Records that survive
These are the record series from Dunklin 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 Deeds1872–1955
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1889–1956
- Marriages · Justice Of The Peace1895–1908
Deeds and land
- Patent Records · Recorder of Deeds1859
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1872–1951
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1872–1889
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1889–1923
- Appraisements · Probate Court1909–1914
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1926–1938
- Land and Personal Taxes · Collector1927–1938
- Farm Land Taxes · Collector1939–1973
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1957–1986
- Taxes · Collector1980
- Land Farm Taxes · Collector1984
Wills and estates
- Bonds · Probate Court1865–1955
- Wills · Probate Court1866–1978
- Probate Records · Probate Court1869–1981
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1870–1976
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1870
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1872–1948
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1872–1896
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1872–1929
- Letters and Bonds · Probate Court1874–1954
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1874–1934
- Settlements · Probate Court1883–1955
- Appraisements · Probate Court1901–1914
- Notice of Affidavits · Probate Court1917–1955
Military and pensions
- Military Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1918–1919
- Military Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–1968
Tax records
- Appraisements · Probate Court1902–1913
- Taxes · Collector1929–1984
- Personal Property Taxes · Collector1942–1986
- Farm Property Taxes · Collector1943
- Farm and Town Property Taxes · Collector1944
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1970–1979
- Merchants Taxes · Collector1980–1984
- Rural Personal Property Taxes · Collector1981
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1872–1956
- Minutes · Probate Court1877–1955
- Council Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1878–1970
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1900–1993
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1907–1916
- Order Refusing Letters · Probate Court1909
- Board Minutes · Public School District1930–1998
- Dunklin R-V School District · Superintendent Of Schools2003–2018
Schools
- Enumerations · Superintendent Of Schools1911–1938
- Census of District · Public School District1960–1998
Other records
- Little River Drainage District · County Clerk1908–1925
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
- Dunklin 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: Dunklin 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, Dunklin" 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: Stoddard County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Stoddard 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.