Records that survive
These are the record series from Madison 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 Deeds1820–1969
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1821–1869
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1866–1882
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1900
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1900
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1900
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1892
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1819–1994
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1819–1997
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1864–1996
- Plats · Recorder of Deeds1873–1997
- Tax Lien Records · Recorder of Deeds1959–1985
- Taxes · Collector1997–2011
Wills and estates
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1821–1910
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1821–1886
- Probate Records · Probate Court1821–1928
- Wills · Probate Court1822–1942
- Settlements · Probate Court1848–1936
- Inventories · Probate Court1873–1879
- Inventories & Appraisements · Probate Court1879–1948
Naturalization
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1820–1970
Military and pensions
- Biographical Record of Wwi · Recorder of Deeds1920–1921
- Army/navy Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1943–1972
Records of free Black and enslaved people
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1820–1868
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1820–1868
- Case Files · Justice of the Peace1823–1859
Tax records
- Merchants' Accounts · County Clerk1836–1840
- Taxes · Collector1997–2011
- License Listing · Collector2008–2010
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1810–1918
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1818–1958
- Teritorial Court Records · County Clerk1819–1821
- Case File Indexes · Justice of the Peace1821–1869
- Case Files · Justice of the Peace1821–1869
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1821–1872
- Circuit Court Dockets · Circuit Court1821–1869
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1821–1953
- Board Minutes · Public School District1884–1987
- Minutes · County Clerk1887–1986
- County Court Records · County Clerk1889–1991
Other records
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1821–1890
- Register of Attorneys · County Clerk1855–1992
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- County Maps-state Roads · County Clerk1890–1995
- County Maps-water Systems · County Clerk1890–1995
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 Madison 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: Madison 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, Madison" 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: Cape Girardeau County, Ste County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Cape Girardeau County
Later formed partly from Madison County: Iron 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.