Records that survive
These are the record series from Cedar 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 Deeds1845–1999
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1845–1874
- Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1871–1964
- Marriage Licenses and · Recorder of Deeds1876–1965
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1886
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Permanent Record of Deaths · Recorder of Deeds1883–1886
- Register of Birth and Stillbirths · Recorder of Deeds1883–1889
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1889
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1889
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–1993
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–1969
- Abstract and Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1847–1904
- Swampland Patent Records · County Clerk1847–1882
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1849–1915
- Taxes · Collector1861–2007
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1868–1999
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1869–2005
- Mortgage Index · Recorder of Deeds1883–1901
- Index to Deeds of Trust · Recorder of Deeds1904–1993
- Surveyors Notes · Recorder of Deeds1921–1933
- Index to Federal Liens · Recorder of Deeds1948–1999
- Index to Notice of Sales · Recorder of Deeds1974–1999
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1843–1930
- Probate Records · Probate Court1845–1891
- Bonds · Probate Court1846–1902
- Letters of Administrators · Probate Court1846–1911
- Wills · Probate Court1846–1919
- Inventories and Sale Bills · Probate Court1850–1858
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1867–1872
- Inventories · Probate Court1868–1891
- Appraisements · Probate Court1872–1899
- Notices · Probate Court1874–1911
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1875–1880
- Wills · Recorder of Deeds1900–1965
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1893–1927
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–1999
- Military Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1969
- County Draft Board Records · County Clerk1920
Tax records
- Accounts · Collector1848–1920
- Taxes · Collector1868–2007
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1869–2005
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1895–1984
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1900–1989
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1841–1899
- Circuit Court Papers Index · Circuit Court1845–1970
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1845–1959
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1845–1959
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1845–1991
- County Court Records · County Clerk1845–1978
Other records
- Estray and Stray · County Clerk1858–1881
- Atlas · County Clerk1908
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1916–1931
- Certificate of Registry of Farm · County Clerk1925
- Federal Relief Records · County Clerk1934–1936
- Relief District Records · County Clerk1934–1936
- Agricultural Adjustment · County Clerk1941
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
- Cedar 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: Cedar 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, Cedar" 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: Dade County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Dade County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1845, 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.