Sullivan County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Recorder Deeds has incomplete birth records 1867-1895, marriage and land records from 1845, death records 1883-1896; Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1845; Probate Judge has probate records from 1845.

Parent County
1843 Sullivan County was created 17 February 1843 from Linn County. County seat: Milan

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
1908 Fire destroyed the courthouse June 26, 1908.

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
Adair •  Grundy  •  Linn  •  Macon  •  Mercer  •  Putnam

Cemeteries

 * Sullivan County, Missouri Cemetery Records, Volumes 1-5 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Catholic
Milan


 * 1870 - 1872 Milan Catholic Church Baptism Index 1870-1872. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam and Schuyler counties, Missouri : from the earliest time to the present. Chicago, Illinois : Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1888.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Shepler, John N. The Milan standard souvenir edition. Milan, Mo. : [Milan Standard], 1895.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

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


 * 1795 - The area now known as Sullivan County was claimed by the Missouris.
 * 1836 - The first white settlers came to the county.
 * 1842 - Settlements now existed along all the streams of the northern part of the County. These settlements were grouped according to the localities of the immigrants.
 * 1845 February 14 - Sullivan County was founded.
 * 1845 May 6 - Sullivan County was divided into townships.
 * 1849 - The Chariton Land Disrtrict was established.

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Interactive map of Sullivan County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Sullivan County.

Military

 * 1900 - 1941 at FamilySearch — images

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index

Regiments

Service men in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County, Missouri:

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1750 - 1988 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1766 - 1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1849 - 1880 Sullivan County, Missouri Wills, 1849-1880 at Ancestry.com ($)

Births

 * 1827 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1851 - 1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1885 Sullivan County Birth Index 1867-1884. Batches, , and 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 $
 * 1845 - 1881 - Sullivan County Marriage Index 1845-1881. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1881 - 1885 Sullivan County Marriage Index 1881-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriage records of Sullivan County, Missouri at Ancestry.com $

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1883 - Sullivan County Death Index 1883. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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

Historical Society

 * Sullivan County Historical Society 117 North Water Street Milan, MO 63556-1023