Cole County, Missouri Genealogy

United States Missouri  Cole County

Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1821; Probate Judge has probate records from 1821; Recorder Deeds has marriage and land records from 1821

Parent County
1820--Cole County was created 16 November 1820 from Cooper County. County seat: Jefferson City

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.

Neighboring Counties
Moniteau County • Miller County • Maries County • Osage County • Callaway County • Boon County

Record Loss
Jefferson City, MO Cole County Courthouse Fire

Jefferson City, Mo., March 14. -- The Cole County courthouse was destroyed by fire this afternoon. The records which were in fireproof vaults were not damaged. The building was insured for $70,000. The cost of replacing the structure, it was stated today would be $100,000, though the original cost was $59,000.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 15 Mar 1918 (source:GenDisasters)

For a list of record loss in Missouri counties see: Missouri Counties with Burned Courthouses

Places/Localities
To see a list of places in Cole County, click on [Show], in the bar above.

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

Biographies

 * All of the family biographies from the History of Cole County, (1889) by Goodspeed Publishing Company are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.

Cemeteries

 * The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has burial records for Jefferson City and other Cemeteries around the country.

Church
Lutheran


 * St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lohman, records in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at .com ($).

Maps

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Maps of townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Digital Library has digital copies of county plat books (ca. 1930) for all  counties including Cole County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Cole County, with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Jefferson City newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on Cole County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties. Chronicling America a list of 1836 to 1922 Cole County newspapers with their descriptions and where they are held The State Historical Society of Missouri digitized newspapers from Cole County - you must sort by Cole County

Births

 * 1865-1874 - Cole County 1865-1874. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883 - Cole County 1883. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883-1906 - Cole County 1883-1906. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1885 - Cole County 1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * Cole County, Missouri Births, 1883-1906 at Ancestry.com ($)

Marriages

 * 1821-1865 - Cole County A and B Index 1821-1865. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1865-1881 - Cole County C and D Index 1865-1881. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1881-1885 - Cole County 1 and 2 Index 1881-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * State provides on-line access to Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1883-1906 - Cole County Death Index 1883-1906. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
Cole County Historical Society 109 Jefferson City, MO 65101 (573)-635-1850 Website: http://www.colecohistsoc.org/
 * List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers



 * Jefferson City Family History Center 4618 Henwick Ln, Jefferson, City MO 65109-0108 United States Location Map