Cole County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1821; Probate Judge has probate records from 1821; Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records from 1821.

Parent County
1820 Cole County was created 16 November 1820 from Cooper County. County seat: Jefferson City

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.

Neighboring Counties
Moniteau County • Miller County •  Maries County •  Osage County •  Callaway County •  Boon County

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



To see a list of places in Cole County, click on [Show], in the bar above.

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

Biographies

 * All of the family biographies from the History of Cole County, (1889) by Goodspeed Publishing Company are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.

Cemeteries

 * The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has burial records for Jefferson City and other Cemeteries around the country.
 * Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City National Cemetery, 1861-2010 at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Census

 * 1732-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Church
Lutheran


 * St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lohman, records in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Court

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage counties, Missouri : from the earliest time to the present, including a department devoted to the preservation of sundry personal, business, professional and private records, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, etc., etc. Chicago : Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1889.
 * Online at Family Search (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Maps of townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Digital Library has digital copies of county plat books (ca. 1930) for all counties including Cole County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Cole 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 Cole 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 Cole County, 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 Jefferson City newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on Cole County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties. Chronicling America a list of 1836 to 1922 Cole County newspapers with their descriptions and where they are held The State Historical Society of Missouri digitized newspapers from Cole County - you must sort by Cole County


 * Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Daily Capital News (Jefferson City, Missouri) at Ancestry.com ($)
 * News and Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) at Ancestry.com ($)

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 - 1874 Cole County 1865-1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883 Cole County 1883. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883 - 1906 Cole County, Missouri Births, 1883-1906 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1885 Cole County 1885. 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$
 * 1821 - 1851 Cole County, Missouri Marriages: 1821-51 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1821 - 1865 Cole County A and B Index 1821-1865. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1881 - 1885 Cole County 1 and 2 Index 1881-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Deaths

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1871 - 1899 Cole County, Missouri Obituaries, 1871-99 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1883 - 1906 Cole County Death Index 1883-1906. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883 - 1906 Cole County, Missouri Deaths, 1883-1906 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1924 - 1930 Cole County, Missouri Deaths, 1924-1930 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * State provides on-line access to 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


 * Cole County Historical Society 109 Madison Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Phone: 573-635-1850 Website

Family History Centers



 * Jefferson City Missouri Family History Center 4618 Henwick Ln, Jefferson, City MO 65109-0108 United States Location Map