Records that survive
These are the record series from Hickory 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 Deeds1872–1919
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1898
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1889
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1889
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1890
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1846–1896
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1848–1881
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1872–2012
- Taxes · Collector1877–2013
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1881–1893
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1892–2013
- Assessments · Collector1963–1964
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1974–1984
Wills and estates
- Accounts · Probate Court1845–1872
- Bonds · Probate Court1845–1879
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1847–1922
- Wills · Probate Court1848–1945
- Probate Records · Probate Court1849–1886
- Inventories and Sale Bills · Probate Court1870–1882
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1870–1882
- Settlements · Probate Court1879–1890
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1867–2016
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1916–2013
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1968–1984
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1969
- Assessments · Collector1973
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1984
- Index to Taxes · Collector1985
Court records
- Chancery Minutes · Court Of Common Pleas1845–1887
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1858–1901
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1858–1886
- Minutes · County Clerk1866–1923
- County Court Records · County Clerk1881–1909
- Board of Education Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1940–2001
Schools
- Audits · Public School District1955–1989
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 Hickory 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: Hickory 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, Hickory" 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: Benton County, Polk County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Benton County, Polk County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1845, 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.