Records that survive
These are the record series from Lincoln 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 Deeds1825–1918
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1860–1907
- Register of Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1882–1931
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1884
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1819–1970
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1819–1890
- Land Entry Book · Recorder of Deeds1829–1853
- Taxes · Collector1985–2013
Wills and estates
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1819–1839
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1819–1900
- Probate Records · Probate Court1820–1889
- Letters of Administration & Wills · Probate Court1821–1848
- Wills · Probate Court1825–1916
- Bonds · Probate Court1826–1902
- Accounts · Probate Court1845–1887
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1848–1902
- Inventories, Appraisements & · Probate Court1855–1888
- Settlements · Probate Court1875–1886
Tax records
- Assessments · County Assessor1855–1870
- Taxes · Collector1891–2013
Court records
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1819–1993
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1819–1988
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1819–1886
- County Court Records · County Clerk1819–1904
- Minutes · City Clerk1894–1952
Other records
- Road Records · County Clerk1819–1939
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1865–1951
- Railroad Papers · County Clerk1866–1889
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
- Lincoln 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: Lincoln 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, Lincoln" 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
Check the parent county for earlier records: St. Charles County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1819, 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.