Records that survive
These are the record series from Ste. Genevieve 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 Deeds1806–1910
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1806–1978
- Birth & Death Certificates · County Clerk1883–1887
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1892
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1892
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1892
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1892
Deeds and land
- Index to Miscellaneous Records · Recorder of Deeds1761–1854
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1804–1987
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1804–1988
- Territorial Court Records · Circuit Court1804–1827
- Original Land Entries · Recorder of Deeds1829–1860
- Plat Index · Recorder of Deeds1844–1946
- Taxes · Collector1857–2011
- Assessments · Collector1867–1877
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1871–1966
- Power of Attorney Index · Recorder of Deeds1984–1987
Wills and estates
- Territorial Court Records · Circuit Court1803–1829
- Will Index · Probate Court1807–1917
- Wills · Probate Court1807–1941
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1826–1959
- Probate Records · Probate Court1828–1931
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1879–1915
- Will & Final Settlement Index · Probate Court1904–1979
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1833–1940
- Naturalization Index · Circuit Court1838–1905
- Naturalizations · Circuit Court1849–1930
Military and pensions
- Military Service Record · Recorder of Deeds1919–1979
Tax records
- Tax Records · County Clerk1857–1868
- Assessments · Collector1870–1876
- Taxes · Collector1894–2011
Court records
- Territorial Court Record Index · Circuit Court1790–1821
- Territorial Court Records · Circuit Court1790–1868
- Common Plea Case Files · Court of Common Pleas1804–1818
- Common Pleas · Court of Common Pleas1804–1819
- Territorial Court Case Index · Circuit Court1815–1821
- Territorial Court Cases · Circuit Court1815–1821
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1819–1976
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1819–1957
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1825–1996
- County Court Record · County Clerk1825–1996
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1838–1851
- Free Persons of Color · Circuit Court1850
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1859–1985
- Board of Education Minutes · Public School District1941–1999
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Other records
- Territorial Census · County Clerk1752–1818
- Records · Justice of the Peace1805–1875
- Business Ledgers · County Clerk1826–1907
- Revenue Ledger · County Clerk1843–1872
- Board of Equalization · County Clerk1867–1876
- County Poor Farm Records · County Clerk1880–1958
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1905–1975
- Red Cross World War I · County Clerk1918–1921
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
- Ste. Genevieve 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: Ste. Genevieve 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, Ste. Genevieve" 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 Ste. Genevieve County: Jefferson County, Washington 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.