Clay County, Missouri Genealogy

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



Description
The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852). The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 1 Courthouse Square Liberty, MO 64086 Phone: 816-792-7637 Clay County Website Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1822. Probate Court has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Clay County, MO, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton and Linn Counties, Missouri Index to Biographies at Ancestry ($)
 * Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri: containing biographical sketches at Ancestry ($)

Cemeteries

 * Clay County, Missouri Cemetery Records, Volume I-II at Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Census Records
{{Historical populations }} {{MO Census Intro|Clay}}
 * type = USA
 * heading = Census
 * footnote = Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Missouri#Demographics{{Historical populations
 * type = USA
 * heading = Census
 * footnote = Source: "Wikipedia.org".
 * 1830 |1780
 * 1840 |4746
 * 1850 |7514
 * 1860 |12562
 * 1870 |19136
 * 1880 |25224
 * 1890 |26254
 * 1900 |26826
 * 1910 |23503
 * 1920 |21769
 * 1930 |19588
 * 1940 |18084
 * 1950 |14944
 * 1960 |12720
 * 1970 |11084
 * 1980 |10489
 * 1990 |9202
 * 2000 |8438
 * 2010 |7831

{{Census|Missouri}}

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Catholic St. James, Liberty


 * 1847-1873 St. James, Liberty, Baptism Index 1847-1873. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1847-1879 St. James, Liberty, Marriage Index 1847-1879. Batch  at FamilySearch.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Missouri City

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 7th Judicial Circuit Court, Clay County, Missouri

Directories

 * Kansas City, Missouri City Directories, 1889-91 at Ancestry ($)

African Americans

 * 1865-1885 Clay County Colored Marriage Index 1865-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Local Histories

 * A Civic History of Kansas City, Missouri. Available online at Ancestry ($)
 * Clay County, Missouri Centennial Souvenier, 1822-1922. By Daughters of the American Revolution. Alexander Doniphan Chapter (Liberty, Missouri). 1922. Liberty, Missouri : Liberty Tribune. Available online at FamilySearch
 * Clay County Soldiers and Sailors. By G. A. Puckett. c1919. Liberty, Mo. : Liberty Pub. Co. Available online at FamilySearch
 * History of Clay County, Missouri. By William H. Woodson. 1920. Topeka, Missouri : Historical Pub. Available online at FamilySearch
 * Kansas City, Missouri : its History and its People, 1808-1908. Available online at Ancestry ($)
 * Simon Cockrell : Early Missouri Pioneer. By W. W. (Bill) Ballew. [19--?]. S.l. : s.n. Available online at FamilySearch

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Clay County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all 114 Missouri counties including Clay County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1886 Clay County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
 * An Illustrated historical atlas of Clay County, Mo at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Clay County, Missouri for European settlers included:


 * Missouri River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * California Trail 1846 from western Missouri to northern California

Military Records

 * 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 Clay 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 Clay County, Missouri:

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


 * September 17, 1861 Liberty, also known as Blue Mills Landing, Blue Mills


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1941-1946 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Liberty Tribune, 1860-1869 and Liberty Weekly Tribune, 1846-1860 Searchable online at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Digital Collections, Index to Selected Missouri Newspapers.

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * Abstracts of wills and administrations of Clay County, Missouri at Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1855-1869 Clay County Birth Index 1855-1869. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1865-1885 Clay County Birth Index 1865-1885. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1883-1884 Clay County Birth Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch.

Marriage

 * 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — 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 $
 * 1822-1878 Clay County Marriage Books A thru D Index 1822-1878. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1852-1900 Clay County, Missouri Marriages, 1852-1900: Vol. 1-3 at Ancestry $
 * 1877-1885 Clay County Marriage Books E thru F Index 1877-1885. Batch at FamilySearch.

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1883-1884 Clay County Death Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Archives

 * Clay County Archives and Historical Library 210 E Franklin Liberty, MO 64068 Phone: 816-781-3611; Fax: 816-781-3611 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 99 Liberty, MO 64069 Email: [mailto:info@claycountyarchives.org info@claycountyarchives.org] Website

Family History Centers

 * Liberty Missouri Family History Center 1130 N Clayview Dr, Liberty, MO 64068-3405 United States Location Map

Libraries

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

Societies

 * Genealogical Society Of Liberty P.O. Box 99 Liberty, MO 64069
 * Smithville Historical Society Website Smithville is located in both Clay and Platte counties.

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * MOGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * USGenWeb Archives. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * . Free. - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
 * RootsWeb resources. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * StateofUS. Free. family history resources and government records
 * Missouri Genealogy. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)