Madison County, Missouri Genealogy

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History
Madison County, Missouri was organized 14 December 1818 by a legislative act which became effective 1 January 1819. The county was formed from parts of Cape Girardeau and Ste. (correct spelling) Genevieve Counties.

The county was named after President James Madison. Madison had been president until 1817, just shortly before the organization of the county, and was instrumental in facilitating the Louisiana Purchase, of which Madison County was a part.

Fredericktown is Madison County's county seat. The town is believed to have likely derived its name from the first name of one of the area's pioneer settlers, Capt. George Frederick Bollinger.

The earliest European settlement in Madison County was at Mine La Motte, located north of the county seat of Fredericktown. A primary motivation for early settlement was the potential for lead mining, and Mine La Motte became an early center for the manufacture of lead ammunition. Madison County is a part of the region of the state which is still referred to as the Lead Belt because of its intense mining activity in the past.

Another early Madison County settlement was the French Catholic village of St. Michaels, settled in 1799 and later absorbed into Fredericktown. German Reformed settlers from Bollinger County entered the area after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

The county's estimated 2004 population was 11,948.

Parent County
1818--Madison County was created 14 December 1818 from Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve Counties. County seat: Fredericktown

Populated Places

 * Cobalt: ePodunk page | Wikipedia page
 * Fredericktown (county seat): ePodunk page | Wikipedia page
 * Junction City: ePodunk page | Wikipedia page
 * Marquand: ePodunk page | Wikipedia page

Unincorporated:


 * Castor Station: Wikipedia page
 * Millcreek: Wikipedia page
 * Mine La Motte: Wikipedia page
 * Oak Grove: Wikipedia page
 * Saco: Wikipedia page
 * Zion: Wikipedia page

Neighboring Counties

 * Bollinger (east)
 * Iron (west)
 * Perry (northeast)
 * St. Francois (north)
 * Wayne (south)

General

 * Missouri State Archives Guide to County and Municipal Records on Microfilm: Madison County (pdf)

1876 State Agricultural Census

 * 1876 State Agricultural Census book in the courthouse, Fredericktown, MO, although this appears to perhaps be incomplete

Church

 * Tong, H.F., Historical Sketches of the Baptists of Southeast Missouri. St. Louis: National Baptist Publishing Company, 1888. (Google Books link with complete text)

Court
Madison County court records date back to 1827.

Land
Madison County land records date back to 1819.

Local Histories

 * Douglass, Robert Sidney, History of Southeast Missouri, Vol. 1. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1912. (Google Books link with complete text)

Maps

 * Fredericktown: Sanborn insurance maps (University of Missouri)
 * Marquand: Sanborn insurance maps (University of Missouri)

Probate
Madison County probate records date from 1821.

Birth
Madison County has birth records covering the period 1883 to 1900. Transcriptions are also accessible via the Missouri State Archives website.

Marriage
Madison County has marriage records dating back to 1821.

Death
The county has death records covering the period 1883 to 1900. Transcriptions are also accessible via the Missouri State Archives website.

Web Sites

 * Madison County, Missouri (GenWeb)
 * Profile for Madison County, Missouri (ePodunk)
 * Profile for Madison County, Missouri (ePodunk)