Records that survive
These are the record series from Scott 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 Deeds1840–1972
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1840–1956
- 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
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1942–1947
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1903
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1914
- Swampland Records · County Clerk1859–1872
- Taxes · Collector1860–1886
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1864–1899
- Record of Sales · Collector1865–1872
- Assessments · Assessor1867–1880
- Register · Collector1867
- Mechanics Liens · Circuit Court1868–1940
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1870–1897
- Lands Redeemed · Collector1875–1878
- Plat Maps of School Districts · County Clerk1896–1912
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1822–1951
- Wills · Probate Court1825–1926
- Probate Records · Probate Court1841–1934
- Wills and Administration · Probate Court1847–1890
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1855–1889
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1855–1860
- Settlements · Probate Court1855–1929
- Bonds · Probate Court1862–1933
- Letters of Administrators · Probate Court1862–1933
- Probate Docket · Probate Court1863–1890
- Records · Probate Court1870–1892
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1908–1932
- Naturalizations Index Cards · Circuit Court1917–1925
Military and pensions
- Military · Recorder of Deeds1862–1994
Tax records
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1870–1918
- Taxes · Collector1870–1912
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1875–1889
- Stray Lists · Collector1880–1881
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1822–1951
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1842–1995
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1848–1860
- County Court Record · County Clerk1862–1997
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1863–1887
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1863–1895
- Common Pleas · Court Of Common Pleas1867–1869
- Docket · Circuit Court1867–1941
- Pleadings Filed · Circuit Court1871–1913
- Circuit Court Minutes · Circuit Court1874–1975
- Scott County Clerk · County Clerk1875–1876
- Special Execution Record · County Clerk1875
- Judgment Book · County Clerk1876
- Minutes · Probate Court1880–1948
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Enumeration Reports · County Clerk1872–1874
Other records
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1859–1872
- Special Census · County Clerk1861
- Scott County Clerk · County Clerk1873–1875
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- County Jail and Poor Farm · County Clerk1893–1924
- Little River Drainage District · County Clerk1908–1925
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1915–1950
- Cemetery Records · County Clerk1920–1946
- Ordinances · City Clerk1964–1994
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 Scott 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: Scott 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, Scott" 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: New Madrid County
Check the parent county for earlier records: New Madrid County
Later formed partly from Scott County: Mississippi County, Stoddard County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1822, 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.