Clay County, Missouri Genealogy

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



Description
The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852). The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 1 Courthouse Square Liberty, MO 64086 Phone: 816-792-7637 Clay County Website Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1822. Probate Court has probate records.

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

Biographies

 * Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton and Linn Counties, Missouri Index to Biographies at Ancestry ($)
 * Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri: containing biographical sketches at Ancestry ($)

Cemeteries

 * Clay County, Missouri Cemetery Records, Volume I-II at Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Census Records
{{Historical populations | type = USA | heading = Census | footnote = Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Missouri#Demographics{{Historical populations }} {{MO Census Intro|Clay}}
 * type = USA
 * heading = Census
 * footnote = Source: "Wikipedia.org".
 * 1830 |1780
 * 1840 |4746
 * 1850 |7514
 * 1860 |12562
 * 1870 |19136
 * 1880 |25224
 * 1890 |26254
 * 1900 |26826
 * 1910 |23503
 * 1920 |21769
 * 1930 |19588
 * 1940 |18084
 * 1950 |14944
 * 1960 |12720
 * 1970 |11084
 * 1980 |10489
 * 1990 |9202
 * 2000 |8438
 * 2010 |7831

{{Census|Missouri}}

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Catholic St. James, Liberty


 * 1847-1873 St. James, Liberty, Baptism Index 1847-1873. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1847-1879 St. James, Liberty, Marriage Index 1847-1879. Batch  at FamilySearch.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Missouri City

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 7th Judicial Circuit Court, Clay County, Missouri

Directories

 * Kansas City, Missouri City Directories, 1889-91 at Ancestry ($)

African Americans

 * 1865-1885 Clay County Colored Marriage Index 1865-1885. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

 * A Civic History of Kansas City, Missouri. Online at: Ancestry ($)
 * Clay County, Missouri Centennial Souvenier, 1822-1922. 1922. by Alexander Doniphan Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Liberty, Missouri: Liberty Tribune. Online at: FamilySearch; and at Missouri Digital History
 * Clay County Soldiers and Sailors. n.d. by G. A. Puckett. Liberty, Mo. : Liberty Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch
 * History of Clay County, Missouri. by William H. Woodson. 1920. Topeka, Kansas: Historical Publishing Company. Online at: FamilySearch; and at Missouri Digital History
 * History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri. 1885. St. Louis: National Historical Company. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * History of Missouri's Counties, County Seats, and Courthouse Squares. 1983. by Marian M. Ohman. Missouri: Missouri State Library. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * Kansas City, Missouri : its History and its People, 1808-1908. Online at: Ancestry ($)
 * Simon Cockrell : Early Missouri Pioneer. s.n. by W. W. Ballew. S.l.: s.n. Online at: FamilySearch
 * State of Missouri: an autobiography. 1904. by Walter Williams. Columbia, Mo: Press of E. W. Stephens. Online at: Missouri Digital History

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Clay County townships (Histopolis)
 * Missouri As It Is In 1867. 1867. by Nathan II. Parker. Philadelpia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all 114 Missouri counties including Clay County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1886 Clay County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
 * An Illustrated historical atlas of Clay County, Mo at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Clay County, Missouri for European settlers included:


 * Missouri River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * California Trail 1846 from western Missouri to northern California

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection

Civil War
Online Records


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-1938  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Regiments

Service men in Clay 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 Clay County, Missouri:

Civil War Battle The following Civil War Battle was fought in Clay County.
 * September 17, 1861 - Liberty, also known as Blue Mills Landing, Blue Mills.
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

World War I

 * Clay County, Missouri biography & service record; soldiers, sailors & marines, ca. 1917-1918 Image 525

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1941-1946  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1843-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

 * Liberty Tribune, 1860-1869 and Liberty Weekly Tribune, 1846-1860 Searchable online at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Digital Collections, Index to Selected Missouri Newspapers.
 * Missouri Digital Newspaper Project at Missouri State Historical Society

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1750-1988 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * Abstracts of wills and administrations of Clay County, Missouri at Ancestry ($)

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index.
 * 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1827-1935  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1855-1869 Clay County Birth Index 1855-1869. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1865-1885 Clay County Birth Index 1865-1885. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1883-1884 Clay County Birth Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1920-2015 Missouri, Birth Index, 1920-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)

Marriage

 * 1750-1920  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1800-1991  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry $
 * 1822-1878 Clay County Marriage Books A thru D Index 1822-1878. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1852-1900 Clay County, Missouri Marriages, 1852-1900: Vol. 1-3 at Ancestry $
 * 1877-1885 Clay County Marriage Books E thru F Index 1877-1885. Batch at FamilySearch.

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883-1884 Clay County Death Index 1883-1884. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images.
 * 1968-2022 Missouri, Death Index, 1968-2015 at Reclaim the Records — index; Also at: MyHeritage ($); Ancestry ($)
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Archives

 * Clay County Archives and Historical Library 210 E Franklin Liberty, MO 64068 Phone: 816-781-3611; Fax: 816-781-3611 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 99 Liberty, MO 64069 Email: [mailto:info@claycountyarchives.org info@claycountyarchives.org] Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Liberty Missouri FamilySearch Center
 * Riverview Missouri FamilySearch Center

Libraries

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

Societies

 * Clay County Archives and Historical Library P.O. Box 99 Liberty, MO 64069 816-781-3611 Website


 * Clay County Museum and Historical Society 14 N. Main St. Liberty, MO 64068 (816) 792-1849 Email: [mailto:claycountymuseum@gmail.com claycountymuseum@gmail.com] Website Facebook


 * Northland Genealogy Society P.O. Box 14121 Parkville, MO 64152 Email: [mailto:President@northlandgensoc.org President@northlandgensoc.org] Website


 * Smithville Historical Society P.O. Box 270 Smithville, MO 64089 (816) 532-0255 Website

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * Clay County Missouri Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Clay County MO, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * MOGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * 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
 * Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * Missouri Genealogy. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)