Records that survive
These are the record series from Reynolds 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 Deeds1872–1994
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1886
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Record of Marriage · Probate Court1935–1945
- Record of Marriage · Recorder of Deeds1935–1945
Deeds and land
- Survey Records · Recorder of Deeds1821–1987
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1872–1993
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1872–2004
- Taxes · Collector1877–1895
- School District Records · Superintendent of Schools1907–1999
Wills and estates
- Bonds & Letters · Probate Court1872–1930
- Index to Probate Records · Probate Court1872–1946
- Probate Records · Probate Court1872–1982
- Inventories & Appraisements · Probate Court1875–1893
- Letter Docket · Probate Court1876–1880
- Wills · Probate Court1877–1982
- Letters · Probate Court1935–1982
- School District Records · Superintendent of Schools1988–1999
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–2002
- Military Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919–1957
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1876–1909
- Justice Transcript · County Clerk1881–1892
Court records
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1872–1910
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1872–1891
- County Commission Minutes · County Clerk1881–1948
- Justice of The Peace Docket · County Clerk1905–1949
- Magistrate Court Records · Magistrate Court1947–1972
- Magistrate Court Small Claims · Magistrate Court1976–1978
- Minutes · Superintendent of Schools1981–1999
Schools
- School District Records · Superintendent of Schools1988–1999
Other records
- County Commission Records · County Clerk1872–1997
- Justice Transcript · County Clerk1872–1928
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- County Commission Record · County Clerk1912–1982
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 Reynolds 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: Reynolds 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, Reynolds" 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: Shannon County, Wayne County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Shannon County, Wayne County
Later formed partly from Reynolds County: Iron County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1845, 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.