Records that survive
These are the record series from Mercer 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
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1894
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1894
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1894
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1898–1933
- Marriage License · Recorder of Deeds1898–1916
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1898–1926
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1846–1970
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1846–1934
- Real Estate Assessment Book · County Clerk1865–1880
- Real Estate Tax Book · County Clerk1865–1891
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1934–1981
Wills and estates
- Probate Record & Estate Index · Probate Court1849
- Probate Records · Probate Court1849–1887
- Wills · Probate Court1853–1934
Tax records
- Assessor's Book · County Clerk1869
- School Tax Book · County Clerk1882–1890
- Personal Property Assessement · County Clerk1883–1890
- Personal Property Tax Book · County Clerk1889–1891
Court records
- County Court Records · County Clerk1852–1949
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1858–1948
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1868–1887
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1900–1949
Schools
- School Census Data · Superintendent of Schools1956–1961
Other records
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1904–2005
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 Mercer 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: Mercer 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, Mercer" 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: Land not yet in any county
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1843, 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.