Records that survive
These are the record series from St. Charles 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
- Marriage Certificates · Recorder of Deeds1807–1871
- Marriage Record Index · Recorder of Deeds1807–1902
- Marriage Records · Recorder of Deeds1807–1902
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1807–1916
- Marriage Licences · Circuit Court1830–1953
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1914
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1889–1914
- St. Francois Recorder of Deeds · Recorder1995
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1804–1890
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1804–1888
- Right of Way · County Clerk1866–1898
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1874–1880
- Plats · Public Works Superintendent1893–1929
- Surveyor's Record · Public Works Superintendent1902
- City of St. Charles Plats (Grants) · City Clerk1959–2005
- Land Assessments and Taxes · Collector1970–1974
- Plats · City Clerk1972–1995
- City of St. Charles Plats (Grant) · City Clerk1974–2019
- City of St. Charles Plats · City Clerk2003–2007
Wills and estates
- Letters · Probate Court1805–1991
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1809–1879
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1812–1974
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1812–1974
- Wills · Probate Court1822–1990
- Bonds · Probate Court1827–1993
- Probate Records · Probate Court1827–1886
- Settlements · Probate Court1836–1993
- Abstract of Demands · Probate Court1865–1878
- Inventories · Probate Court1914–1917
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1919–1992
- Probate Register · Probate Court1956–1991
Naturalization
- Naturalization Records · Circuit Court1819–1927
Military and pensions
- Military Records · County Clerk1861–1862
Tax records
- Coroner Inquest Index · Collector1804–1954
- Territorial Taxes · County Clerk1817–1818
- Tax Assessments · Assessor1843
- Taxes · County Clerk1857
- Taxes · City Clerk1872
- Commissioners Report · County Clerk1896
- Ord. of No Inheritance Tax Due · Probate Court1964–1977
Court records
- Territorial Court Record Index · Circuit Court1798–1820
- Territorial Court Records · Circuit Court1798–1820
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1805–1930
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1805–1953
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1808–1887
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1821–1992
- County Court Records · County Clerk1821–1992
- Receipts and Miscellaneous Files · Circuit Court1830–1953
- State Cases · Circuit Court1830–1953
- Attorneys Roll · Circuit Court1838–2004
- Case Files · Circuit Court1838–1900
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1842–1974
- Fee Book · Circuit Court1867–1875
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1877–1944
- and 10 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Enumerations · County Clerk1819
- City of St. Charles School · Superintendent Of Schools1846–2005
- Records · Superintendent Of Schools1867–1885
- Petition for Incorporation · Superintendent Of Schools1984
- Ordinances · Superintendent Of Schools1985–1995
- Ordinance Index · Superintendent Of Schools1990
- Blueprints · Superintendent Of Schools1995
- Maps · Superintendent Of Schools1998
Other records
- Miscellaneous Collection · County Clerk1789–1926
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1792–1806
- City Council Records · City Clerk1797–1963
- Indenture Index · County Clerk1804–1886
- Indentures · County Clerk1804–1886
- Applications, Bonds and Letters · County Clerk1840–1865
- Ordinances · City Clerk1846–1996
- List of Officers, Mayors · City Clerk1849–1997
- Right of Way · County Clerk1852–1884
- Request For Support · County Clerk1865
- State Census · County Clerk1868–1876
- Engineer Drawings · Public Works Superintendent1871–1897
- Sewer · Public Works Superintendent1881–1963
- Road Reports · County Clerk1896–1905
- and 17 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
- St. Charles 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: St. Charles 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, St. Charles" 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: One of the original districts of the District of Louisiana, before Missouri had counties
Later formed partly from St. Charles County: Howard County, Lincoln County, Montgomery County, Pike County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1804, 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.