Records that survive
These are the record series from Vernon 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 · Recorder of Deeds1855–1916
- Index to Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1881–1925
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1901
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1904
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1901
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1904
- Marriages · Justice Of The Peace1895–1902
Deeds and land
- Vernon Co. Recorder of Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1841–1956
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1842–1966
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1845–1887
- Swampland Patent Records · County Clerk1858
- Plat Books · City Clerk1872–1909
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1880–1971
- Surveyor Reports · Surveyor1880–1883
- Real Estate - Record of · Collector1887–1944
- School Enumeration List and Plat · County Clerk1888–1895
- Assessments · Collector1892–1975
- Taxes · Collector1902–1945
- Vernon County Recorder Deed · Recorder of Deeds1922–1967
- Lands Conveyed · County Clerk1936–1966
- Civil Docket · Justice Of The Peace1939–1942
Wills and estates
- Day Book Index · Probate Court1855–1885
- Letters · Probate Court1855–1883
- Probate Records · Probate Court1855–1887
- Accounts · Probate Court1856–1872
- Wills · Probate Court1856–1922
- Bonds · Probate Court1857–1899
- Inventories, Appraisements and · Probate Court1857–1881
- Inventories · Probate Court1871–1895
- Settlements · Probate Court1872–1883
- Insane Patients Records · County Clerk1889–1932
- Insane Notices · County Clerk1941–1949
Tax records
- Taxes · Collector1868–1986
- Assessments and Taxes · Collector1869–1971
- Railroad Tax Book · Collector1874–1879
- Ledger · Collector1877–1908
- Assessments · Collector1893–1957
- Commissioners to Assess · County Clerk1893–1911
- Taxes · County Clerk1897
- Personal Property - Record of · Collector1903–1949
- Merchant and Manufacturer · Collector1906–1970
- Coroner Records · Collector1945–1988
- Collector and Official Bonds · County Clerk1949–1967
- Tax Records · Public School District1979–1999
Court records
- County Court Record Index · County Clerk1855–1995
- County Court Records · County Clerk1855–1995
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1856–1899
- Circuit Court Record Index · Circuit Court1856–1886
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1856–1886
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1876–1974
- Minutes · City Clerk1880–1954
- Civil Docket · Justice Of The Peace1916–1946
- Civil and Criminal Docket · Justice Of The Peace1929
- Docket · Justice Of The Peace1932–1944
- Minutes · Public School District1954–1960
- School Board Minutes · Superintendent Of Schools1955–1997
- Planning and Zoning Minutes · City Clerk1959–1974
- Council Minutes · City Clerk1975–1997
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Schools
- Register of School Bonds · County Clerk1859–1890
- School Fund Records · County Clerk1860–1875
- School Fund Book · Collector1861–1874
- School Enumerations · Superintendent Of Schools1890–1950
- Abstract of School Collections · County Clerk1893
- Audit Index · Public School District1955–1999
- Board of Education · Superintendent Of Schools1970–1999
- Auditors Reports · Public School District1974–1998
Other records
- County Revenue · County Clerk1866–1875
- Warrant Registers · County Clerk1866–1980
- Health Certificates · County Clerk1870–1957
- Marks and Brands · County Clerk1873–1902
- Journal · County Clerk1875–1889
- Scalp Records · County Clerk1877–1903
- Commissions · Justice Of The Peace1878–1917
- Ledger · County Clerk1878
- Road Overseers Accounts · County Clerk1878–1887
- Township Funds · County Clerk1878–1890
- City Charter · City Clerk1880
- Physicians Certificates · County Clerk1880–1911
- Dentist Licenses · County Clerk1883–1923
- Bonds · County Clerk1889–1903
- and 38 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 Vernon 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: Vernon 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, Vernon" 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: Bates County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Bates County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1855, 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.