Records that survive
These are the record series from DeKalb 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 Deeds1838–1972
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1845–1996
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1887
- Register of Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1891
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1891
- Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1892–1893
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1836–1980
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1846–1994
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1867–1993
- Assessments · Collector1873–1886
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1879–2014
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1880
- Notice of Levy On Real Estate · Recorder of Deeds1885–1980
- Taxes · Collector1887–1888
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1951–2001
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1859–1984
- Wills · Probate Court1877–1924
- Inventories · Probate Court1879–1914
- Letters of Administration and · Probate Court1879–1918
- Letters, Bonds, and Oaths · Probate Court1879
- Probate Record General Index · Probate Court1879–1926
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1879–1889
- Probate Records · Probate Court1879–1924
- Wills · Recorder of Deeds1879
- Settlements · Probate Court1884–1925
- Letters and Bonds · Probate Court1900–1911
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1917–1923
Naturalization
- Naturalization Records · Circuit Court1904
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1906
Tax records
- Assessments · Collector1878–1921
- Taxes · Collector1878–2014
- Poll Road Tax Book · County Clerk1880–1881
- Taxes and Assessments · Collector1882–1948
- School Tax Book · Superintendent Of Schools1900
- Personal Taxes · Collector1907
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1951–2000
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1985
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1856–1887
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1861–1978
- School Minutes and Clerk · Superintendent Of Schools1866–1874
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1870–1893
- County Court Records · County Clerk1878–1969
- Minutes · Probate Court1879–1926
- Courthouse and Jail · County Clerk1885–1938
- City Council Minutes · City Clerk1893–1997
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1907–1927
- Courthouse Blueprints · Recorder of Deeds1938
- Board of Education Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1947–1998
- School Board Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1953–1984
Schools
- School Register · Superintendent Of Schools1889–1914
- School Enumeration Records · Superintendent Of Schools1964–1981
Other records
- Estray Records · County Clerk1878–1886
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1880–1925
- General License Register · County Clerk1885–1915
- Ordinance Finding Aid · City Clerk1887
- Ordinances · City Clerk1887–1987
- Records · Justice Of The Peace1887–1893
- Cemetery Record Books · County Clerk1899–1992
- Register of Farm Names · County Clerk1908–1961
- Embalmers License Register · County Clerk1912–1924
- Chiropratic License Register · County Clerk1927
- Selective Service Records · County Clerk1940–1944
- Financial Records · City Clerk1991–1995
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 DeKalb 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: DeKalb 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, DeKalb" 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 1843, 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.