Records that survive
These are the record series from Morgan 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
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1833–1882
- Marriage Records · Recorder of Deeds1833–1972
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1833–1928
- Births · County Clerk1841–1863
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1886
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Marriage Licenses & Applications · Recorder of Deeds1886–1969
- Index to Marriage Records · Recorder of Deeds1989–1991
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index To Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1833–1992
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1834–1890
- Abstract & Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1837–1992
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1970
- Taxes · Collector1862–2020
- Index to Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1868–1872
- Mortgages · Recorder of Deeds1868–1943
- Board Minutes/Enumerations · County Clerk1900–1953
- Attendance Register · County Clerk1918–1922
- Class Register · County Clerk1926–1937
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1936–1983
- Attendance Record · County Clerk1937–1939
- Board · County Clerk1954–1957
Wills and estates
- Probate Records · Probate Court1834–1889
- Wills · Probate Court1835–1919
- Record of Heirs · Probate Court1873–1918
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1888–1940
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1873–1891
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1868–2020
- Tax Sale Records · Collector1981–2019
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1982–1986
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1833–1867
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1834–1962
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1834–1962
- Transcript Records · Circuit Court1850–1897
- Board Minutes · County Clerk1888–1962
- Board Minutes/Enumerations · County Clerk1909–1949
- School Board Minutes · County Clerk1934–1942
Schools
- Enumerations · County Clerk1905–1916
- Clerk's Record/Enumerations · County Clerk1948–1952
Other records
- Attendance · County Clerk1899–1953
- Atlas · County Clerk1905
- Class Register · County Clerk1909–1944
- Permanent Records · County Clerk1920–1937
- Attendance Register · County Clerk1923–1943
- Clerk's Record · County Clerk1950–1960
- County Superintendent Reports · County Clerk1950–1960
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
- Morgan 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: Morgan 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, Morgan" 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: Cooper County, Crawford County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cooper County, Crawford County
Later formed partly from Morgan County: Camden County, Moniteau County, Pettis County, Pulaski County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1833, 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.