Records that survive
These are the record series from Perry 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 Deeds1825–1976
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1830–1950
- Record of Births · Recorder of Deeds1847–1866
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1893
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1892
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Births · County Clerk1887–1893
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1821–1907
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1821–1891
- Perry Co. Circuit Court Minutes · Circuit Court1828–1980
- Abstract of Original Land · Recorder of Deeds1832–1894
- Application of Aliens · Circuit Court1859–1905
- Land Assessment Taxes · Collector1873–1993
- School Records · County Clerk1880–1911
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1893–1902
- Deeds · City Clerk1896–1997
- Maps and Plats · City Clerk1913
- Real Estate Back Taxes · Collector1985–1989
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1994–2011
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1994–2017
Wills and estates
- Administration Index · Probate Court1812–1877
- Guardianships · Probate Court1821–1877
- Probate Records · Probate Court1821–1933
- Wills · Probate Court1821–1954
- Bonds · Probate Court1826–1876
- Settlements · Probate Court1833–1933
- Bonds and Letters · Probate Court1845–1907
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1855–1890
- Miscellaneous Records · Probate Court1873–1880
- Guardianships - Curators · Probate Court1876–1973
- Inventories, Appraisements · Probate Court1890–1933
Naturalization
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1893–1950
Military and pensions
- Soldier Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919–1950
- Soldiers, Sailors and Marines · Recorder of Deeds1919–1920
Tax records
- Tax Records · County Clerk1828–1847
- Coroner Inquest Index · Collector1858–1906
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1858–1906
- Assessors Book · Assessor1865
- Tax Assessment List · Collector1870–1947
- Tax Assessments · Collector1885–1952
- Merchant and Dram Shop · City Clerk1888–1917
- Personal Property Taxes · Collector1895–1994
- Miscellaneous Taxes · Collector1896–1984
- Abstract of Current Taxes · Collector1913–1914
- Personal Consolidated Back Tax · Collector1981–1984
- Personal Back Taxes · Collector1982–1986
- Taxes · Collector1982–2017
- Personal Back Taxes Audit · Collector1984–1989
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Court records
- Case File Index · Justice Of The Peace1821–1946
- Case Files · Justice Of The Peace1821–1946
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1821–1873
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1821–1960
- County Court Record Indexes · County Clerk1821–1995
- County Court Records · County Clerk1821–1995
- Perry Co. Circuit Court Minutes · Circuit Court1821–1958
- Chancery Records · Circuit Court1840
- Chancery Records · Court Of Common Pleas1840–1860
- County Court Transcript · County Clerk1841–1981
- Perry County Circuit Court Case · Circuit Court1873–1880
- Minutes · Probate Court1880–1884
- Perry County Circuit Court · Public School District1880–1898
- School Records · County Clerk1889–1904
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Records · County Clerk1836–1984
- School Enumerations · City Clerk1910–1916
- School Enumerations · County Clerk1911–1964
- Enumerations · Superintendent Of Schools1948
Other records
- Brazeau Township · Justice Of The Peace1829–1867
- Road Files · County Clerk1840–1988
- Board of Alderman Journal · City Clerk1841–1997
- Bridge Files · County Clerk1850–1937
- Miscellaneous Files · County Clerk1850–1867
- Meeting Records · City Clerk1870–1981
- Municipal Treasurer's · City Clerk1875–1959
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Petitions · City Clerk1879–1940
- Ordinances · City Clerk1889–1953
- Audit Reports · City Clerk1911
- Atlas · County Clerk1915
- Saline Township · Justice Of The Peace1923–1946
- Central Township · Justice Of The Peace1930–1946
- and 2 more series in the full listing
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
- Perry 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: Perry 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, Perry" 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: Ste County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1821, 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.