Records that survive
These are the record series from Macon 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 Deeds1837–1968
- Birth Affidavits Index · County Clerk1870–1949
- Register of Births · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Marriage Licenses Issued · Probate Court1910
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1969
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1984
- Certified Entries Book · Recorder of Deeds1851
- Plat Maps · County Clerk1865–1971
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1882–2014
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1937–2010
- U.S. Surveyors Plats · Recorder of Deeds1954–1968
- Taxes · Collector1971–2017
Wills and estates
- Settlements · Probate Court1836–1974
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1838–1946
- Wills · Probate Court1838–1975
- Inventories and Sale Bills · Probate Court1849–1890
- Probate Records · Probate Court1852–1975
- Bonds · Probate Court1855–1939
- Probate Docket · Probate Court1859–1913
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1860–1874
- Probate Docket · Court Of Common Pleas1867–1873
- Fee Books · Probate Court1870–1985
- Settlement Docket · Probate Court1871–1874
- Letters of Publication · Probate Court1872
- Double Settlement Records · Probate Court1873–1950
- Legal Notices · Probate Court1877–1953
- and 13 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1885–1954
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1896–1953
Military and pensions
- Soldier Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919–1968
Tax records
- Inheritance Taxes · Probate Court1847–1969
- Taxes · Collector1874–2017
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1929–2008
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1937–2010
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1999–2003
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1837–1997
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1837–1893
- County Court Records · County Clerk1837–1899
- Index to County Court Records · County Clerk1837–1906
- Macon Co. Circuit Court Case · Circuit Court1846–1860
- Macon County Circuit Court · Circuit Court1846–1859
- Common Pleas Record Index · Court Of Common Pleas1847–1870
- Minutes · Probate Court1847–1942
- Circuit Court Index · Circuit Court1856–1990
- Minutes, Ordinances and · City Clerk1908–1999
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1931–1942
Schools
- School Records · Superintendent Of Schools1883–1928
- Teacher's Institute · Superintendent Of Schools1901–1905
- Visitation Records · Superintendent Of Schools1911–1959
Other records
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1869–1932
- Ordinances · City Clerk2000
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 Macon 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: Macon 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, Macon" 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: Ralls County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Ralls County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1837, 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.