Records that survive
These are the record series from Cooper 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 Deeds1819–1973
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1819–1918
- Marriage Returns · Recorder of Deeds1860–1881
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1889
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1889
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1894
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1894
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1819–1906
- Index to Deeds & Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1820–1868
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1868–1871
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1871–1895
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1897–2010
- Assessments · Collector1897–1934
- Taxes · Collector1899–2020
- Land Directory · Collector1985–1990
- Tax Index · Collector1988–1996
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1818–2002
- Wills · Probate Court1818–1918
- Bonds · Probate Court1819–1890
- Letters · Probate Court1845–1891
- Inventories · Probate Court1847–1887
- Probate Records · Probate Court1847–1887
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1849–1900
- Sheriff & Public Administrator · Sheriff1850–1873
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1860–1903
- Probate Minute Index · Probate Court1861–1866
- Settlements · Probate Court1880–1886
Naturalization
- Naturalization Index Cards · Circuit Court1824–1905
- Naturalization Index · Circuit Court1824–1905
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1845–1859
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1847–1859
- Naturalization Records · Circuit Court1903–1933
- Declaration of Intentions · Circuit Court1906–1936
- Petition for Citizenship · Circuit Court1930–1933
Tax records
- Assessments · Collector1900–1947
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1902–2010
- Taxes · Collector1902–2020
Court records
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1818–1865
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1818–1870
- County Court Minute Index · County Clerk1819–1998
- Minutes · County Clerk1819–1998
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1821–1894
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1821–1888
- Chancery Records · Court of Common Pleas1836–1854
- Common Pleas Records · Court of Common Pleas1856–1859
Other records
- Coroner Inquest Index · Coroner1824–1929
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1824–1929
- Marks & Brands · County Clerk1858–1971
- Register of Farm Names · County Clerk1907–1984
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
- Cooper 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: Cooper 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, Cooper" 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
Check the parent county for earlier records: Howard County
Later formed partly from Cooper County: Cole County, Morgan County, Pettis County, Saline County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1819, 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.