Perry County, Missouri Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Oliver Hazard Perry. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Perry County Courthouse 321 N Main Street Perryville, MO 63775 Phone: 573-547-4242 Perry County Website Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce, land, probate and court records. County Recorder has marriage and military records. County Clerk has birth and death records 1883-1893, and naturalization records from 1821.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Perry 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:

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census Records

 * 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

 * Centennial history of Perry County, Missouri, 1821-1921. 1921. Missouri: Missouri State Library. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * History of Missouri's Counties, County Seats, and Courthouse Squares. 1983. by Marian M. Ohman. Missouri: Missouri State Library. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * History of Southeast Missouri. Reprint of 1888 edition of Goodspeed Publishers, Chicago. Available online at Rootsweb
 * History of Southeast Missouri. 1888. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * Modern Eden! : a history of Perry County, Missouri. 1895. Perryville, Missouri: REpublican Print. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * State of Missouri: an autobiography. 1904. By Walter Williams. Columbia, Mo: Press of E. W. Stephens. Online at: Missouri Digital History

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Perry County townships (Histopolis)
 * Missouri As It Is In 1867. 1867. by Nathan II. Parker. Philadelpia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Perry County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Standard Atlas of Perry County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-1938  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Regiments

Service men in Perry 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 Perry County, Missouri:

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1941-1946  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * Missouri Digital Newspaper Project at Missouri State Historical Society

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection
 * 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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1920-2015 Missouri, Birth Index, 1920-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)

Marriage

 * 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1825-1830 Perry County Marriage Index 1825-1830. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1830-1867 Perry County Marriage Index 1830-1867. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1867-1888 Perry County Marriage Index 1867-1888. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * Marriage records, Perry County, Missouri at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * 1968-2022 Missouri, Death Index, 1968-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($); Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Museums

 * The Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum P.O. Box 53 75 Church Street Altenburg, MO 63732 Phone: 573-824-6070 Email: [mailto:info@altenburgmuseum.org info@altenburgmuseum.org] Facebook Daily 10:00am - 4:00 pm

Societies

 * Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum P.O. Box 53 Altenburg, MO 63775 Phone: 573-824-6070 Website


 * Perry County Historical Society P.O. Box 97 Perryville, MO 63775 Phone: 573-768-2470 Email: [mailto:percohistsoc@yahoo.com percohistsoc@yahoo.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * Perry County Missouri Genealogy Research. Free. Contains information for researching genealogy in Perry County MO, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * 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 ($)