Records that survive
These are the record series from Wayne 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 Deeds1892–1978
Deeds and land
- Abstract and Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1827–1996
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1849–1970
- Taxes · Collector1892–1898
- Real Estate - Tax Book · Collector1893–1897
- Assessments · Assessor1894
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1895–1916
- Land Delinquent List · Collector1896
Wills and estates
- Wills · Probate Court1869–1930
- Probate Records · Probate Court1892–1928
Naturalization
- Declaration of Intention · Circuit Court1907–1929
- Naturalization Records · Circuit Court1907–1929
- Naturalization Index Cards · Circuit Court1916–1929
Military and pensions
- Soldier Discharge Index · Recorder of Deeds1918–1996
- Soldier Enlistments and · Recorder of Deeds1918–1944
- Enlistment and Discharges · Recorder of Deeds1919–1978
Tax records
- Assessments · Assessor1891–1895
- Taxes · Collector1893–1899
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1930–1936
Court records
- Mayor's Docket · City Clerk1892–1910
- Minutes · County Clerk1892–2002
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1893–1955
- Minutes · City Clerk1910–1998
Other records
- Summons, Receipts, and Misc · Justice Of The Peace1854–1871
- Records · Justice Of The Peace1890–1924
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 Wayne 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: Wayne 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, Wayne" 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, Lawrence County (original), New Madrid County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cape Girardeau County, New Madrid County
Later formed partly from Wayne County: Bollinger County, Butler County, Reynolds County, Ripley County, Stoddard County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1819, 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.