Records that survive
These are the record series from Barry County that the Missouri State Archives has on microfilm, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Index to Marriages1837–1919
- Marriages1837–1916
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Birth and Death Certificates · County Clerk1884–1888
Deeds and land
- Deeds1835–1903
- Abstract and Index to Deeds1870–1887
- Plat Maps · County Clerk1909
Wills and estates
- Letters of Administrators · Probate Court1835–1891
- Probate Packets · Probate Court1842–1872
- Probate Records · Probate Court1853–1891
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1856–1906
- Bonds and Wills · Probate Court1865–1869
- Settlements · Probate Court1865–1893
- Register · Probate Court1867–1871
- Bonds · Probate Court1871–1893
- Sale Bills · Probate Court1871–1909
- Wills · Probate Court1871–1926
- Record of Descedants · Probate Court1908–1917
Tax records
- Merchant Taxes · Collector1908–1930
- City Ordinances · City Clerk1991–1993
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1836–1902
- Minutes · Probate Court1867–1881
- Barry County Circuit Court Case · Circuit Court1879–1900
- Minutes · City Clerk1888–2021
- Ordinances and Minutes · City Clerk1910–1985
- Cafeteria Building · Recorder1972
- Specifications · Recorder1975–1979
- Board Minutes · Recorder1985–1995
Schools
- District Ledgers · Superintendent Of Schools1879–1952
- School District Records · Superintendent Of Schools1883–1914
- Enumerations · Superintendent Of Schools1900–1979
Other records
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1858–1971
- Register · County Clerk1880–1922
- Ordinances · City Clerk1894–2021
- City Ordinances · City Clerk1895–1990
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1943–1950
- Requisitions · County Clerk1969–1970
- Cassville Board of Aldermen · City Clerk1985–2004
- · City Clerk2005–2013
Open the full roll-by-roll listing (PDF)
Source: Missouri State Archives, Guide to County and Municipal Records on Microfilm. Recorder of deeds records dated 1970 or later must be requested from the county. Counties kept birth and death registers under an 1883 law until its repeal in 1893, with coverage varying by county; statewide registration began in 1910.
Where to find the records
- Barry County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the recorder of deeds, the probate court and the circuit clerk, and any online record search the county offers.
- The recorder of deeds
Deeds and mortgages, and marriage records, usually from the county's beginning. Licenses were required from 1881; earlier books record the marriages themselves.
- The probate court
Wills, estates, guardianships and curatorships. Since 1979 it has been the probate division of the circuit court.
- The circuit clerk
Civil and criminal cases, divorces and, in many counties, naturalizations.
- The Missouri State Archives
In Jefferson City: microfilm of county records from Missouri's counties and the City of St. Louis, and free online databases, including death certificates from 1910 that are more than 50 years old.
- Missouri State Archives: Barry County records on microfilm (PDF)free
Every roll the state archives holds for this county, with the office, title, dates and reel number.
- Missouri Death Certificates, 1910–1975free
Search the Missouri State Archives' death certificate index by name and view the certificates.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Missouri, Barry" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Greene County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Greene County
Later formed partly from Barry County: Lawrence County, Newton County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1835, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Missouri's probate files often hold far more than a will: inventories, sale bills listing the buyers (often relatives and neighbors) and the receipts of heirs. Check the circuit court too, where heirs went to divide land.