Records that survive
These are the record series from Caldwell 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
- Record of Births · County Clerk1840–1864
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1860–1974
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1860–1959
- Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1877–1910
- Marriage License Applications · Recorder of Deeds1895–1965
Deeds and land
- Government Surveys · Recorder of Deeds1818–1823
- Original Land Entries · Recorder of Deeds1835–1859
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1860–1945
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1860–1903
- Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1860–1910
- Abstract & Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1876–1885
- Biography & Service Records · Recorder of Deeds1919
- Taxes · Collector2003–2014
Wills and estates
- Bond Index · Probate Court1856–1880
- Bonds · Probate Court1856–1880
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1856–1896
- Probate Records · Probate Court1856–1930
- Will Index · Probate Court1859–1905
- Appraisements, Inventories & · Probate Court1860–1897
- Index to Inventories, · Probate Court1860–1886
- Inventories, Appraisements & · Probate Court1860–1893
- Letters of Testamentary · Probate Court1860–1888
- Wills · Probate Court1860–2000
- Appraisements · Probate Court1865–1893
- Publications · Probate Court1866–1889
- Settlements · Probate Court1870–1929
- Record of Estates · Probate Court1882–1887
- and 3 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1884–1906
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector2003–2014
- Licenses · Collector2004–2015
Court records
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1859–1889
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1860–1886
- Docket · Probate Court1871–1904
- Minute Book · Superintendent of Schools1872–1900
- Minutes · Probate Court1878–1927
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1896–1974
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1896–1974
- County Court Records · County Clerk1896–1899
- Index to County Court Records · County Clerk1896–1914
- Minutes · County Clerk1896–1903
Schools
- School Register · Superintendent of Schools1846–1915
- School Enumerations · Superintendent of Schools1899–1982
- Teachers Report · Superintendent of Schools1939–1942
Other records
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1897–1966
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 Caldwell 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: Caldwell 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, Caldwell" 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: Land not yet in any county
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1836, 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.