Records that survive
These are the record series from Benton 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
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1839–1941
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1890
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1890
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1910
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1889
- Land Deeds · County Clerk1839–1852
- Assessments · Collector1861–1935
- Taxes · Collector1861–2012
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1892–1980
Wills and estates
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1838–1846
- Bonds · Probate Court1839–1908
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1839–1970
- Wills · Probate Court1839–1915
- Estate Settlements · County Clerk1846–1855
- Inventories, Appraisements & · Probate Court1854–1905
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1863–1881
- Probate Records · Probate Court1867–1894
- Settlements · Probate Court1871–1896
- Affidavits · Probate Court1873–1900
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1929–1971
- Taxes · Collector2009–2012
Tax records
- Miscellaneous County Records · County Clerk1844–1849
- Taxes · Collector1846–2011
- Assessments · Collector1870–1980
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1897–1976
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1835–1886
- Chancery Records · Court of Common Pleas1838–1854
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1839–1900
- Case File · County Clerk1842–1855
- City Council Minutes · City Clerk1957–1997
Other records
- Miscellaneous County Records · County Clerk1837–1863
- Census · County Clerk1844–1852
- License Records · County Clerk1844–1851
- Election Records · County Clerk1845–1851
- Petition · County Clerk1845–1846
- Ferry Records · County Clerk1846–1851
- Road Petitions · County Clerk1849
- Strays · County Clerk1851–1852
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Ordinances · City Clerk1902–1997
- Building Permits · City Clerk1990–1994
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
- Find Benton County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the recorder of deeds, the probate court and the circuit clerk.
- 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: Benton 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, Benton" 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: St. Clair County
Check the parent county for earlier records: St. Clair County
Later formed partly from Benton County: Hickory 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.