Missouri, Callaway County Tax Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of images of Callaway County tax records from the collections at the Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City, Missouri. Governments created tax records that vary in content according to the purpose of the assessment. Most are based on personal property, real estate, and income. Taxes were collected to raise money for a variety of purposes. The tax assessments were made to determine how much money each property owner must pay. Tax records are usually reliable as they are kept by the county clerk who recorded the event at or very near the time it occurred.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The records usually include:


 * Name of owner
 * Assessment number
 * Original grantee
 * Number of acres of land
 * Value
 * Town plot description
 * Name of city or town
 * Kind, number, and value of livestock
 * Kind, quantity, and value of farm commodities
 * Amount of state taxes
 * Amount of county taxes

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The place of residence

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Tax assessments identify the name and residence of the taxpayer. This information can help you locate land records and census records.
 * The description of the real estate, number of acres owned, types of buildings, identifiable personal property, and the farm animals can help you determine an occupation: someone living at a church is probably a minister; someone with several acres of land or many farm animals is probably a farmer; someone living on the same property as the school may be a teacher; someone living above or behind a store is probably a merchant. Occupations can lead you to other types of records such as employment, school, or church records.
 * Following an ancestor through the assessment rolls can help you establish a family migration pattern or identify the year an individual moved into an area or left the area.
 * The assessment rolls can also indicate that an individual died. Use the last known tax year as an approximate death year. Use the death year and residence to locate death or probate records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Missouri, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Missouri Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Missouri.
 * Missouri Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing this Collectionn
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.