Vernon County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records 1883-1904; Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records; Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records; Probate Court has probate records.

Parent County
1855 Vernon County was created 27 February 1855 from Bates County. County seat: Nevada

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
1863 Although there was a courthouse fire in 1863, Vernon Co did not suffer any historic record loss. County government was shut down during the Civil War. The county clerk took the courthouse key and went to war. In mid-1862 he came back into Vernon Co and secreted the records away and sent them south into Arkansas for safekeeping, just 10 months before Nevada was burned. The records ended up in Fort Scott, KS and were returned to Vernon County following the war, only one index book having fallen from the wagon. The last term of Vernon County court before the Civil War was held June 6, 1861; and the next term of the county court was held Oct 17, 1865.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog




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

Neighboring Counties
Barton •  Bates  •  Bourbon County, Kansas  •  Cedar  •  Crawford County, Kansas  •  Linn County, Kansas  •  St. Clair

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Where is present-day Vernon County, Missouri Found in the Federal Census? 1830: North of the Osage River: Jackson County, MO 1830: South of the Osage River: Crawford County, MO 1840: Van Buren County, MO except for the southern 1/4th of the county which was enumerated as Newton County, MO 1850: Bates County, MO 1860-present: Vernon County, MO

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Vernon County, Missouri: including a history of its townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri...biographical sketches...statistics.... St. Louis: Brown, 1887.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Johnson, J. B. History of Vernon County, Missouri: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county. Chicago, Illinois: C. F. Cooper, 1911.
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Vernon County townships (Histopolis)


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


 * Map of 1904 Vernon County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Military

 * 1900 - 1941 at FamilySearch — images

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

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War Battles were fought in Vernon County:


 * September 2, 1861 = Dry Wood Creek also known as Big Dry Wood Creek, Battle of the Mules


 * October 25, 1864 = Marmiton River also known as Shiloh Creek, Charlot’s Farm


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri.

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Probate
Vernon County Probate Index, 1855-1963 On-line. Index may be searched by surname of the deceased, the administrator or the heirs. Record copies may be ordered for a nominal sum. The index provides the following:

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 $
 * 1883 - 1897 Vernon County Birth Index 1883-1897. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

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 $
 * 1855 - 1885 - Vernon County Marriage Index 1855-1885. Batches and  at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1883 - 1897 Vernon County Death Index 1883-1897. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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


 * Vernon County Historical Society 231 North Main Street Nevada, MO 64772 Phone: 417-667-9602

Family History Centers



 * Nevada Missouri Family History Center 1101 N Olive St, Nevada, MO 64772-1238 United States Location Map