Jefferson County, Missouri Genealogy

United States Missouri  Jefferson County

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

County Courthouse
Recorder Deeds has marriage and land records; Probate Court has probate records; Clerk Circuit Court has court records

History
Jefferson County, Missouri was organized 8 December 1818. This became effective 1 January 1819. The county was named after Thomas Jefferson.



Parent County
1818--Jefferson County was created 8 December 1818 from Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis Counties. County seat: Hillsboro

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.
 * Moser's Directory of Towns, Villages and Hamlets Past and Present of Missouri provides similar information on places in Jefferson County.

Neighboring Counties
Franklin • Monroe County, Illinois • St. Francois • Ste. Genevieve • St. Louis • Washington •

Biographies

 * Family Biographies from The History of Jefferson County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Cemeteries
A number of residents of Valle Township, Jefferson County, Missouri were buried across Big River in Masonic Cemetery in Washington County, near Blackwell.


 * Cemeteries in Jefferson County, Missouri (transcriptions, Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Cemeteries of Jefferson County (articles, Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Jefferson County (Tombstone Transcription Project)
 * Jefferson County Cemetery Records (Interment. net)
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Cemetery Inscription Sources (Genealogy in St. Louis)

Census

 * 1830 census, images (RootsWeb)
 * 1830 census index, surnames A-E (RootsWeb)
 * 1830 census index, surnames F-K (RootsWeb)
 * 1830 census index, surnames L-R (RootsWeb)
 * 1830 census index, surnames S-Z (RootsWeb)
 * 1840 census, images (RootsWeb)
 * 1850 census, images (RootsWeb)
 * 1850 census agricultural schedule (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * 1860 census agricultural schedule (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * 1870 census agricultural schedule (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Links to Online Census Records (Census Online)

Church

 * Church Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Court

 * Court Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Land

 * Land Patents: 1831-1969 (State Archives)
 * Land Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Local Histories

 * Articles: Items of History (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Boyer, Mary Joan, Jefferson County, Missouri in Story and Pictures. Festus, Missouri: Tri-City Independent, 1956.
 * Douglass, Robert Sidney, History of Southeast Missouri. New York:  Lewis Publishing Compasny, 1912.
 * Family Histories (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Biographies from The History of Jefferson County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
 * History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford, and Gasconade Counties, Missouri. Chicago:  The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888.  Reprint, Greenville, South Carolina:  Southern Historical Press, 2001.  (Jefferson County portion, GenWeb)
 * Jefferson County, Missouri History Books (indexes) (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Rutledge, Zoe Booth, Our Jefferson County Heritage (index only; Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Whipple, Etta, History of Jefferson Co. Baptists 1798-1949 (index only; Jefferson County Historical Society)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.


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


 * 1876 map (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * 1876 township map (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * Map of 1904 Jefferson County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Historical townships of Jefferson County (RootsWeb)
 * Modern day townships of Jefferson County (Histopolis)
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Township and Range Survey Maps (RootsWeb)


 * Post Offices of Jefferson County, Missouri in 1876 and 1898 (RootsWeb)

Military

 * Military Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Union Provost Marshal's File of Papers Relating to Two or More Civilians (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * Union Provost Marshal's File of Persons Exempt from Serving in the Civil War (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * World War II Honor List, Dead and Missing Personnel, Jefferson County (National Archives)
 * Fold3.com ($) has Civil War and other military records available online. Some libraries including Jefferson County Library and the St. Louis County Library provide free access to this database.

Miscellaneous

 * Deceased Physicians (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Duffner's Dairy and the People's Dairy (De Soto Historical Society)
 * Historical Postcards and Photos (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Old Settlers' Association of Jefferson County, Missouri, Records, 1864-1951 (Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis)
 * Passports - Early 1900s (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Railroad Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Newspapers
Historic newspapers from 1869 to 1952 are housed at the Jefferson County History Center at Jefferson College. The Center is located in the Jefferson College Library and is open by appointment.


 * De Soto Weekly Facts, 1895-1899 transcriptions
 * Jefferson County Newspaper Indexes Now Online (article in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter)
 * Jefferson County Obituaries (Newspaper Obituaries)
 * Jefferson Democrat, 1870-1888 transcriptions
 * Jefferson Leader, 1866-1868 transcriptions (Charlotte's Corner)
 * Jefferson Watchman, 1883-1884 transcriptions (Charlotte's Corner)
 * JOIN-N Jefferson County Obituaries (Jefferson County Online)
 * Newspaper Transcriptions (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Probate
The Jefferson County History Center, located in the Jefferson College Library and open by appointment, contains probate files dating from the 1820s.


 * Probate File Index (Jefferson County History Center)
 * Wills &amp; Probate Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Schools

 * Schools (Jefferson County Historical Society)

Taxation
Real estate and personal property tax records from the 19th through the mid-20th centuries are located at the Jefferson County History Center in the Jefferson College Library. The Center is open by appointment.


 * 1862 Real Estate and Personal Property Tax (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)
 * 1894-1901 Back Taxes for Real Estate; Personal Property (Jefferson County Genealogical Society)

Vital Records

 * Vital Record Resources and Transcriptions (Jefferson County, Missouri GenWeb)

Births

 * 1842-1861 - Jefferson County Birth Index 1842-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1826-1878 - Jefferson County Marriage Index 1826-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1849-1885 - Jefferson County Marriage Index 1849-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871-1885 - Jefferson County Marriage Index 1871-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriage Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Brian Oster Missouri Marriage Records Site (local area marriage records)

Deaths

 * 1883-1892 - Jefferson County Death Index 1883-1892. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Funeral Home Records (Jefferson County Historical Society)
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries
Many of the older county records have been moved from the Jefferson County Courthouse to the Jefferson County History Center at Jefferson College. Old newspapers which were once housed at Roop Printing in De Soto have also been moved to the Jefferson County History Center. The De Soto Public Library has a large collection of vintage photographs of De Soto landmarks and businesses.


 * List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies
 * Arnold Historical Society
 * The De Soto Historical Society
 * De Soto Public Library
 * Herculaneum Historical Society
 * Historic Tanglefoot Association
 * Jefferson County History Center
 * Jefferson County Library
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Historical Society
 * Kimmswick Historical Society Museum
 * Museum (De Soto Historical Society)

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * St Louis Missouri South Family History Center