Missouri Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Missouri

What Is in This Collection?
This is an electronic index for the years 1827 to 1935. It is not complete for any particular place, region or time period. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Birth and christening index entries usually include:
 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Christening date (if the source is a church record)

Birth and christening index entries sometimes include:
 * Father's birthplace
 * Mother's birthplace

Coverage Table
A coverage table for this collection is available in the wiki article Missouri Births and Christenings, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)

For details about the contents of these records and help using them see the wiki article Births and Christenings Vital Record Index Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records).

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or date of the event

Search the Index
Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page then:
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes with the information you know.
 * 2) Click Search. This will provide possible a list of matches.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

Remember to:
 * Whenever possible, look at the original record. If often has more information than the indexed record.
 * Print or download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed.
 * In case you need to find this record again later, copy the citation found on each record or image. Familysearch wiki has a Example Research Log that you can download and use for this purpose.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as marriage, census, church, land and death records.
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records.
 * Use the information to establish a migration pattern and find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Missouri, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Missouri Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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