Records that survive
These are the record series from Clinton 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
- Marriage License Records · Recorder of Deeds1833–1904
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1833–1953
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1863–1889
- Record of Births · County Clerk1863–1879
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1880–1925
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1888
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1889
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1895
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1895
- Marriage License Register · Recorder of Deeds1884–1937
- Record of Marriages Solemnized · Recorder of Deeds1938–1950
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1833–1962
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1833–1986
- Miscellaneous County Records · County Clerk1837
- Plat Book · Recorder of Deeds1876–1928
- Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1958–1984
Wills and estates
- Wills · Probate Court1833–1931
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1834–1950
- Probate Records · Probate Court1839–1930
- Probate Court General Index · Probate Court1846–1938
- Probate Record General Index · Probate Court1846–1938
- Index to Probate Court Papers · Probate Court1860–1935
- Settlements · Probate Court1873–1929
- Inventories, Appraisements & · Probate Court1874–1881
- Inventories · Probate Court1881–1928
Naturalization
- Naturalization Index Cards · Circuit Court1855–1936
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1883–1927
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1885–1929
Records of free Black and enslaved people
- Miscellaneous County Records · County Clerk1859–1861
Court records
- Circuit Court Minutes · Circuit Court1836–1853
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1859–1887
- Minutes · Probate Court1871–1925
- Minutes · Public School District1942–1999
Other records
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1836–1959
- Miscellaneous County Record · County Clerk1837–1870
- Coroner Inquest Index · Coroner1859–1957
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1859–1957
- Miscellaneous County Records · County Clerk1860–1870
- Loyalty Oaths · County Clerk1861–1870
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
- Clinton 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: Clinton 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, Clinton" 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: Land not yet in any 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.