Records that survive
These are the record series from Ripley 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 Deeds1833–2004
- Marriage Register · Recorder of Deeds1833–1866
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1833–1971
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1891
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1891
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1897
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1893
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index To Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1833–2008
- Patent Records · Recorder of Deeds1833–1858
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1837–1977
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1853–1888
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1854–1868
- Taxes · Collector1871–1900
- Assessments · County Assessor1895–1899
Wills and estates
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1834–1853
- Wills · Probate Court1840–1927
- Probate Records · Probate Court1856–1892
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1882–1940
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1883–1900
Tax records
- Assessments · County Assessor1868–1873
- Docket · Circuit Court1888–1895
- Taxes · County Clerk1904–1908
Court records
- Proceedings · Circuit Court1834–1853
- County Court Records · County Clerk1853–1868
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1854–1888
- Record of Fees · Circuit Court1854–1861
- Abstract of Judgements & · Circuit Court1856–1873
- Officials Bonds Record · Circuit Court1856–1870
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1859–1931
- Dockets · Circuit Court1860–1886
- Bar Docket · Circuit Court1866–1900
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1869–1890
- Witness Attendance · Circuit Court1873–1893
- Execution Docket · Circuit Court1874–1886
- Jurors Fee Book · Circuit Court1874–1893
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1875–1899
- and 9 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Commissions · Justice of the Peace1834–1856
- Proceedings · County Clerk1841–1853
- Marks & Scalp Bounty · County Clerk1848–1861
- Fee Bills · County Clerk1857
- Records · Justice of the Peace1857–1860
- Fee Book · Justice of the Peace1869–1872
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Business Ledger · County Clerk1879–1881
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1887–1897
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 Ripley 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: Ripley 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, Ripley" 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: Wayne County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Wayne County
Later formed partly from Ripley County: Carter County, Oregon County, Ozark County, Shannon County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1831, 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.