Records that survive
These are the record series from Douglas 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
- Marriages1877–1916
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1886–1894
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1886–1904
- Marriage License Applications1943–1989
Deeds and land
- Deeds1858–1970
- Abstract and Index to Deeds1860–1893
- Taxes · Collector1884–1900
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1886
- Index to Deeds1886–1991
- Taxes · City Clerk1985
Wills and estates
- Settlements · Probate Court1886–1895
- Wills · Probate Court1886–1928
Military and pensions
- Military Service Records1919–1921
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1884–1900
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1886–1894
- Appraisements · Probate Court1889–1892
Court records
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1800
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1866–1930
- Justice of The Peace Case Files · Justice Of The Peace1885–1946
- Circuit Court File Index · Circuit Court1886–1899
- Circuit Court Files · Circuit Court1886–1899
- Circuit Court Index · Circuit Court1886–1931
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1886–1909
- Minutes · County Clerk1891–1966
- Minutes · City Clerk1908–1997
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1927–1943
- Courthouse Construction Files · County Clerk1935–1937
Schools
- School Enumeration Records · Superintendent Of Schools1891–1969
Other records
- Stray Records · County Clerk1886–1931
- County Ward Book · County Clerk1903–1916
- Stock Law Petitions · County Clerk1908–1939
- Stray Animal Records · County Clerk1914–1939
- County Poor Farm Accounts · County Clerk1916–1935
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1916–1941
- County Patients · County Clerk1921–1969
- Records · Justice Of The Peace1925–1943
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 Douglas 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: Douglas 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, Douglas" 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: Ozark County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Ozark County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1857, 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.