Records that survive
These are the record series from Crawford 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 Deeds1829–1966
- Abstract and Index to Marriage · Recorder of Deeds1831
- Crawford County Recorder · Recorder of Deeds1831–1893
- Marriages · Justice Of The Peace1857–1861
- Marriage Applications · Recorder of Deeds1872–1969
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1829–1971
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1832–1990
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1832–1890
- United States Government Field · Recorder of Deeds1854
- Patents · Recorder of Deeds1857–1903
- State Patents · Recorder of Deeds1857–1962
- Survey Records · Recorder of Deeds1859–1929
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1861–1992
- Taxes · Collector1868–1992
- Town Plats · Recorder of Deeds1873–1907
- Property Ownership Plat Book · Recorder of Deeds1875
- Texas Land and Immigration · Recorder of Deeds1876
- Index to Patents · Recorder of Deeds1883
- Appraisements · Probate Court1895
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Inventories · Probate Court1832–1903
- Wills · Probate Court1832–1979
- Probate Records · Probate Court1835–1979
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1837–1902
- Probate Ledger · Probate Court1850–1883
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1851–1986
- Bonds · Probate Court1858–1929
- Abstract of Judgements · Probate Court1864–1882
- Publishers Affidavits · Probate Court1864–1929
- Settlements · Probate Court1864–1979
- Accounts · Probate Court1866–1904
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1867–1996
- Fee Book · Probate Court1870–1983
- Letters · Probate Court1874–1975
- and 13 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Citizenship Records · Recorder of Deeds1927–1952
- Naturalizations Records · Recorder of Deeds1936
Military and pensions
- Soldier Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1863–1961
- Discharge Records, Military · Recorder of Deeds1919–1946
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1870–1992
- Appraisements · Probate Court1903–1925
- Assessment and Taxes · Collector1906–1934
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1931–1989
- Inheritance Taxes · Probate Court1939–1979
- Crawford County Collector Tax · Collector2003–2010
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1831–1891
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1835–1915
- County Court Records · County Clerk1835–1923
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1838–1942
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1839–1959
- Letters · Circuit Court1840–1851
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1856–1861
- Crawford County Circuit Court · Circuit Court1862–1937
- Minutes · Probate Court1871–1949
- Crawford County Recorder · Recorder of Deeds1883–1893
- Minutes · City Clerk1907–1994
- Crawford County Recorder · Justice Of The Peace1908–1930
Other records
- Stray Records · Justice Of The Peace1857–1861
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1899–1934
- Ordinances · City Clerk1927–1996
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 Crawford 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: Crawford 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, Crawford" 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
Later formed partly from Crawford County: Dent County, Morgan County, Phelps County, Pulaski County, Shannon County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1829, 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.