Records that survive
These are the record series from McDonald 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 Deeds1865–1951
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1887
- Register of Births · County Clerk1884
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1929–1936
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index to Deeds & · Recorder of Deeds1853–1887
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1853–1897
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1890–1905
- Assessment & Taxes · Collector1923–1995
- Taxes · Collector1926–1995
Wills and estates
- Probate Records · Probate Court1865–1950
- Bonds · Probate Court1866–1894
- Inventories, Appraisements · Probate Court1866–1874
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1866–1913
- Wills · Probate Court1866–1924
- Settlements · Probate Court1870–1895
Military and pensions
- Soldier Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1898–1953
- Soldier Biographical Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1922
- Soldier Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919
Tax records
- Assessment & Taxes · Collector1920–1995
- Taxes · Collector1926–1996
- Assessments · Collector1935–1936
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1855–1961
- Minutes · Probate Court1873–1892
Other records
- County Commission Records · County Clerk1874–1970
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Atlas · County Clerk1909
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
- McDonald 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: McDonald 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, McDonald" 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: Newton County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Newton County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1847, 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.