Records that survive
These are the record series from St. Francois 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 · Recorder1819–1938
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1819–1918
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1893
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1890
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1885
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1901–1931
- Register of Births and Deaths · County Clerk1924–1931
- St. Francois Recorder of Deeds · Recorder1939–1997
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1945
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1967
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1822–1890
- Records · City Clerk1856–1890
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1857–1988
- Taxes · Collector1867–1940
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1869–1989
- Surveyors Notes and Plats · Surveyor1921
- Assessments · Assessor1934–1945
- Deed Books · Recorder of Deeds1943–1958
Wills and estates
- Bonds and Wills · Probate Court1822–1852
- Wills and Bonds · Probate Court1822–1916
- Letters · Probate Court1825–1982
- Wills · Probate Court1825–1980
- Probate Records · Probate Court1843–1981
- Settlements · Probate Court1849–1981
- Bonds · Probate Court1852–1981
- Inventories and Appraisements · Probate Court1855–1981
- Notices · Probate Court1861–1918
- Probate Minutes · Probate Court1879–1959
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1879–1904
- Settlement Docket · Probate Court1879–1946
- Inventories, Certificates and · Probate Court1887–1909
- Abstract of Demands · Probate Court1889
- and 5 more series in the full listing
Military and pensions
- Military Service Records · Recorder of Deeds1919–1928
Tax records
- Coroner Inquest Index · Collector1850–1942
- Coroner Inquests · Collector1850–1942
- Ledger · Collector1861–1870
- Taxes · Collector1861–1988
- Journal · Collector1867–1871
- License Records · Collector1873–1985
- Taxes · City Clerk1876–1878
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1884–1989
- Merchants' License Record · Collector1901–1977
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1908–1957
- Assessments · Assessor1936–1978
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1954–1984
- Inheritance Tax Ledger · Probate Court1963–1964
- City of Farmington (Grant) · City Clerk2005
Court records
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1822–1951
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1825–1899
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1825–1899
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1857–1973
- Docket · Probate Court1865
- General Docket · Probate Court1869–1938
- Execution Docket · Probate Court1871
- Minutes · City Clerk1879–1999
- Board of Alderman Minutes · City Clerk1890–1929
- Board of Education Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1891–1989
- Minutes and Ordinances · City Clerk1931–1983
- Motion Docket · Probate Court1933
- City of Farmington (Grant) · City Clerk1992–2005
Schools
- Enumeration · City Clerk1901
Other records
- Road and Bridge File Index · County Clerk1820–1923
- Road and Bridge Files · County Clerk1820–1923
- Miscellaneous File Index · County Clerk1822–1986
- Miscellaneous Files · County Clerk1822–1986
- City Charter · City Clerk1856
- Ordinances · City Clerk1857–1997
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Oath of Office · City Clerk1884–1900
- Bonds and Commissions · City Clerk1901–1912
- Justice of the Peace Criminal · Justice Of The Peace1918
- Photos and Newspaper Clippings · City Clerk1957
- Budgets · City Clerk1960–1995
- Comprehensive Plan · City Clerk1972
- City of Farmington (Grant) · City Clerk1976–2010
- and 4 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
- Find St. Francois 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: St. Francois 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. Francois" 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: Jefferson County, Ste County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Jefferson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1821, 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.