Records that survive
These are the record series from Oregon 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
- Marriage License Records · Recorder of Deeds1845–1956
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1845–1924
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1851–1899
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1887
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1890
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1889
- Index to Marriage License · Recorder of Deeds1898–1924
- Marriage Licenses · Recorder of Deeds1903–1969
Deeds and land
- Field Notes · Recorder of Deeds1817–1850
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–2009
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–1967
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–1898
- Tract Book · Recorder of Deeds1848–1859
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1869–2004
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1872–2003
- Taxes · Collector1873–2003
- Surveyor Records · Recorder of Deeds1882–1944
- Patent Records · Recorder of Deeds1886–1907
- Patents · Recorder of Deeds1887–1909
- Government Surveys · Recorder of Deeds1903
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1942–1985
Wills and estates
- Probate Court Estate Files · Probate Court1807–1961
- Letters, Bonds, Wills · Probate Court1854–1873
- Probate Records · Probate Court1857–1890
- Bonds · Probate Court1868–1891
- Settlements · Probate Court1873–1892
- Wills · Probate Court1874–1938
- Letters of Testimony · Probate Court1875–1892
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1883–1890
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1893–1935
Naturalization
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1889–1904
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1870–2014
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1902–2003
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1914–1994
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1926–1948
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1935–1985
- Licenses and Taxes · Collector1982–1984
Court records
- Case Files · Justice Of The Peace1844–1899
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1845–1900
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1845
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1845–1889
- Case File Index · Justice Of The Peace1846–1899
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1847–1949
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1848–1943
- County Court Records · County Clerk1866–1972
- Oregon County Circuit Court · Circuit Court1869–1930
- Oregon Co. Circuit Court Case · Circuit Court1873–1931
- Special Execution Record · Collector1873
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1945–1985
Schools
- School Enumerations · County Clerk1891–1980
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 Oregon 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: Oregon 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, Oregon" 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: Ripley County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Ripley County
Later formed partly from Oregon County: Howell County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1841, 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.