Records that survive
These are the record series from Dallas 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 Deeds1867–1919
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1909
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1898
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1924
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1886–1894
- Register of Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1891–1929
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1862–1897
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1867–1953
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1867–1881
- Taxes · Collector1870–2020
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1878–1889
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector2007–2016
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector2011–2016
Wills and estates
- Probate Records · Probate Court1867–1889
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1871–1894
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1871–1914
- Notices · Probate Court1871–1894
- Settlements · Probate Court1871–1890
- Inventories and Affidavits · Probate Court1875–1922
- Inventories · Probate Court1875–1897
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1878–1884
- Wills · Probate Court1894–1922
Tax records
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1868–1988
- Poll Taxes · County Clerk1924–1935
- Taxes · Collector1990–2020
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector2005–2016
Court records
- Circuit Court Index · Circuit Court1867–1884
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1867–1884
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1867–1949
- County Court Docket · County Clerk1875–1950
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1947
- City of Urbana Minutes & · Recorder of Deeds1972–2024
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 Dallas 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: Dallas 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, Dallas" 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 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.