Records that survive
These are the record series from Howell 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 Deeds1867–1917
- Marriage · Recorder of Deeds1881–1970
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1895
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1895
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1894
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
Deeds and land
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1863–1872
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1866–1914
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1866–1889
- Assessments · Assessor1867
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1872–2000
- Index to Miscellaneous Records · Recorder of Deeds1874–1895
- Miscellaneous Records · Recorder of Deeds1874–1895
- Patent Records · Recorder of Deeds1886–1896
- Preconsolidated School Records · County Clerk1895–1938
- Easements and Deeds · City Clerk1905–1994
- Right of Way Conveyances · County Clerk1920–1921
- City of West Plains Real Estate · County Clerk1985
- Real Estate Tax Book - · County Clerk1985–1986
- City of West Plains, Real Estate · County Clerk1986–1990
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1857–1935
- Wills · Probate Court1862–1919
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1867–1900
- Settlements · Probate Court1869–1876
- Probate Records · Probate Court1870–1886
- Preconsolidated School Records · County Clerk1919–1939
Military and pensions
- Military Honor Roll · Recorder of Deeds1917–1919
Tax records
- Assessments · Assessor1868–1873
- Taxes · Collector1872–2000
- City of West Plains Tax Records, · County Clerk1948–1981
- Tax Record · County Clerk1957–1984
- Misc. Merchants, Personal, and · County Clerk1970–1982
- Tax Record (Con.) · County Clerk1971–1972
- Box of Misc. Tax Records, 1980- · County Clerk1980–1983
- City Taxes Auditor's Copy, · County Clerk1980
- City Taxes, 1980 · County Clerk1980
- City of West Plains Taxes, 1980 · County Clerk1980
- City of West Plains Taxes, 1981 · County Clerk1981
- City of West Plains Taxes, · County Clerk1981
- Tax Records, First Printout after · County Clerk1981
- 1982 Taxes, Final Printout · County Clerk1982
- and 24 more series in the full listing
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1857–1886
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1858–1896
- Bonds and Commissions · Circuit Court1867–1908
- County Court Docket · County Clerk1867–1870
- Justice of The Peace Case Files · Justice Of The Peace1867–1945
- County Court Records · County Clerk1868–1903
- Execution Docket · Circuit Court1868–1887
- Judge Docket · Circuit Court1868–1871
- Judgement Docket · Circuit Court1868–1885
- Minutes and Ordinances · City Clerk1885–1935
- Minutes · City Clerk1925–2002
- Minutes · County Clerk1948–1969
- Minutes Regular Session · City Clerk1994–1995
- Planning Commission Minutes · City Clerk1994–1995
Schools
- School Fund Records · County Clerk1868–1907
- Preconsolidated School Records · County Clerk1878–1967
- Teacher's Training and · County Clerk1904–1940
- Boundary Changes · County Clerk1913–1927
- Teacher Term Reports · County Clerk1913–1967
- School Records · County Clerk1919
- School Warrant Register · County Clerk1934–1935
- Enumerations · County Clerk1936–1940
- Teachers Quarterly Reports · County Clerk1936–1967
- School Census Cards · County Clerk1952–1963
- Annual School Enumerations · County Clerk1953–1982
Other records
- Abstract of Warrants · County Clerk1867–1893
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1867–1873
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1867–1887
- Ordinances · City Clerk1892–2002
- Bridge Specifications · County Clerk1910
- Miscellaneous Ordinances · City Clerk1912–1965
- Road Records · County Clerk1919–1922
- Audits · City Clerk1926–1945
- Audit Reports · City Clerk1956–1982
- Appeals · City Clerk1966–1980
- Retirement Reports · City Clerk1974–2001
- Original Printout Auditor's Copy, · County Clerk1979
- General Ledger · City Clerk1981–1994
- Resolutions · City Clerk1981–2002
- and 6 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
- Howell 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: Howell 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, Howell" 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: Oregon County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Oregon 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.