Records that survive
These are the record series from Chariton 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 Deeds1821–1892
- Permanent Record of Births & · County Clerk1883–1887
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1887
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1887
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1887
Deeds and land
- County Survey Atlas · Recorder of Deeds1817–1897
- Plat Book · County Clerk1820–1900
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1826–1903
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1827–1904
- Swampland Records · County Clerk1869–1882
- Plat Book & Road Index · County Clerk1883–1909
- Record of Land Sales · County Clerk1934–1945
- Taxes · Collector1949–2015
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1973–1979
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1860–1994
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1861–1896
- Probate Records · Probate Court1861–1887
- Wills · Probate Court1861–1916
- Taxes · Collector1981–2004
Military and pensions
- Military Service Records · County Clerk1900
Tax records
- Abstract of School Taxes · County Clerk1923–1966
- Reports · County Clerk1923–1924
- Taxes · Collector1964–2017
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1970–1980
- Clerk's Account · Collector1980–2008
- Sale Records · Collector1980–2004
- Tax Sale · Collector1985–2015
- Accounts · Collector1988–2002
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1820–1886
- County Court Records · County Clerk1861–1994
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1867–1977
- Board of Equalization Minutes · County Clerk1868–1985
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1874–1884
- Minutes & Contracts · Public School District1879–1939
- Drainage District Minutes · County Clerk1899–1944
- Justice of The Peace Docket · County Clerk1925–1947
- School Board Minutes · Public School District1949–1997
- Board of Education Minutes · Public School District1979–1990
Schools
- School Enumerations · County Clerk1873–1982
Other records
- Bond Register · County Clerk1868–1907
- Nurses Licenses · County Clerk1868–1952
- Right of Way · County Clerk1868–1926
- Dentist License Register · County Clerk1883–1897
- State Board of Health · County Clerk1884–1947
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1885
- Patient Register · County Clerk1889–1957
- Record of Explosives · County Clerk1894–1905
- Dental Exam Certificates · County Clerk1898–1910
- Osteopath Diplomas Register · County Clerk1898–1949
- Warrant Register · County Clerk1901–1988
- Register of Farm Names · County Clerk1914–1961
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1915–1978
- District Clerk's Records · County Clerk1919–1925
- and 6 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
- Find Chariton 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: Chariton 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, Chariton" 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: Howard County, Pike County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Howard County, Pike County
Later formed partly from Chariton County: Livingston 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.