Lafayette County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Lafayette County, Missouri ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for Marquis de La Fayette. The County is located in the western area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lafayette County Courthouse 1001 Main Street PO Box 357 Lexington, MO 64067 Phone: 660-259-4315 Lafayette County Website County Recorder has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1821.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Lafayette County, MO, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Portrait and Biographical Record of Lafayette and Saline Counties, Missouri. 1893. Chicago : Chapman Bros. Available online at Google Books; Ancestry ($)

Cemeteries

 * The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has burial records for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Higginsville, Mo and other veterans cemeteries around the country. The Confederate Home Cemetery in Higginsville, Mo is not available at this site, but records submitted by the general public are available on Find A Grave.com.
 * Photos and locations of numerous Lafayette County cemeteries, Hearthstone Legacy
 * Lafayette County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. I at Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census Records

 * 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Catholic Immaculate Conception, Lexington


 * 1853-1876 Immaculate Conception, Lexington, Baptism Index 1853-1876. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1853-1885 Immaculate Conception, Lexington, Marriage Index 1853-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * Lafayette County, Missouri, Excerpts from the 1877 Atlas. Available online at Ancestry ($)
 * Young's History of Lafayette County, Missouri. 2 Volumes. 1910. By William Young. Indianapolis, Ind.: B. F. Bowen. Vol 2 available online at FamilySearch

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Lafayette County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Lafayette County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Lafayette County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Atlas of Lafayette County, Missouri, circa 1920.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

Regiments

Service men in Lafayette County, Missouri served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Lafayette County, Missouri:

Civil War Battles The following Civil War Battles was fought in Lafayette County:


 * September 13-20, 1861 Lexington I also known as Battle of the Hemp Bales
 * October 19, 1864 Lexington II


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1941-1946 at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that sometimes included Lafayette County residents.

Obituaries

 * 1891-1920 Lafayette County, Missouri Obituaries, 1891-1920 at Ancestry ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1865-1869 Lafayette County Birth Index 1865-1869. Batch at FamilySearch.

Marriage

 * 1750-1920 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1868-1885 Lafayette County Marriage Books F thru H Index 1868-1885. Batch at FamilySearch.

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Societies

 * Harvey J. Higgins Historical Society 2113 S. Main Street Higginsville, MO 64037 Phone: 660-584-6474
 * Lafayette County Historical Society 101 West Phillips Lexington, MO 64067 Website

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * MOGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * USGenWeb Archives. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * . Free. - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
 * RootsWeb resources. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * StateofUS. Free. family history resources and government records
 * Missouri Genealogy. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)