Benton County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Benton 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 Thomas Hart Benton. The County is located in the west central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Benton County Courthouse PO Box 1238 Warsaw, MO 65355-1238 Phone: 660-438-7326 Benton County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1883 and marriage records from 1839. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records. Probate Court has probate records. Recorder has deeds and land records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Benton 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

 * Biographies from The History of Benton County, Missouri (1889) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

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

Local Histories

 * History of Benton County, Missouri in two parts. 1912. By James Henry Lay & George C. Worth. Warsaw, Missouri: Warsaw Times. Online at: Missouri Digital History
 * History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage counties, Missouri. 1889. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing 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
 * A Sketch of the History of Benton County, Missouri. 1876. By James Henry Lay. Hannibal, Missouri: The Winchell & Ebert Printing and Lithographing Company. Online at: Google Books; and at Missouri Digital History
 * 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 Benton 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 Missouri counties including Benton County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 Benton County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound) *Book of Benton County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * Standard Atlas of Benton County at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * Plat Book of Benton County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

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 Benton County, Missouri served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are ompanies that were specifically formed in Benton County, Missouri:

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

Newspapers

 * Missouri Digital Newspaper Project at Missouri State Historical Society
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available online. Their database has Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that sometimes included Benton County residents.

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 $

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 - 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 $
 * 1883-1892 Benton County Birth Index 1883-1892. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1920-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Birth Index at Archive.org - images of index

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 $
 * 1839-1861 Marriage records, Benton County, Missouri, 1839-1861 at Ancestry $
 * 1839-1880 Benton County Marriage Books A and B Index 1839-1880. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $

Death

 * 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883-1890 Benton County Death Index 1883-1890. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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.
 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1968-2015 Reclaim the Records: Missouri Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Libraries

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

Societies

 * Benton County Historical Society PO Box 1082 Warsaw, MO 65355 Phone: 660-438-2304

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * 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
 * 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 ($)