Putnam County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Putnam 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 Israel Putnam. The County is located in the north center area of the state.

County Courthouse
Putnam County Courthouse Main Street, #204 Unionville, MO 63565 Phone: 660-947-2674 Putnam County Website Clerk of the Circuit Court has birth records 1878-1903, marriage records from 1854, divorce and court records from 1855, land records from 1848. Probate Judge has probate records from 1848. For additional details:Putnam County Courthouse (GenWeb)

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Putnam 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:

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Missouri Digital Heritage,


 * 1836 March - The first white settler came to what is now Putnam County.
 * 1843 - The area that included what would later become Putnam County was surveyed and old boundary lines were readjusted.
 * 1845 February 28 - Putnam County is organized.
 * 1877 June 26 - A Temperance and Reform Society was organized.

The area that eventually became Putnam County, Missouri was a part of Chariton County when Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821. Later, this area was a part of Sullivan County. Putnam County was formed from Sullivan County 28 Feb 1845, according to Walter Williams' 1913 history titled A History of Northeast Missouri, but from parts of both Adair and Sullivan Counties according to Wikipedia.

Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri (1874) also notes that "the Indians left in the summer of 1845." Then, from about 1845 to 1855, "a large number of families, many of them from Kentucky, located in the rich prairie lands and many fine farms were made."

Earlier settlers, prior to the formation of the county in 1845, are also noted by Campbell in his 1874 gazetteer: "Among the early settlers were James Cochran and Isaac and Clifford L. Summers, who located near the present site of Omaha; Isaac and Jesse Gilstrap, John F., W. G. and Miles Crabtree, and Joseph, Joshua, John and Henry Guffey, who settled on Goshen Ridge, which extends from north-west of Hartford to south-east of Martinstown; James M. Brasfield, who lived near Pleasant Home, besides the families of McCollom, Marshall, Mullinix and Martin." Campbell states that all of these individuals and families arrived prior to 1844.

The original county seat of Putnam County was Putnamville, located in the northeastern part of the county. The county seat moved to Winchester 6 Jan 1849. Sometime around 1853 this was again moved, this time to Harmony. The name of Harmony was changed "a few years later," according to Campbell's 1874 Missouri gazetteer, to Unionville.

Originally, the county was divided into the following townships: Cochran, Elm, Grogan, Locust, and Richland.

The first county court was held 28 Apr 1845 in the home of James Cochran.

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Census Records

 * 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places


 * Putnam County Churches (GenWeb)

Catholic Unionville


 * 1870-1873 Unionville Catholic Church Baptism Index 1870-1873. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Genealogies

 * Putnam County Family Group Sheets (GenWeb)
 * Putnam County, Missouri Registered Surnames (GenWeb)

Land and Property Records

 * Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records (land patent data for Putnam County, including document scans, can be searched online; searching for Putnam County without entering a personal name yields 205 pages of hits)

Local Histories

 * History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam and Schuyler Counties, Missouri. 1888. Chicago, Illinois : Goodspeed Pub. Co. Available online at FamilySearch
 * History of Northeast Missouri. (See "Putnam County" chapter.) Ed. by Walter Williams. 1913. Vol. 1 available online at Google Books.
 * Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri. (See "Putnam County" section.) 1874. Available online at Google Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Putnam County townships (Histopolis)
 * Plat Book, Putnam County, undated (estimate late 1920s-early 1930s; click on "other views" for additional pages) (University of MO Digital Library)
 * Putnam County Township Map (GenWeb)
 * An illustrated historical atlas of Putnam County, Mo. at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * Plat Book of Putnam County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images
 * Putnam County Veterans (GenWeb)

Civil War
Online Records


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

Regiments

Service men in Putnam 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 Putnam County, Missouri:

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1941-1946  at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Unionville Republican (est. 1865), Unionville
 * Putnam County Public Library Digital Newspaper Archives

Other Records

 * Old Postcard Pictures - Unionville (GenWeb)
 * Putnam County Early Photos (photos of individuals) (GenWeb)

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images
 * 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.

Birth

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1920-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Birth Index at Archive.org - images of index

Marriage

 * 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — 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 ($)
 * 1849-1853 Putnam County Marriage Index 1849-1853. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1853-1881 Putnam County Marriage Index 1853-1881. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1881-1885 Putnam County Marriage Index 1881-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images ($)
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Libraries

 * Putnam County Public Library Website Putnam County Public Library (MOGenWeb page)

Societies

 * Putnam County Historical Society 201 South Sixteenth Street Unionville, MO 63565 Phone: 660-947-2955 Website Putnam County Historical Society (MOGenWeb page)

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * Putnam County MO Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Putnam County MO, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * MOGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * genealogytrails.com. Free. Data submitted by individuals
 * 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 ($)