Records that survive
These are the record series from Dade 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 Deeds1863–1988
- Register of Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1867–1871
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1885
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Marriage Applications · Recorder of Deeds1934–1937
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1841–1996
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1841–1972
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1841–1890
- Ordinances · Recorder of Deeds1914–1967
Wills and estates
- Will Index · Probate Court1835–1972
- Wills · Probate Court1835–1972
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1841–1912
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1841–1974
- Probate Records · Probate Court1841–1974
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1843–1930
- Appraisements · Probate Court1863–1891
- Bonds · Probate Court1863–1886
- Inventories · Probate Court1863–1893
- Settlements · Probate Court1869–1895
Military and pensions
- Civil War Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1865–1868
- Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–2000
- Honorable Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1946
- Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1946–2000
Court records
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1846–1895
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1846–1886
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1857–1899
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1857–1899
- Minutes · Recorder of Deeds1883–1996
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1900–1949
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1935–1960
Other records
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1918–1946
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
- Dade 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: Dade 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, Dade" 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 Dade County: Cedar County, Lawrence County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1841, 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.