Adair County, Missouri Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for John Adair. The County is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Adair County Courthouse 106 W. Washington Kirksville, MO 63501 Phone: 660-665-3350 Adair County Website County Recorder has marriage and land records from 1840. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records. Probate Clerk has probate records. County Clerk has school enumeration records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, 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:

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Missouri Digital Heritage,


 * The area now known as Adair County was first settled in pre-historic times.
 * 1804 November 3 - The Treaty of St. Louis, between the USA and the Sacs and Foxes, stipulated that goods and cash be paid to the Sacs and Foxes.
 * 1825 - The Big Neck War was fought.
 * 1828 - The first white settlement in Adair County.
 * 1838-40 - Survey of Public Lands of Adair County was completed.
 * 1840 - Both settlers and speculators began a rush to the land office.
 * 1841 January 29 - Adair County was founded.
 * 1850 - Immigrants started coming to Adair County in large numbers.

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries Missouri Cemeteries

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

 * History of Adair County : together with reminiscences and biographical sketches. 1911. by Eugene Morrow Violette. Kirksville, Missouri : Denslow History Co. Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at HathiTrust (Free)
 * History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam and Schuyler counties, Missouri : from the earliest time to the present. 1888. Chicago, Illinois : Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at FamilySearch (Free); and at Missouri Digital Heritage (Free)
 * Sketch of Adair County, Missouri : plus "patron's business references" by township, telling the section, township and range of their property, where they were born and when they settled in Adair County. 199-?. by A. H. John. S.l. : s.n. Online at Family Search (Free); PDF at Adairchs (Free)
 * A History of Missouri's Counties, County Seats and Courthouse Squares. Marian M. Ohman. 1983. N.p.: The Curators of the University of Missouri. Online at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * Missouri As It Is in 1867: an illustrated historical gazetteer of Missouri. 1867. by Nathan Howe Parker. N.p.: Missouri State Library. Online at Missouri Digital History.
 * State of Missouri: an autobiography edited for the Missouri commission to the Louisiana purchase exposition. 1904. by Missouri. Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; Williams, Walter, 1864-1935. Columbia, Mo.: Press of E. W. Stephens. Online at Missouri Digital Heritage

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Interactive map of Adair County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Adair County.
 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Interactive map of Adair County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Adair County.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * An illustrated historical atlas of Adair County, Mo. at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection

Civil War
Online Records


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-1938  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection

Regiments Service men in Adair 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 Adair County, Missouri:

Civil War Battle The following Civil War Battle was fought in Adair County.
 * August 6-9, 1862 - Kirksville.
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1941-1946  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers
The Adair County Historical Society has created an obituary and death notice collection on its website. They have been extracted from the Kirksville Daily Express and cover dates from March 1979 through December 31, 2010. There are some additional obituaries taken from the Unionville Republican which are earlier than the listed dates above.
 * Missouri Digital Newspaper Project at Missouri State Historical Society

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection
 * 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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1827-1935  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1866-1867 Adair County Birth Index, Volume 1, 1866-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1920-2015 Missouri, Birth Index, 1920-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)

Marriage

 * 1750-1920  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1800-1991  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry
 * 1841-1878 Adair County Marriage Book 1 Index 1841-1878. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1871-1884 Adair County Marriage Books 2 thru 4 Index 1871-1884. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1884-1885 Adair County Marriage Books 5 and 6 Index 1884-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * 1968-2022 Missouri, Death Index, 1968-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($); Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Kirksville Missouri FamilySearch Center

Libraries

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

Societies

 * Adair County Historical Society 211 South Elson Street Kirksville, MO 63501-3466 Phone: 660-665-6502 Website

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State.
 * Adair County Missouri Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Adair County MO, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * 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
 * Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * Missouri Genealogy. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)