Records that survive
These are the record series from Lafayette 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 Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1821–1946
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1821–1973
- Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1821–1946
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1821–1973
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1820–1980
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1821–1991
- Recorder Materials (deeds, · County Clerk1822–1898
- School Land Sales · County Clerk1836–1911
- Survey Records · Recorder of Deeds1839–1960
- Surveyors Notes · Recorder of Deeds1854–1888
- Survey Records · Surveyor1855
- Swamp Land Records · County Clerk1858–1969
- Survey Records · County Clerk1868–1898
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1890–1923
- Railroad & Mining Plats · County Clerk1893–1921
- School Plats · County Clerk1915–1916
- Plat Maps · County Clerk1933–1936
- Right of Way Conveyance · Court of Common Pleas1934–1950
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1820–1970
- Bonds & Commissions · Probate Court1821–1828
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1821–1897
- Probate Records · Probate Court1821–1887
- Wills, Bonds & Letters · Probate Court1821–1924
- Court Records (probate) · County Clerk1847–1909
- Inventories · Probate Court1850–1891
- Legal Notices · Probate Court1863–1877
- Appraisements · Probate Court1875–1890
- Bonds & Letters · Probate Court1876–1909
- Sale Bills · Probate Court1876–1888
- Bonds · Probate Court1879–1924
- Wills · Recorder of Deeds1932–1967
Naturalization
- Citizenships · Circuit Court1841–1882
- Citizenships · County Clerk1841–1882
Military and pensions
- Military · County Clerk1855–1867
- Discharge Record Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–1997
- Discharge Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1973
Records of free Black and enslaved people
- Negro Slaves · County Clerk1860–1862
Tax records
- Licenses · County Clerk1839–1872
- Coroner Inquest Index · Collector1846–1915
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1846–1930
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1881–1932
- Affidavits · County Clerk1892–1898
- Licenses/Collector's Receipts · County Clerk1895–1896
- Poll Taxes · County Clerk1901–1930
- Taxes · Collector1978–1994
- Assessments · Collector1979–1982
Court records
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1820–1930
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1821–1977
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1821–1869
- County Court Records · County Clerk1821–1995
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1823–1989
- Road Papers & Petitions · Court of Common Pleas1824–1936
- Courthouse Records · County Clerk1835–1967
- Executions · Circuit Court1835–1918
- Chancery Suits · Court of Common Pleas1836–1850
- County Court Docket · County Clerk1854–1861
- Transcript Records · Circuit Court1857–1989
- Common Pleas Records · Court of Common Pleas1867–1872
- Common Pleas Record Index · Court of Common Pleas1868–1872
- Map of Corder, Mo · County Clerk1905
- and 10 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Records · County Clerk1837–1911
- Petitions · County Clerk1840–1908
- School Fund Records · County Clerk1841–1870
- School Fund Apportionments · County Clerk1842–1903
- District Clerks Records · Public School District1847–1957
- Superintendent Records · Public School District1870–1887
- Teacher Reports · Superintendent of Schools1875–1916
- School For The Deaf And Dumb · County Clerk1883–1898
- School Enumerations · Public School District1890–1982
- School Record · Superintendent of Schools1890–1904
- Grade Records · Public School District1892–1918
- School Registers · Public School District1894–1942
- Attendance Records · Public School District1906–1952
- Boundary Changes · County Clerk1915–1916
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Road Petitions · County Clerk1821–1899
- Road Overseer Appointments · County Clerk1822–1852
- Petitions · County Clerk1824–1909
- Licenses · County Clerk1825–1910
- Financial · County Clerk1829–1886
- Stray And Estray Records · County Clerk1833–1873
- Bonds, Oaths & Commissions · County Clerk1835–1904
- County Jail Records · County Clerk1835–1929
- Appointments · County Clerk1836–1911
- Petition for Incorporation of · County Clerk1837–1968
- Licenses Granted · County Clerk1843–1850
- Licenses & Bonds · County Clerk1844–1885
- Census Records · County Clerk1850–1930
- Affidavits · County Clerk1851–1912
- and 29 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
- Lafayette 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: Lafayette 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, Lafayette" 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: Lillard County (extinct)
Later formed partly from Lafayette County: Bates County, Cass County, Henry County, Johnson County, St. Clair County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1825, 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.