Records that survive
These are the record series from Pettis 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 Marriages1833–1994
- Marriages1833–1968
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1885
Deeds and land
- Deeds1833–1972
- Index to Deeds1833–1885
- Swampland Sale Register · County Clerk1858
- Swampland-commissioners · County Clerk1865
- Abstract and Index to Deeds1883–1994
- Wills · Probate Court1892–1968
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1895–2012
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1908–2006
- Assessments · Collector1914–1985
- Tax Lists · Collector1930–1953
- Tax Sale · Collector1936
- Taxes · Collector1947
- Assessments and Taxes · County Clerk1950
- Land and Tax Sales · Collector1961–1974
Wills and estates
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1833–1864
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1834–1899
- Wills · Probate Court1835–1921
- County and Probate Court · County Clerk1837–1871
- Probate Records · Probate Court1837–1886
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1846–1934
- Bonds · Probate Court1868–1882
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1868–1887
- County and Probate Court Index · County Clerk1879–1893
- School Inventory Books · Recorder1920–1921
- County Property Inventory · Collector1957–1975
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intentions · Circuit Court1891–1906
Military and pensions
- Military Service Records · County Clerk1917–1919
- Military Discharges1919–1968
Tax records
- R-2 School District · County Clerk1875–1975
- Tax Fee Books · Circuit Court1893–1931
- Tax Index · Circuit Court1893–1935
- Tax Dockets · Circuit Court1899–1935
- Tax Execution Records · Circuit Court1902–1932
- Tax Judgement and Execution · Circuit Court1904
- Coroner Inquests and Records · Collector1910–1970
- Taxes · Collector1916–2006
- Assessments · Collector1917–1995
- Taxes · County Clerk1920–1938
- Collectors Account · County Clerk1923–1924
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1924–2012
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1931–1980
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1965–1972
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1833–1954
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1834–1921
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1837–1933
- County Court Records · County Clerk1837–1995
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1839–1936
- Circuit Court Case Files #1259- · Circuit Court1843–1874
- Civil Fees · Circuit Court1847–1875
- Execution Docket · Circuit Court1847–1891
- Transcript Records · Circuit Court1866–1890
- Abstract of Executions · Circuit Court1867–1875
- Common Pleas Case Files · Court Of Common Pleas1867–1898
- Common Pleas · Court Of Common Pleas1867–1873
- Judgement and Decree Docket · Circuit Court1867–1873
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1872–1979
- and 14 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Fund Bonds · County Clerk1881–1922
- School Matters · County Clerk1887–1920
- School Enumerations · Recorder1894–1920
- School Registers · Recorder1919
- School Voucher Registers · Recorder1920–1966
- Enumerations and Returns · County Clerk1935–1980
- Enumeration Records · County Clerk1950–1953
- School Enumerations · County Clerk1950–1968
- School Registrations · County Clerk1952–1956
- School Distribution · County Clerk1957–1960
- School Material · County Clerk1957–1964
Other records
- Official Bonds · County Clerk1865–1950
- Council Proceedings · City Clerk1867–1992
- Ordinances · City Clerk1867–1899
- Ordinances and Resolutions · City Clerk1868–1986
- Board of Health Certificates · County Clerk1877–1982
- Health Certificate Register · County Clerk1883–1926
- Nurses Licenses · County Clerk1886–1925
- Official County Map · County Clerk1893
- Road Records · County Clerk1897–1908
- Original Resolutions · City Clerk1898
- Committments and Criminal · County Clerk1903–1923
- Journal · County Clerk1907–1934
- Audits · City Clerk1908–1991
- Warrants · County Clerk1908–1976
- and 33 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
- Pettis 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: Pettis 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, Pettis" 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, Morgan County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cooper County, Morgan 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.