Caldwell County, Missouri Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for John Caldwell. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Caldwell County Courthouse 49 E Main Street PO Box 67 Kingston, MO 64650-0067 Phone: 816-586-2571 Caldwell County Website Recorder Office has marriage and land records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce records. Circuit Court, division 2, has probate records. Circuit Court, division 1, has court records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Caldwell 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

 * Caldwell County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. 6 at Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries
 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather, comp.. Cemetery Records of Breckenridge, Caldwell County, Missouri. Chillicothe, MO, USA: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, c1965. Index available online at Ancestry. ($)


 * Brown Cemetery is a small old, but well kept cemetery in Kingston Township which is located about two miles south and 1 3/4 mile west of Kingston, Missouri. (The turn to head west had us on an unpaved road for awhile.)


 * Cox Cemetery is also known as Spring Valley Cemetery.It is located 3 miles north of Kingston to U Highway, 5 1/2 east to New York School (along this road you will pass Pleasant Ridge Cemetery and maybe even Pleasant Ridge Road), then south 2 1/4 miles, then turn right onto Pleasant Ridge (which is just before you would cross the railroad track). (Prior to your right turn onto Pleasant Ridge, if you look carefully through the trees on the right there is a small white sign with red letters saying "Cox Cemetery" and an arrow pointing to go right.) Then go about 1 mile. The cemetery will be on your right. 39 degrees 29 minutes 17 North 93 degrees 56 minutes 3 West. It is kept mowed.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist
 * Primitive Baptist Church and Family History Research Assistance for Caldwell County, Missouri. Primitive Baptist Library of Carthage, Illinois..  First link is to article is about the Primitive Baptist Log Creek Church in Caldwell County, Missiouri. Includes member surnames. Second link is to library's home page.

Court Records
The Caldwell County Courthouse is located at 49 E. Main St., Kingston, Missouri. They have an bound volume containing an index to estate packets, and the staff will get individual estate packets for you to look at, after you locate the estate packet number in the index. They charge $1.00 for copies, but will let you use your flash-off digital camera. The index and associated estate packets are NOT on microfilm at the FHL. Found original tombstone orders complete with what was to be inscribed on the tombstone in the estate packet we looked at that was for an individual who died in 1858. Also original tax receipts and original newspaper clippings of public notice in these estate packets.


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

Directories

 * Directory tax-payers Caldwell County. McGlumphy, William Harvey Sheridan. Kingston, Missouri : [s.n.], 1906. Available online at FamilySearch. Contains some short biographical sketches.

Local Histories

 * History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri. 1886. St. Louis, Missouri: National Historical Company. 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
 * A short history of Caldwell County. 1936. Bertha Ellis Booth. n.p.: Hamilton Public Schools. Online at: FamilySearch
 * State of Missouri: an autobiography. 1904. By Walter Williams. Columbia, Mo: Press of E. W. Stephens. Online at: Missouri Digital History

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri. By Bullock, W. P. Caldwell, Missouri : Caldwell County Historical Society (Missouri), 1983. Available online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri 1917. Caldwell County Historical Society (Caldwell, Missouri). Available online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Caldwell 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 Caldwell County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * An illustrated historical atlas of Caldwell County, Mo. at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- 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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County, Missouri:

Union Units
 * - 6th Regiment, Missouri State Militia Cavalry (Union) - Regimental roster - 33rd Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia (Union), Companies E, F, and G - Regimental roster - 44th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Companies C, F, and H - Regimental roster - Caldwell County, Missouri Home Guard (Union), - Regimental roster
 * - 4th Provisional Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia (Union), Company B

Confederate Units
 * - Hughes' Regiment, Missouri State Guard - Confederate, Company D, first known as the Caldwell Minute Men, then the Caldwell Light Infantry Company
 * - 12th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry (Union), Company E
 * - 2nd Battalion, Enrolled Missouri Millitia, 6 months (Union), Company B
 * - 44th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company C
 * - 44th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company F
 * - 44th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company H
 * - 6th Regiment, Missouri State Militia Cavalry (Union), Company B
 * - 6th Regiment, Missouri State Militia Cavalry (Union), Company C


 * Vilmer, J. D., comp. The Civil War and Caldwell County, 1861-1865. (s.l.: Caldwell County Historical Society, c2011).

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

 * Archives of The Chillicothe Constitution Tribune (1889-2009) provides free access to their newspapers online. Their newspapers covered local news that included residents from Caldwell County communities.

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.

Tax Records

 * Directory tax-payers Caldwell County. McGlumphy, William Harvey Sheridan. Kingston, Missouri : [s.n.], 1906. Available online at FamilySearch. Contains some short biographical sketches.

Birth

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1868 Record of Births, (Caldwell County, Missouri), 1817-1868 FHL US/CAN Film 2438664 Item 1. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2009.) Microfilm of original records at the Caldwell County Courthouse in Kingston, Missouri.
 * 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 $
 * 1885-1886 Births & Stillbirths - 1885/6 USGenWeb Caldwell county, Missouri.
 * 1920-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Birth Index at Archive.org - images of index

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 $
 * 1845-1871 Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather, compiler. Marriage records of Caldwell County, Missouri, 1845-1871. FHL US/CAN Book 977.8185 V25e. Searchable on Ancestry.com.
 * 1845-1871 Caldwell County, Missouri Marriages, 1845-71 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1845-1872 Index to Marriage Records, Book A, 1845-1872 USGenWeb Caldwell county, Missouri.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
 * Caldwell County Missouri Marriage Records
 * 1860-1885 Caldwell County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1860-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1860-1974  Caldwell County Marriage Records at FamilySearch
 * 1872-1881 Marriage Records, Book B, 1872-1881, USGenWeb
 * 1896- 1897 Marriage Records, Book F, 1896-1897, USGenWeb
 * 1905-1907 Marriage Records, 1905-1907, USGenWeb
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * Marriage records of Caldwell County, Missouri at Ancestry — index $

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch.org — index - How to Use this Collection
 * Caldwell County, Missouri Mortality Records of 1850 &amp; 1860USGenWeb Caldwell county, Missouri.
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1968-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Family History Centers

 * Cameron Missouri Family History Center

Libraries

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

Societies
Caldwell County Historical Society, Inc. 89 West Main P.O. Box 32 Kingston, MO 64650 Website
 * Holdings:
 * Caldwell County historical records
 * Historical artifacts
 * 1831–1838 mid 19th century cabin room
 * Pre-1860 original home (museum)

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * 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 ($)