Records that survive
These are the record series from Cass 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 Deeds1836–1918
- Marriage Licenses & Applications · Recorder of Deeds1841–1970
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1899
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1898
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1903
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1898
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1959
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1970
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1886
- Tax Assessments · Collector1850–1958
- Mechanics Liens · Circuit Court1851–1983
- Taxes · Collector1861–2015
- Plat Index Land Register · City Clerk1867
- Petitions · County Clerk1870
- School District Plat · Superintendent of Schools1881
- Township Plats · County Clerk1885–1888
- Plat Record · County Clerk1895
- Surveyor Bridge Record · Court of Common Pleas1896–1912
- Plats/District · City Clerk1911
- Biography & Service Records · Recorder of Deeds1916–1918
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Will & Letter Index · Probate Court1830–1861
- Letter Index · Probate Court1835–1947
- Letters · Probate Court1835–1882
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1835–1991
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1835–1991
- Bond Index · Probate Court1836–1950
- Bonds · Probate Court1836–1901
- Probate Records · Probate Court1836–1887
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1839–1956
- Wills · Probate Court1844–1918
- Records · Probate Court1860–1871
- Appraisements, Inventories & · Probate Court1861–1916
- Notices · Probate Court1867–1881
- Township Settlement Records · County Clerk1967–1973
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Tax records
- Assessors Book · Collector1851–1859
- Assessments · Collector1853–2005
- Taxes · Collector1860–2015
- Ledger Book · Collector1865
- Consolidated Forfeited List · Collector1868–1873
- Tax Index · Collector1868–1869
- Tax Judgements · Collector1868–1875
- Collector's Accounts · Collector1878–1955
- Record Board of Prisioners · Collector1897–1899
- Jail Records · Collector1920
- Records · Collector1924–1939
- Tax Sale · Collector1934–2002
- S & E Ledger · Collector1937–1953
- Victory Tax Record · County Clerk1944–1951
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Court records
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1830–1992
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1835–1886
- Recorder Records · County Clerk1835–1938
- Bar Docket · Circuit Court1836–1888
- Court Docket · Circuit Court1836–1880
- Judge Docket · Circuit Court1837–1927
- Execution Docket · Circuit Court1838–1984
- Court Record · Court of Common Pleas1839–1871
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1842–1888
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1842–1946
- Minutes · Circuit Court1842–1958
- Motion Docket · Circuit Court1859–1869
- Private Accounts · Circuit Court1861–1866
- Execution Order Book · Circuit Court1863–1869
- and 36 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Fund Loaned Register · Superintendent of Schools1857–1866
- School Maps · Superintendent of Schools1889–1948
- School Enumerations · Superintendent of Schools1892–1978
- School Commission Records · Collector1896
- School Laws · Superintendent of Schools1900
- Teacher's Certifications · City Clerk1900
- County School · Public School District1907–1965
- School Estimate & Returns · Superintendent of Schools1910–1912
- School Records & School Funds · Superintendent of Schools1912–1932
- School Records · Superintendent of Schools1920–1923
- Teachers Records · Superintendent of Schools1927–1971
- Miscellaneous School Records · Superintendent of Schools1933–1965
- Teacher Term Reports · Superintendent of Schools1937–1946
- School Census Cards · Superintendent of Schools1957–1970
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Road Petitions · City Clerk1822–1930
- Road Petitions · County Clerk1838–1883
- Bonds & Commissions · County Clerk1846–1951
- Stray Funds · County Clerk1846–1926
- Jury Reports · County Clerk1860–1889
- Van Buren Historical Records · County Clerk1862–1875
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1865–1956
- Bills -- Receivable Records · County Clerk1866–1894
- Indenture of Apprenticeships · County Clerk1867–1873
- Petitions · County Clerk1867–1895
- Right of Ways · City Clerk1867–1878
- Right of Way Records · County Clerk1868–1958
- Road Reports · County Clerk1868–1881
- Right of Ways · County Clerk1870–1872
- and 55 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
- Cass 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: Cass 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, Cass" 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: Jackson County, Lafayette County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Jackson County, Lafayette County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1833, 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.