Records that survive
These are the record series from Clay 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 Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1822–1915
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1822–1877
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1822–1948
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1884
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1884
Deeds and land
- Index to Extracted Records · Recorder of Deeds1820
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1890
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1823–1887
- Abstract and Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1825–1889
- Loyalty Oath Questionaires · County Clerk1866–1868
- Deeds · City Clerk1869
- Plats & Maps · County Clerk1881–1973
- Swampland Patent Records · County Clerk1901–1970
- Deeds & Conveyances · County Clerk1914–1970
Wills and estates
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1820–1999
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1820–1999
- Probate Court Records · Probate Court1822–1927
- Wills · Probate Court1824–1933
- Settlements · Probate Court1854–1969
- Probate Court Record Index · Probate Court1859–1895
- Docket · Probate Court1860
- Guardianships · Probate Court1865
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1868–1969
- Bonds · Probate Court1875–1969
- Settlement Docket · Probate Court1879
- Application For Letters · Probate Court1891–1915
- Applications · Probate Court1894
- Contracts, Leases & Agreements · County Clerk1908
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Military and pensions
- Military Records · Recorder of Deeds1918–1952
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1820–1841
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1822–1878
- Clay County Court Records · Probate Court1822–1947
- County Court Records · County Clerk1842–1991
- Minutes · City Clerk1859–1987
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1868–1988
- Minutes · County Clerk1896–1972
- Board of Aldermen Minutes · City Clerk1904–1993
- City of Kearney Minute Volumes · City Clerk1940–2016
- Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1952–1986
- Minutes · Probate Court1961–1970
- Park Minutes · City Clerk1966
- Economic Development Minutes · City Clerk1985
- Planning and Zoning Minutes · City Clerk1989
Schools
- Garrison School · Superintendent Of Schools1905–1961
- Teacher Term Reports · Superintendent Of Schools1915–1973
- Smithville School District (Grant) · Superintendent Of Schools1935–1994
- Water Department · Superintendent Of Schools1960–1989
- Resolutions · Superintendent Of Schools1965–1986
Other records
- Ordinances · City Clerk1859–1992
- Incorporation Amendment · City Clerk1871
- Right of Way Records · County Clerk1871–1934
- Correspondence · County Clerk1881–1988
- County Road Records · County Clerk1883–1939
- Charters & Articles of · County Clerk1888
- Bond Book · County Clerk1894–1916
- Atlas · County Clerk1914
- Petitions · County Clerk1924–1928
- Road Records · County Clerk1936–1950
- Contract Documents · City Clerk1972
- Contracts · City Clerk1975–1979
- Financial Statements · City Clerk1976
- Building Plans & Drawings · County Clerk1977
- and 4 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
- Clay 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: Clay 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, Clay" 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: Ray County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Ray County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1822, 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.