McDonald County, Missouri Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Sergeant Alexander McDonald, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
McDonald County Courthouse Hwy W Pinneville, MO 64856-0665 Phone: 417-223-4717 McDonald County Website Recorder of Deeds has marriage records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records. Probate Judge has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in McDonald 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

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

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census Records

 * 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Newton, Lawrence, Barry and McDonald Counties, Missouri. 1888. Chicago, The Goodspeed Pub. Co. Available online at FamilySearch
 * Illustrated History of McDonald County, Missouri. By J. A. Sturges. 1897. Pineville, Mo. : Sturges. Available online at FamilySearch, Internet Archives
 * McDonald County, Missouri, 1849-1949. By Joe Taylor. 1949. Noel Mo. : McDonald County Centennial Committee. Available online at FamilySearch

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of McDonald County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including McDonald County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Historic maps of McDonald County, Missouri 1861 to 1904, free access on My Genealogy Hound.
 * Standard Atlas of McDonald County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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 McDonald 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 McDonald County, Missouri:
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company E
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company F
 * - 16th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company G
 * - 16th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company H

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

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Joplin newspapers and Neosho newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on residents from McDonald County communities.

Obituaries

 * 1899-2008 Web: McDonald County, Missouri, Obituary Index, 1899-2008 at Ancestry ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1750-1988  at FamilySearch — images
 * 1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

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

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1853-1860 McDonald County Birth Index 1853-1860. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1883-1887 McDonald County Birth Index 1883-1887. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1920-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Birth Index at Archive.org - images of index

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 ($)
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1865-1885 McDonald County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1865-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * Marriage records, McDonald County, Missouri at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Societies

 * McDonald County Genealogy Society McDonald County Library 808 Bailey Road Pineville, MO 64856 Phone: 417-223-4489 Website
 * McDonald County Historical Society P. O. Box 572 Pineville, MO 64856 Phone: 417-223-7700 Website

Websites

 * McDonald County MOGenWeb
 * 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 ($)