Missouri Colonial Records

Online Records

 * 1732-1818- Illinois Country, Missouri area, census- images only.
 * 1761-1864- Missouri, Ste. Genevieve County, miscellaneous records- images only.
 * 1766-1993- Church records. Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France. Some are digitized and some are only available on microfilm.
 * 1777-1969- Land records. Missouri Digital Heritage- index only.
 * Miscellaneous records relating to Missouri lands, 1700's, 1800's, 1900's- images and some indexes.

History
French lead miners started a settlement in Missouri in 1735. Although French settlers stayed in the area, in 1763, France ceded the area to Spain, who in 1800 ceded it back to France. Missouri was sold to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Ecclesiastical Records
Catholic Church
 * Catholic Baptisms, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1765-1840 (Saint Louis: Saint Louis Genealogical Society, 1982). In print and on microfilm.
 * History of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis: In Its Various Stages of Development from A.D. 1673 to 1928 by John Ernest Rothensteiner. 2 Vols. (Saint Louis: Blackwell Wielandy, 1928) Vol. 1, Vol. 2.

Civil Records

 * French and Spanish Archives, 1766-1816 by Saint Louis Archival Library. (Saint Louis: City of Saint Louis, 1962). Digitized but not indexed.
 * Record Books, 1795-1808; Index to French and Spanish Land Grants, 1795-1812 by Louisiana Territory, Recorder of Land Titles. (Jefferson City: State of Missouri, 1970, film 0984777).
 * The Spanish Regime in Missouri: A Collection of Papers and Documents Relating to upper Louisiana Principally Within the Present Limits of Missouri During the Dominion of Spain, from the Archives of the Indies at Seville by Louis Huck. (1909. Reprint. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1990). Vol. 1, Vol. 2.
 * From Arpents to Acres: French and Spanish Land Grants at the Missouri State Archives by Grace Lee. (Jefferson City: Secretary of State, Roy D. Blunt, 1992).
 * Index to French and Spanish Land Grants, Recorded in Registers of Land Titles in Missouri by Betty H. Williams. (Warrensburg, MO: The Author, 1977).

Additional Readings
Annals of St. Louis in Its Early Days under the French and Spanish Domination by Frederic L. Billon. (1886. Reprint. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1997). Digitized.
 * A List of Manuscript Collections in the Archives of the Missouri Historical Society by Beverly D. Bishop. (Saint Louis: Missouri Historical Society, 1982).
 * Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: A Compendium of history and Biography for Ready Reference by Howard Louis Conard. 6 Vols. (New York: Southern History Co., 1901). Digitized.
 * The Genesis of Missouri: From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood by William E. Foley. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1986).
 * Settlement Patterns in Missouri, a Study of Population Origins, with a Wall Map by Russell L. Gerlach. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1986).
 * Guide to the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection by Western Historical Manuscripts Collection. (Columbia: University of Missouri, 1957).