Records that survive
These are the record series from Johnson 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 Deeds1835–1967
- Index to Marriages for Vols. H-Q · Recorder of Deeds1873–1912
- Birth Index Cards · County Clerk1883–1893
- Death Index Cards · County Clerk1883–1893
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1894
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1894
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1894
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1832–1948
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1835–1886
- School and Swamplands · County Clerk1835–1951
- Plats · County Clerk1837–1910
- Swampland Records · County Clerk1855–1904
- Taxes · Collector1860–1870
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1865–1995
- Land Assessments · Collector1866–1934
- Forfeited Land Records · Collector1869–1873
- Swampland Patents · County Clerk1883–1951
- Conveyance of Right of Way · County Clerk1901–1932
- Road Records · County Clerk1901–1941
- Plats of School District · County Clerk1911–1967
- Assessments · Collector1921–1928
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1830–1969
- Letters · Probate Court1835–1888
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1835–1890
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1840–1855
- Probate Records · Probate Court1840–1886
- Wills · Probate Court1840–1916
- Letters, Bonds, and Wills · Probate Court1846–1851
- Inventories · Probate Court1852–1888
- Settlements · Probate Court1853–1895
- Bonds and Wills · Probate Court1855–1868
- Record Book · Probate Court1862–1869
- Letters and Bonds · Probate Court1864–1918
- Will Index · Probate Court1866–1888
- Bonds · Probate Court1871–1896
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Military and pensions
- Military Service Records · County Clerk1915–1919
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1865–1995
- Sale Records · Collector1870–1872
- Railroad Assessments · County Clerk1884–1935
- Collector's Abstract · Collector1885
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1905–1984
- Assessments · Collector1910–1942
- Drainage Ditch Assessments · County Clerk1913–1961
- Accounts · City Clerk1914–1933
- Ditch Taxes · Collector1919–1958
- Drainage Taxes · County Clerk1919–1920
- Annual Reports · City Clerk1921–1955
- Street Taxes · City Clerk1925–1961
- Tax Books · City Clerk1925–1926
- Drainage Taxes · Collector1926–1966
- and 16 more series in the full listing
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1831–1954
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1835–1886
- County Court Records · County Clerk1835–1995
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1836–1988
- Chancery Records · Court Of Common Pleas1837–1848
- Minutes · City Clerk1866–1955
- Common Pleas Records · Court Of Common Pleas1867–1872
- Circuit Court Index · Circuit Court1875–1900
- Miscellaneous Court Records · County Clerk1888–1932
- Mayor Dockets · City Clerk1891–1896
- County Court Papers · County Clerk1906–1990
- Drainage District # 2 Minutes · County Clerk1913–1961
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1925–1973
- Board of Equalization Minutes · County Clerk1928–1995
- and 5 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Abstract of School Estimates · County Clerk1874–1878
- Apportionment and Enumerations · County Clerk1887–1894
- Teachers · Superintendent Of Schools1916–1936
Other records
- Warrants · County Clerk1834–1988
- Bonds · County Clerk1835–1992
- Cemetery Burials · City Clerk1839–1959
- Bonds, Oaths and Commissions · County Clerk1840–1921
- Ordinances · City Clerk1856–1994
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1861–1991
- County Road Index · County Clerk1864–1886
- Warrants · City Clerk1867–1870
- Bond Register · County Clerk1869–1889
- Commissions · County Clerk1870–1903
- Register of Wolf Scalps · County Clerk1871–1976
- Journal · County Clerk1872–1876
- Road Petitions · County Clerk1873–1927
- Road Records · County Clerk1873–1904
- and 47 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 Johnson 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: Johnson 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, Johnson" 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: Van Buren County (now CASS), Lafayette County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Lafayette County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1834, 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.