Lafayette County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
County Recorder has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1821.

Parent County
1820 Lafayette County was created 16 November 1820 from Cooper County. County seat: Lexington. The county was originally named Lillard County. Its name was changed in 1825 to Lafayette County.

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
Carroll •  Jackson  •  Johnson  •  Pettis  •  Ray  •  Saline

Biographies

 * Portrait and biographical record of Lafayette and Saline Counties, Missouri : containing biographical sketches of prominent and at Ancestry.com ($)

Cemeteries

 * The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has burial records for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Higginsville, Mo and other veterans cemeteries around the country. The Confederate Home Cemetery in Higginsville, Mo is not available at this site, but records submitted by the general public are available on Find A Grave.com.
 * Photos and locations of numerous Lafayette County cemeteries (Hearthstone Legacy)
 * Lafayette County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. I at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Catholic
Immaculate Conception, Lexington


 * 1853 - 1876 Immaculate Conception, Lexington, Baptism Index 1853-1876. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853 - 1885 Immaculate Conception, Lexington, Marriage Index 1853-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories
A Portrait and biographical record of Lafayette and Saline counties, Missouri ... (1893) is available online free from Google Books. The first part of the book contains biographies of the U.S. presidents. The second part, starting on p.111, contains biographies Lafayette and Saline county residents.


 * Lafayette County, Missouri, Excerpts from the 1877 Atlas at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Young, William. Young's history of Lafayette County, Missouri. Indianapolis, Ind.: B. F. Bowen, 1910. 2 volumes; Vol. 2 online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



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


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Lafayette County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Lafayette County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Atlas of Lafayette County, Missouri, circa 1920.

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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County, Missouri:

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War Battles was fought in Lafayette County:


 * September 13-20, 1861 = Lexington I also known as Battle of the Hemp Bales


 * October 19, 1864 = Lexington II

Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri.

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that sometimes included Lafayette County residents.

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that sometimes included Lafayette County residents.

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 - 1869 Lafayette County Birth Index 1865-1869. 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 $
 * 1868 - 1885 Lafayette County Marriage Books F thru H Index 1868-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1891 - 1920 Lafayette County, Missouri Obituaries, 1891-1920 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

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

Historical Societies
Harvey J. Higgins Historical Society 2113 S. Main Street Higginsville, MO 64037 Phone: 660-584-6474

Lafayette County Historical Society 101 West Phillips Lexington, MO 64067