Jefferson County, Missouri Genealogy

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



County history, school records, marriage, birth and death records, churches, adoptions, passports, photos, military, court records, family histories can be found (free) at Jefferson County Heritage and Historical Society


 * History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford &amp; Gasconade Counties, Missouri: from the earliest time to the present: t at Ancestry.com ($)

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
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.
 * 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 Heritage & Historical Society)
 * Cemeteries of Jefferson County (in depth articles, Jefferson County Heritage & Historical Society)
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Cemetery Inscription Sources (Genealogy in St. Louis)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

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.


 * Jefferson County 1876 map (Historic MapWorks)
 * 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

 * 1900 - 1941 at FamilySearch — images
 * 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)
 * Jefferson County WWII Enlistments (Moose Roots - info provided by National Archives)
 * Jefferson County WWII Army and Air Force Casualties (Rootsweb)
 * 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.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * at FamilySearch — images

Regiments

Service men in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, Missouri:
 * - 31st Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company A
 * - 35th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company K
 * - 6th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company B

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 at FamilySearch — index

Miscellaneous

 * Deceased Physicians (Jefferson County 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)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

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 (Charlotte's Corner)
 * Jefferson County Obituaries (Newspaper Obituaries)
 * Jefferson Democrat, 1870-1888 transcriptions (Charlotte's Corner)
 * Jefferson Leader, 1866-1868 transcriptions (Charlotte's Corner)
 * Jefferson Watchman, 1883-1884 transcriptions (Charlotte's Corner)
 * Various 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)

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

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

 * 1827 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1842 - 1861 Jefferson County Birth Index 1842-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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 $
 * 1826 - 1878 Jefferson County Marriage Index 1826-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1849 - 1885 Jefferson County Marriage Index 1849-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 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

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 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 &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Arnold Historical Society
 * The De Soto Historical Society
 * De Soto Public Library
 * Jefferson County History Center
 * Jefferson County Library
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Historical Society
 * Jefferson County Genealogical Society
 * Museum (De Soto Historical Society)
 * Herculaneum Historical Society
 * Kimmswick Historical Society Museum
 * Jefferson County, Missouri Genweb

Family History Centers

 * St Louis Missouri South Family History Center