St. Charles County, Missouri Genealogy

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

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

History
St. Charles County predates the state of Missouri which was admitted to the union in 1821. St. Charles was one of the five original districts of the Louisiana Territory from 1805-1812 and one of the five original counties of the Missouri Territory from 1812 to 1821.

Parent County
1812 St. Charles County was created 1 October 1812 as an original county. County seat: St. Charles.

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

 * The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties.

Neighboring Counties
Calhoun County, Illinois •  Franklin  •  Jersey County, Illinois  •  Lincoln  •  Madison County, Illinois  •  St. Louis  •  Warren

Biographies

 * Portrait and biographical record of St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren Counties, Missouri : containing portraits and biographical at Ancestry.com ($)

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Church
The St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church was established in St. Charles in 1791. As the population grew, additional parishes flourished in the county. Extractions of the early records are available, and provide information on baptisms, marriages and deaths. An influx of German immigrants led to the establishment of Evangelical and Lutheran churches. Records of these churches have been extracted and are available for research.

Evangelical
Femme Osage Evangelical Church


 * 1836 - 1891 Femme Osage Evangelical Church Baptism Index 1836-1891. Batches  and  at FamilySearch - free.

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

A Court of Common Pleas was established in 1805. It was later replaced by a Circuit Court. Court case files from 1805 to 1845 have been indexed and microfilmed by the Missouri State Archives. Additional case files are still being processed.

Land
The land encompassed by St. Charles County was ruled by the French and then the Spanish prior to the Louisiana Purchase. Spanish land grants were given to many settlers migrating from territory of the U. S. One of the famous early settlers was Daniel Boone, who came with over 100 families in the late 18th century.

Local Histories
A history of St. Charles, Warren and Montgomery counties was published in 1885. It includes biographical information of many of the prominent citizens of that time.


 * Holmes, J. C. Early history of St. Charles and St. Charles County. St. Charles : Banner-News, 1912.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of St. Charles County townships (Histopolis)


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

An 1875 plat map and atlas shows owners of each plat, has some biographical and historical information. There is also a 1905 plat map and atlas. The originals have been scanned by the historical society, and saved in PDF format. See their website for purchase information.

Military

 * 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 St. Charles 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 St. Charles County:

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Probate
Original probate court records, probate files, and will books of the 19th century are held by the St. Charles County Historical Society. Probate files have been microfilmed by State Archives.

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

Births

 * 1827 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1851 - 1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $

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 $
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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
The St. Charles County Historical Society has an extensive collection of materials relevant to family history. It is the repository of 19th century will books, probate records, naturalization records, and court records. It also houses many compiled genealogies, and indexes to many church records and cemeteries of the county.
 * St. Charles County Historical Society 101 South Main Street St. Charles, MO 63301 Phone: 636-946-9828 Website

Libraries
The St. Charles City-County Library has local history and genealogy special collection resources.