Cass County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Cass 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 records 1861-1896 and court records from 1843; Recorder of Deeds has marriage, divorce and land records; Associate Division has probate records.

Parent County
1835 Cass County was created 3 March 1855 from Jackson County. County seat: Harrisonville. It was originally named Van Buren County. Its name was changed to Cass County in 1848.

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
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog




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

Neighboring Counties
Bates •  Henry  •  Jackson Johnson  •  Johnson County, Kansas  •  Miami County, Kansas

Cemeteries

 * Cass County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. 1 at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

City Directories

 * Kansas City, Missouri City Directories, 1889-91 at Ancestry.com ($)

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories
A History and directory of Cass County, Missouri containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc. by A.L. Weber (1908) is available online free from Google Books.


 * Kansas City, Missouri : its history and its people, 1808-1908 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * A civic history of Kansas City, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)
 * The History of Cass and Bates counties, Missouri : containing a history of these counties, their cities, towns; biographical sketches of their citizens, general and local statistics, history of Missouri. St. Joseph, Mo. : National Historical Co., 1883.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather. History and directory of Cass County, Missouri : containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc... Harrisonville, Mo. : Cass County Leader, 1908.
 * Online at Family Search (Free)
 * Glenn, Allen. History of Cass County, Missouri. Topeka, Kansas : Historical Pub. Co., 1917.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.


 * Map of Cass County townships (Histopolis)


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


 * Map of 1904 Cass 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

Regiments

Service men in Cass 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 Cass County, Missouri:
 * - 12th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company K
 * - 1st Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company E
 * - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company A
 * - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company C
 * - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company D
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company A
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company B
 * - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company C
 * - 1st Battery, Missouri Light Artillery - Confederate, Also known as Henry Guibor's Light artillery Battery
 * - 14th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company D

World War II

 * 1941-1946 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Probate
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 $
 * 1865 - 1867 Cass County Birth Index 1865-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1750 - 1920 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1805 - 2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry.com $
 * 1835 - 1882 Cass County Marriage Books A thru E Index 1835-1882. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1881 - 1885 Cass County Marriage Books 1 and 2 Index 1881-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * The marriage records of Cass (Van Buren) County, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1870 - 2011 Web: Cass County, Missouri, Obituary Index, 1870-2011 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries

 * Cass County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 406 400 E. Mechanic Street Harrisonville, MO 64701 Phone: 816-380-4396


 * Cass County Historical Society P.O. Box 406 400 E Mechanic Street Harrisonville, MO 64701-0406 Phone: 816-887-2393 Facebook


 * Cass County Family History Guild Pearson Hall 400 E. Mechanic Street Harrisonville, MO 64701 Phone: 816-773-8464


 * List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies