Records that survive
These are the record series from Dent 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 Deeds1851–1917
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1884
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1884
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1885
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1851–1891
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1851–1891
- Assessments · Collector1865–1994
- Patent Records · Recorder of Deeds1866–1905
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1900–1994
- Survey Documents · County Clerk1921
- Deeds · City Clerk1935–1981
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1943–1946
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1982–1992
Wills and estates
- Inventories · Probate Court1866–1903
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1866–1895
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1866–1893
- Probate Records · Probate Court1866–1890
- Wills · Probate Court1866–1924
- Settlements · Probate Court1877–1886
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1952–2005
Tax records
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1872–1989
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1873–1952
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1896–1973
- Abstract of Collections · Collector1964–1971
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1982–1994
- Taxes · Collector1990–1994
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1866–1951
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1866–1890
- County Court Records · County Clerk1866–1984
- Justice of The Peace Files · Circuit Court1870–1905
- Abstract of Titles · Circuit Court1873–1952
- County Court Record Indexes · County Clerk1874–1933
- Minutes · County Clerk1884–1986
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1886–1946
- City of Salem Minute Volumes · City Clerk1898–1952
- Minutes and Ordinances · City Clerk1899–1994
- Appealed Cases · Circuit Court1900–1951
- Appealed Cases and · Circuit Court1903–1937
- Justice of The Peace Docket · County Clerk1940–1952
- Board Minutes · Justice Of The Peace1954–1997
Schools
- School Maps · County Clerk1869–1889
- Teacher Certificates · County Clerk1886–1947
- Entrance Certificates · County Clerk1909–1910
- Teachers Register · County Clerk1910–1927
- Common School Diploma · County Clerk1911–1912
- Teachers · County Clerk1917–1938
- Budget · Justice Of The Peace1984–1985
Other records
- Official Bonds · County Clerk1860–1918
- Commissions · Justice Of The Peace1866–1945
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1866–1979
- License Register · County Clerk1868–1942
- Justice of The Peace Files · Justice Of The Peace1870–1905
- Physicians and Surgeons · County Clerk1874–1927
- Stray Records · County Clerk1877–1992
- Burial Records · County Clerk1882–1997
- Health Certificates · County Clerk1884–1946
- Board of Equalization · County Clerk1891–1986
- Druggist Certificates · County Clerk1893–1915
- Dentist Licenses · County Clerk1895–1926
- Bond Register · County Clerk1898–1946
- Explosives Purchases · County Clerk1898–1900
- and 12 more series in the full listing
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 Dent 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: Dent 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, Dent" 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: Crawford County, Shannon County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Crawford County, Shannon County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1851, 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.