McDonald County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Recorder of Deeds has marriage records; Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records; Probate Judge has probate records.

Parent County
1849 McDonald County was created 3 March 1849 from Newton County. County seat: Pineville.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Missouri county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Missouri County Boundary Maps" (1804-1889) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1856 Log courthouse was demolished. 1863 Courthouse burned, destroying most records. Deeds before 1863 were recreated.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog




 * The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties.

Neighboring Counties
Barry •  Benton County, Arkansas  •  Delaware County, Oklahoma  •  Newton  •  Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Biographies

 * Family Biographies from The History of McDonald County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * McDonald County, Missouri County Historical Society
 * An Illustrated history of McDonald County, Missouri: from the earliest ... by J.A. Sturges (1897) can be read online.
 * Biographies from The History of McDonald County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.


 * History of Newton, Lawrence, Barry and McDonald counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present. Chicago, The Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1888.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)


 * Sturges, J. A. Illustrated history of McDonald County, Missouri, from the earliest settlement to the present time. Pineville, Mo. : Sturges, 1897.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)


 * Taylor, Joe. McDonald County, Missouri, 1849-1949 : 100 years of history and progress. Noel Mo. : McDonald County Centennial Committee, 1949.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of McDonald County townships (Histopolis)


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including McDonald County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Historic maps of McDonald County, Missouri 1861 to 1904, free access on My Genealogy Hound.

Military

 * 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 McDonald 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 McDonald County, Missouri:
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company E
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company E
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company F
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company F
 * - 16th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company G
 * - 16th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company H

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Joplin newspapers and Neosho newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on residents from McDonald County communities.

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

Births

 * 1827 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1851 - 1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1853 - 1860 McDonald County Birth Index 1853-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883-1887 - McDonald County Birth Index 1883-1887. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1750 - 1920 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1776-1988 - Missouri, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $*1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1805 - 2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry.com $
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1865 - 1885 McDonald County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1865-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriage records, McDonald County, Missouri at Ancestry.com $

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1899 - 2008 Web: McDonald County, Missouri, Obituary Index, 1899-2008 at Ancestry.com ($)

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

McDonald County Genealogy Society at McDonald County Library 808 Bailey Road Pineville, MO 64856 Phone: 417-223-4489

Historical Society
McDonald County Historical Society P. O. Box 572 Pineville, MO 64856 Phone: 417-223-7700 Website

Library
McDonald County Library 808 Bailey Road Pineville, MO 64856 Phone: 417-223-4489 Website Facebook