Records that survive
These are the record series from Callaway 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 Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1821–1941
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1821–1969
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1888
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1888
- Return of Births · County Clerk1883–1884
- Return of Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1884
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1821–1998
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1821–1969
- Taxes · Collector1829–1880
- Land Plats · Recorder of Deeds1833–1937
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1844–2013
- Plat Maps · County Clerk1864
- Tax Sale · Collector1864–1876
- Tax Sale Judgment Book · Collector1865–1875
- Land Plats · County Clerk1895
- Land Patents · Recorder of Deeds1896–1966
- County Hospital Records · County Clerk1919–1937
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1925–1999
- Callaway County Recorder of · Recorder of Deeds1978–1995
- Callaway County Recorder of · Public School District1985
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1800–1938
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1821–1940
- Probate Records · Probate Court1821–1886
- Probate Register · Probate Court1821–1938
- Wills · Probate Court1821–1919
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1847–1950
- Settlements · Probate Court1863–1916
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1865–1918
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1873–1917
- Inventory · County Clerk1900–1903
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1922–1937
- Wills · Recorder of Deeds1926–1969
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1969
Tax records
- Assessments · Assessor1830–1870
- Taxes · Assessor1836–1867
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1841–1903
- Accounts, Monthly Statements · Collector1846–1879
- Taxes · Collector1847–2013
- Taxes/Abstract · Assessor1860
- Income Tax · County Clerk1863–1866
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1869–2013
- Abstract Tax Book · Collector1873–1875
- Poll Tax · County Clerk1900–1935
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1934–1999
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1954–1999
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1821–1899
- Circuit Court Docket Book · Circuit Court1821–1847
- County Commission Minutes · County Clerk1821–1898
- County Court Records · County Clerk1821–1832
- Callaway County Circuit Court · Circuit Court1835–1885
- Board Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1882–1993
- Road Commission Minutes · County Clerk1900–1903
- Board of Health Minutes · County Clerk1901–1911
- Board Minutes · Public School District1977–1991
Schools
- School For The Deaf And Dumb · County Clerk1853–1860
- Callaway County Clerk Road · Public School District1872–1985
- State School Records · County Clerk1909–1936
- Fulton Public Schools · Superintendent Of Schools1936–1994
- Auditors Reports · Superintendent Of Schools1952–1993
- Accoustics Study of Fulton High · Superintendent Of Schools1978
- Bonds · Superintendent Of Schools1987–1992
Other records
- Ferry Records · County Clerk1821–1915
- Miscellaneous Papers Index · County Clerk1823–1909
- Miscellaneous Papers · County Clerk1823–1909
- State Census · County Clerk1844–1876
- Census of District · County Clerk1848–1876
- County Census · County Clerk1848–1876
- County Census Sheets · County Clerk1852
- State Hospital #1 Records · County Clerk1855–1938
- Loyalty Oaths · County Clerk1859–1872
- Register of Physicians and · County Clerk1874–1897
- Bounties · County Clerk1876–1939
- Doctor's Records · County Clerk1876–1908
- Dentist's Records · County Clerk1883–1888
- Midwifery Records · County Clerk1883
- and 14 more series in the full listing
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
- Callaway 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: Callaway 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, Callaway" 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 1821, 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.