Records that survive
These are the record series from Stoddard 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 Deeds1857–1991
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1857–1971
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1886
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1886
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1887
- Marriage Applications · Recorder of Deeds1885–1886
Deeds and land
- Abstract & Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1835–1974
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1835–1970
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1838–1998
- Gov't Townships Platbook · County Clerk1847–1862
- Swampland Patents · County Clerk1854–1925
- Sale of Land For School · County Clerk1856–1909
- Swampland Patent Index · County Clerk1860–1913
- Swampland Register · County Clerk1865–1872
- Swampland Funds · County Clerk1866–1891
- Assessments · County Assessor1867–1921
- Land Register · County Clerk1867
- Plat Maps · Recorder of Deeds1867–1869
- Road Survey Plat · County Clerk1867
- Taxes · Collector1872–1995
- and 4 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Wills · Probate Court1835–1936
- Probate Records · Probate Court1847–1887
- Probate Record Index · Probate Court1849–1898
- Bonds · Probate Court1864–1943
- Commitment of the Insane File · County Clerk1873–1955
- Commitment of the Insane Files · County Clerk1873–1955
- Settlements · Probate Court1875–1933
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1876–1898
- Probate Case File Index · Probate Court1877–1962
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1877–1962
- Appraisements · Probate Court1886–1901
- Inventories · Probate Court1887–1944
- Inventories & Appraisements · Probate Court1896–1931
- Applications, Bonds & Letters of · Probate Court1898–1930
- and 3 more series in the full listing
Military and pensions
- Military Biographical Records · Recorder of Deeds1917–1918
- Military Records · Recorder of Deeds1917–1919
- Military Service Record · Recorder of Deeds1917–1943
- Military Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1919–1999
- Blind Pension Records · County Clerk1923–1933
- Military Selective Service Record · Recorder of Deeds1940–1947
- Military Selective Service Records · Recorder of Deeds1940–1947
- Military Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1942–1973
Tax records
- Assessments · County Assessor1874–1914
- Taxes · County Clerk1890
- Commissioners Appointed · County Clerk1896–1911
- Assessments · Collector1968–1981
- Taxes · Collector1968–1995
Court records
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1836–1951
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1836–1953
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1847–1994
- County Order Book · County Clerk1847–1876
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1851–1945
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1864–1991
- Case Files · Justice of the Peace1865–1933
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1875–1947
- County Court Records · County Clerk1876–1994
- Map · Circuit Court1903
- Miscellaneous Records · Circuit Court1906
- Petition & Articles of Association · Circuit Court1906
- Board Minutes · Public School District1934–1955
- Minutes · City Clerk1948–2000
- and 1 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Bond Register · County Clerk1868–1885
- School Funds Bonds · County Clerk1891
- Osteopathy School Certificates · County Clerk1905–1970
- County Annual Report Index · Public School District1919–1934
- School Enumerations · Public School District1919–1963
- Enumerations · Public School District1934–1955
- School Warrants · Public School District1934–1955
- School Enumeration Index · Public School District1936–1963
- Drawing Index · Public School District1962–1984
- Drawings · Public School District1962–1984
Other records
- Commissions Issued Register · County Clerk1835–1895
- Warrant Register · County Clerk1848–1933
- File Index · Justice of the Peace1859–1946
- Files · Justice of the Peace1859–1946
- Estray Records · County Clerk1864–1910
- Coroner Inquests · Coroner1865–1967
- Marks & Bonds · County Clerk1865–1943
- Road Papers Index · County Clerk1866–1965
- Road Papers · County Clerk1866–1965
- Warrants & Wolf Scalps · County Clerk1870–1885
- Physicians & Surgeons Register · County Clerk1874–1919
- Stray Funds · County Clerk1877–1909
- Construction of Drainage Ditch · County Clerk1882–1924
- Jail Records · Sheriff1882–1951
- and 21 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
- Stoddard County clerk’s office 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: Stoddard 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, Stoddard" 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: Cape Girardeau County, New Madrid County, Scott County, Wayne County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cape Girardeau County, New Madrid County, Scott County, Wayne County
Later formed partly from Stoddard County: Bollinger County, Dunklin County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1829, 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.