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
1851 Vernon County was created 17 February 1851 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 Fire destroyed the courthouse and clerk’s office. County Court records are missing from 1861-1865.

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

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
 * 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