Cooper County, Missouri Genealogy

United States Missouri  Cooper County

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

County Court House
County Clerk has birth and death records 1883-1893 and burial records; Circuit Clerk has marriage, divorce, court and naturalization records from 1819 and land records from 1812; Associate Circuit Court has probate record from 1828

Parent County
1818--Cooper County was created 17 December 1818 from Howard County. County seat: Boonville

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

Places/Localities

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

Neighboring Counties
Boone • Howard • Moniteau • Morgan • Pettis • Saline

Catholic
St. Peter and Paul, Boonville


 * 1850-1876 - St. Peter and Paul, Boonville, Baptism Index 1850-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1851-1876 - St. Peter and Paul, Boonville, Marriage Index 1851-1857, 1867-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Local Histories
A history of Cooper County, Missouri from the first visit by white men, in February, 1804, to the fifth day of July, 1876 by Levens and Drake (1876) is available online free from Google Books.

Maps

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


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Cooper County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.


 * Map of 1904 Cooper County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War Battle was fought in Cooper County

June 17, 1861 = Boonville also known as First Battle of Boonville

Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Jefferson City newspapers and Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's covering local news that included residents from Cooper County communities.

Births

 * 1819-1867 - Cooper County Birth Index, Volumes A thru C, 1819-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1868-1872 - Cooper County Birth Index, Volume E, 1868-1872. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883-1884 - Cooper County Birth Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1819-1867 - Cooper County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1819-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1867-1883 - Cooper County Marriage Book E Index 1867-1883. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1881-1885 - Cooper County Marriage Books 1 thru 3 Index 1881-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Cooper County, Missouri: Marriages (1819-1850) & Wills (1820-1870) at Ancestry.com ($)

Deaths

 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1883-1884 - Cooper County Death Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers