS of surveyed and listed historic properties
• Midwest Genealogy Center - Mid-Continent Public Library genealogy branch in Independence
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents from Missouri's eight land offices
• FamilySearch Wiki: Missouri Vital Records - Record availability, dates and online collections

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Missouri death certificates online for free?

Yes. The Missouri State Archives publishes death certificate images from 1910 onward on Missouri Digital Heritage (sos.mo.gov/mdh), adding each year as it passes the state's privacy period. For a current-year or recent death you must order from the DHSS Bureau of Vital Records instead.

When did Missouri begin keeping birth records?

Counties were asked to register births and deaths from 1883, but the law was not mandatory and was repealed in 1893, so coverage is thin. Statewide registration began January 1, 1910 with the Bureau of Vital Records; the surviving 1883-1893 county registers are indexed in the State Archives' pre-1910 database.

Where are Missouri marriage and divorce records kept?

Marriages are recorded by the county Recorder of Deeds, with statewide registration from 1881. Divorce decrees are held by the Circuit Clerk of the county that granted them. The state Bureau of Vital Records keeps only a registry of marriages and divorces from July 1, 1948.

Why can't I find my ancestor in the 1820 Missouri census?

The 1810 and 1820 territorial census schedules for Missouri were lost for all counties; 1830 is the first surviving federal enumeration. Substitute with county tax lists and the state census fragments (1844, 1848, 1856, 1876, 1880, 1887) available through the Missouri State Archives.