Adair County, Missouri Genealogy

''This article is about a northeast Missouri county. For other uses, see Adair.''

United States Missouri  Adair County

Guide to Adair County Missouri genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Recorder has marriage and land records from 1840: Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records; Probate Clerk has probate records; County Clerk has school enumeration records

Parent County
1841--Adair County was created 29 January 1841 from Macon County. County seat: Kirksville

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Adair County border changes at N2Genealogy.

Places/Localities

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Knox
 * Linn
 * Macon
 * Putnam
 * Schuyler
 * Scotland
 * Sullivan

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Missouri Digital Heritage,


 * The area now known as Adair County was first settled in pre-historic times.
 * 1804 November 3 - The Treaty of St. Louis, between the USA and the Sacs and Foxes, stipulated that goods and cash be paid to the Sacs and Foxes.
 * 1825 - The Big Neck War was fought.
 * 1828 - The first white settlement in Adair County.
 * 1838-40 - Survey of Public Lands of Adair County was completed.
 * 1840 - Both settlers and speculators began a rush to the land office.
 * 1841 January 29 - Adair County was founded.
 * 1850 - Immigrants started coming to Adair County in large numbers.

Maps

 * Interactive map of Adair County townships (Histopolis)


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Adair County.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War Battle was fought in Adair County


 * August 6-9, 1862 = Kirksville

Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri

Newspapers
The Adair County Historical Society has created an obituary and death noticecollection on its website. They have been extrated from the Kirksville Daily Express and cover from March, 1979 through December 31, 2010. There are some additional obituaries taken from the Unionville Republican which are earlier than the listed dates above.

Births

 * 1866-1867 - Adair County Birth Index, Volume 1, 1866-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1841-1878 - Adair County Marriage Book 1 Index 1841-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871-1884 - Adair County Marriage Books 2 thru 4 Index 1871-1884. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1884-1885 - Adair County Marriage Books 5 and 6 Index 1884-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Kirksville Missouri Family History Center

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.