Records that survive
These are the record series from Howard 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
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1816–1972
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1816–1919
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1888
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Marriages · Justice Of The Peace1898–1911
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1816–1924
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1816–1889
- Surveys · County Clerk1821–1866
- Commissioner of School Lands · Superintendent Of Schools1822
- School Land Sales · County Clerk1831–1878
- School Trustees Appointments · Superintendent Of Schools1832
- School Lands · Superintendent Of Schools1836–1870
- School Trustees · Superintendent Of Schools1841–1869
- Bonds · Superintendent Of Schools1850–1870
- School District Plats · Superintendent Of Schools1860–1932
- School Fund Mortgages · Superintendent Of Schools1869–1949
- Real Estate Sales · Probate Court1917–1955
- Mo School Register · Superintendent Of Schools1925–1952
- School Fund Mortgage Sale · Superintendent Of Schools1933
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Probate Records · Probate Court1816–1978
- Will Index · Probate Court1818–1896
- Wills · Probate Court1818–1982
- Settlements · Probate Court1836–1982
- Settlement Index · Probate Court1839–1918
- School Treasurer's Settlement · Superintendent Of Schools1847–1849
- Miscellaneous Records · Probate Court1849–1966
- Township School Fund · Superintendent Of Schools1850–1870
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1853–1981
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1863–1888
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1868–1897
- School Township Settlement · Superintendent Of Schools1873
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1879–1899
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1880–1955
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Records of free Black and enslaved people
- Bonds · County Clerk1836–1858
Tax records
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1819–1969
- Merchant Licenses · County Clerk1821–1860
- Schools, Tax List · Superintendent Of Schools1860–1880
- Dog Tax Fund · Superintendent Of Schools1883
- Order No Missouri Tax Due · Probate Court1954–1963
- Appraisers Report · Probate Court1964–1982
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1993–2012
- Taxes · Collector1993–2014
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1816–1860
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1816–1894
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1816–1889
- Case Files · Circuit Court1817–1858
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1821–1872
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1827–1948
- Index to Circuit Court Papers · Circuit Court1831–1896
- Order to Form 4 School Dist. · Superintendent Of Schools1836
- Minutes · City Clerk1845–2002
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1855–1900
- School Fund · Superintendent Of Schools1880–1889
- Courthouse Construction · County Clerk1887–1889
- School Fund Order of Sale · Superintendent Of Schools1890–1902
- City of Fayette Minutes & · City Clerk1898–2005
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Appointment of Commissioner · Superintendent Of Schools1821–1823
- School Superintendents Report · Superintendent Of Schools1827
- Bonds · Superintendent Of Schools1831–1886
- Joining Os School Districts · Superintendent Of Schools1831
- Bond · Superintendent Of Schools1837–1838
- Appointment of Directors · Superintendent Of Schools1838
- Petitions to Organize · Superintendent Of Schools1839–1841
- Children Who Can/cannot Read · Superintendent Of Schools1840
- School Directors Report · Superintendent Of Schools1840–1846
- Commissioners Report/petition · Superintendent Of Schools1841–1842
- Report · Superintendent Of Schools1841
- Report of School Funds · Superintendent Of Schools1843
- School Commissioners Report · Superintendent Of Schools1844–1854
- School Fund Report · Superintendent Of Schools1844–1869
- and 54 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Road Petitions · County Clerk1816–1865
- Road Overseers · County Clerk1817–1865
- Bonds of Office · County Clerk1821–1918
- Certificate Records · County Clerk1821–1847
- Bridge Records · County Clerk1823–1860
- Patrol Records · County Clerk1823–1863
- Road Patrol · County Clerk1823–1859
- Estray Records · County Clerk1827–1856
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1827–1988
- Peter Wright's Day Book · City Clerk1834–1836
- Road Records · County Clerk1834–1873
- Feazel and Lewis Journal · City Clerk1843–1848
- Amendment of City Charter · City Clerk1845
- Ordinances · City Clerk1845–1995
- 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 Howard 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: Howard 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, Howard" 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: St. Charles County, St. Louis County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: St. Charles County, St. Louis County
Later formed partly from Howard County: Boone County, Chariton County, Cooper County, Ray County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1816, 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.