Lawrence County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Lawrence 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 and land records from 1846; Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1846; Probate Judge has probate records from 1846.

Parent County
1845 Lawrence County was created 14 February 1845 from Barry and Dade Counties. County seat: Mount Vernon

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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 •  Christian  •  Dade  •  Greene  •  Jasper  •  Newton  •  Stone

Biographies

 * Family Biographies from The History of Lawrence County, Missouri (1889) 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

Catholic
Sacred Heart, Verona


 * 1874 - 1876 Sacred Heart, Verona, Baptism Index 1874-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * Biographies from The History of Lawrence County, Missouri (1889) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Maps



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


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Lawrence County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Lawrence County with numerous small settlements (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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, Missouri:

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 Lawrence 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 $
 * 1827 - 1876 Lawrence County Birth Index, Volumes A thru D, 1827-1876. 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 $
 * 1845 - 1868 Lawrence County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1845-1868. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1869 - 1885 Lawrence County Marriage Books C and D Index 1869-1881. Batches and  at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

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

Libraries
Barry-Lawrence Regional Library - This library houses the genealogical book collection of the County Historical Society Walter C. McCanse Library, at Mt. Vernon, MO

Mt. Vernon Branch Library 206 W. Water Street - Mt. Vernon, MO 65712 Phone: 417-466-2921 Fax: 417-466-2936 E-Mail: mtvernon@blrlibrary.org Website

Historical Society
Lawrence County Historical Society P.O. Box 406 Mount Vernon, MO 65712 Phone: 417-466-2422 Website FaceBook

Family History Centers
Aurora Missouri Family History Center 16922 Hwy 39, Aurora, MO 65606 United States Location Map