Records that survive
These are the record series from Butler 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
- Marriage Index · Recorder of Deeds1849–1995
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1849–1953
- Marriage Application Index · Recorder of Deeds1883–1995
- Marriage Applications · Recorder of Deeds1883–1953
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1893
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Marriages · Probate Court1909–1946
- Register of Births · County Clerk1910–1923
Deeds and land
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1849–1889
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1850–1921
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1860–1902
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1867–2014
- Plats and Surveys · Recorder of Deeds1871–1975
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1878–1933
- Swampland Patents · Recorder of Deeds1880–1886
- Corporation Records · Recorder of Deeds1881–1963
- Taxes · Collector1887–1915
- Assessments · Assessor1901–1963
- Township Trustees School Act · Superintendent Of Schools1914–1915
Wills and estates
- Appointment of Administrators · Probate Court1849–1859
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1849–1923
- Probate Records · Probate Court1849–1933
- Docket · Probate Court1859–1878
- Bonds · Probate Court1861–1953
- Appraisements · Probate Court1865–1917
- Estates · Probate Court1866–1889
- Probate Journal · Probate Court1867–1881
- Wills · Probate Court1869–1922
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1873–1956
- Inventories · Probate Court1873–1951
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1876–1886
- Settlements · Probate Court1877–1933
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention for · Circuit Court1887–1942
- Certificate of Naturalization · Circuit Court1903–1923
- Petition for Naturalization · Circuit Court1909–1952
Military and pensions
- Veterans · Recorder of Deeds1917–1918
- Military Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919–1967
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1872–1965
- Abstract of Collections · Assessor1896–1911
- Collector's Accounts · Collector1899–1933
- Assessments · Assessor1900–1966
- Poll Tax · County Clerk1909
- Tax Book · Collector1939
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1849–1951
- County Court Index · County Clerk1849–1919
- County Court Record · County Clerk1849–1972
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1860–1893
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1866–1871
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1869–1902
- Butler County Circuit Court Case · Circuit Court1893–1898
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1911–1946
Schools
- School Fund Accounts · Superintendent Of Schools1887–1949
- Scholarship Fund · Superintendent Of Schools1901
- School District Accounts · Superintendent Of Schools1902–1955
- School Book Range/capital Fund · Treasurer1924–1963
Other records
- Index to Marks and Brands · County Clerk1849–1905
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1849–1905
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Accounts · Treasurer1900–1959
- Road District Accounts · County Clerk1900–1937
- Register of Warrants · County Clerk1901–1933
- Road Records · County Clerk1901–1925
- Criminal Cost Records · Treasurer1903–1915
- Cash Book · County Clerk1907–1926
- Record of Signatures · County Clerk1907–1913
- Drainage District · County Clerk1930–1937
- Accounts · County Clerk1932–1938
- Certificate of Canvassers · County Clerk1954–1956
- Record/Cash Recieved-Disbursed · County Clerk1978
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 Butler 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: Butler 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, Butler" 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: Wayne County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Wayne County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1849, 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.