Records that survive
These are the record series from Cape Girardeau 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 Deeds1805–1991
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1805–1968
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1890
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1890–1893
- Marriage Application and License · Recorder of Deeds1908–1921
- Marriage Licenses and · Recorder of Deeds1942–1967
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1805–1906
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1805–1989
- Field Notes · County Clerk1817–1839
- Records and Ordinances · City Clerk1828–1833
- Surveyor Records · Surveyor1836–1869
- Swampland Records · County Clerk1853–1901
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1865–1871
- Land Register · County Clerk1867
- Taxes · Collector1867
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1868–1910
- Land Taxes · County Clerk1870
- School and Road Plats · County Clerk1871–1955
- Records · City Clerk1872–1885
- Assessments · Assessor1873–1909
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Bonds · Probate Court1805–1980
- Guardian Bonds · Probate Court1805–1980
- Guardianship Files · Probate Court1805–1980
- Guardianships · Probate Court1805–1980
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1805–1980
- Wills · Probate Court1805–1980
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1812–1978
- Minors and Imbeciles Index · Probate Court1820–1885
- Settlement Index · Probate Court1820–1885
- Probate Records · Probate Court1821–1979
- Wills · Court Of Common Pleas1853–1973
- Notices · Probate Court1865–1938
- Inventories · Probate Court1866–1974
- Final Settlements · Probate Court1869–1973
- and 12 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1821–1932
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1917–1919
- Military Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1917–1919
Tax records
- County Tax Records · County Clerk1828–1867
- Taxes · Collector1837–1865
- Coroner Inquest Index · Collector1842–1939
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1842–1939
- Assessments · Assessor1862–1909
- School Taxes · Collector1867–1910
- Personal Taxes · Collector1868–1909
- Past Due Taxes · Collector1875
- Abstract of Taxes Collected · Collector1877–1880
- Railroad Taxes · County Clerk1883
- Abstract of Current Taxes · Collector1908–1909
Court records
- Territorial Court Case Index · Circuit Court1799–1824
- Territorial Court Cases · Circuit Court1799–1824
- Territorial Records · County Clerk1804–1821
- Territorial Court Record Index · Circuit Court1805–1860
- Territorial Court Records · Circuit Court1805–1820
- Territorial Record Index · Court Of Common Pleas1805–1860
- Territorial Records · Court Of Common Pleas1805–1826
- Common Pleas · Court Of Common Pleas1808–1951
- Memorandum Book · County Clerk1808–1816
- Minutes · County Clerk1808–1851
- Docket · Court Of Common Pleas1810–1811
- Fee Book · County Clerk1814–1821
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1815–1900
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1815–1922
- and 22 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Teachers Attendance and · Superintendent Of Schools1871–1892
- School District Records · Superintendent Of Schools1874–1926
- School Register · Superintendent Of Schools1888–1891
- Teachers Register · Superintendent Of Schools1906–1932
Other records
- Territorial Papers · County Clerk1797–1821
- Miscellaneous Papers · County Clerk1798–1808
- Territorial Census · County Clerk1800
- Territorial Records · County Clerk1804–1809
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1806–1840
- Commissioned Officers · County Clerk1815
- File Index · Justice Of The Peace1821–1860
- Files · Justice Of The Peace1821–1860
- Accounts · County Clerk1826–1843
- Ordinances · City Clerk1843–2006
- State Census · County Clerk1868–1876
- Forfeited List Book · County Clerk1872
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1874–1956
- Index to Records · City Clerk1885–1921
- and 18 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
- Cape Girardeau 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: Cape Girardeau 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, Cape Girardeau" 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: One of the original districts of the District of Louisiana, before Missouri had counties
Later formed partly from Cape Girardeau County: Bollinger County, Madison County, Stoddard County, Wayne County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1804, 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.