Records that survive
These are the record series from Webster 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
- Record of Births · County Clerk1833–1868
- Marriages · Recorder of Deeds1855–1972
- Marriage License Register · Recorder of Deeds1883–1958
- Permanent Record of Births · County Clerk1883–1884
- Permanent Record of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1884
- Register of Births And Stillbirths · County Clerk1883–1893
- Register of Deaths · County Clerk1883–1891
Deeds and land
- Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1855–1970
- Index to Deeds · Recorder of Deeds1856–2003
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1856
- Taxes · Collector1861–1992
- Right of Way Conveyance · County Clerk1871–1965
- Swampland Patents · County Clerk1884–1914
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1899–1989
- Plats · County Assessor1951
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1855–1999
- Probate Records · Probate Court1856–1898
- Wills · Probate Court1870–1994
- Inventories · Probate Court1871–1889
- Settlements · Probate Court1871–1890
- Treasurers Settlements · Public School District1884–1891
Tax records
- Collector's Cash Book · Collector1806–1869
- Collector's Account Book · Collector1855–1870
- Taxes · Collector1869–1993
- Taxes · County Clerk1902–1934
- Assessments & Taxes · Collector1934–1988
Court records
- Docket · Justice of the Peace1842–1946
- Circuit Court Case File Index · Circuit Court1855–1899
- Circuit Court Case Files · Circuit Court1855–1899
- Circuit Court Records · Circuit Court1855–1898
- County Court Records · County Clerk1855–2002
- School Board Minutes · Public School District1855–1908
- Minutes · Probate Court1879–1882
- County Court Minutes · County Clerk1885–1980
- Sheriff Execution Docket · Sheriff1885–1900
- Board of Commissions · County Clerk1891–1938
- County Court Docket · County Clerk1895–1943
- County Court Minute Index · County Clerk1895–1986
- Minutes · City Clerk1895–2007
- City Council Minutes · City Clerk1897–2006
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Registers · Public School District1887–1951
- Accounts · Public School District1891–1902
- Annual School Enumerations · Public School District1936–1956
Other records
- Estray Records · County Clerk1855–1871
- Register of Bonds · County Clerk1868–1960
- Register of Notes & Bonds · County Clerk1870–1931
- Estray & Stray Book · County Clerk1871–1910
- Jail Records · Sheriff1871–1892
- Warrant Register · County Clerk1871–1990
- Commissions · County Clerk1874–1912
- State Census · County Clerk1876
- Fees · Sheriff1881–1909
- Sale Records · Sheriff1881–1900
- County Poor Farm Register · County Clerk1883–1905
- Physicians & Surgeons · County Clerk1883–1896
- Register of Dentists & Dental · County Clerk1883–1896
- Register of Pharmacists · County Clerk1883–1915
- and 13 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
- Webster 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: Webster 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, Webster" 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: Greene County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Greene County
Later formed partly from Webster County: Christian 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.