Cass County, Missouri Genealogy

United States Missouri  Cass County

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

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth records 1861-1896 and court records from 1843; Recorder of Deeds has marriage, divorce and land records; Associate Division has probate records

Parent County
1835--Cass County was created 3 March 1855 from Jackson County. County seat: Harrisonville. It was originally named Van Buren County. Its name was changed to Cass County in 1848.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Missouri county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Missouri County Boundary Maps" (1804-1889) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in Missouri counties see: Missouri Counties with Burned Courthouses

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog


 * The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all Missouri Counties.

Neighboring Counties
Bates • Henry • Jackson Johnson • Johnson County, Kansas • Miami County, Kansas

Cemeteries

 * Cass County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. 1 at Ancestry.com ($)

City Directories

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

Local Histories
A History and directory of Cass County, Missouri containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc. by A.L. Weber (1908) is available online free from Google Books.
 * Kansas City, Missouri : its history and its people, 1808-1908 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * A civic history of Kansas City, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)
 * ''The History of Cass and Bates counties, Missouri : containing a history of these counties, their cities, towns; biographical sketches of their citizens, general and local statistics, history of Missouri. St. Joseph, Mo. : National Historical Co., 1883.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather. History and directory of Cass County, Missouri : containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc... Harrisonville, Mo. : Cass County Leader, 1908.
 * Online at Family Search (Free)
 * Glenn, Allen. History of Cass County, Missouri. Topeka, Kansas : Historical Pub. Co., 1917.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.


 * Map of Cass County townships (Histopolis)


 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Cass County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.


 * Map of 1904 Cass County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Civil War

 * - 12th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company K :- 1st Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company E :- 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company A :- 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company C :- 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company D :- 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company A :- 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company B :- 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company C :- 1st Battery, Missouri Light Artillery - Confederate, Also known as Henry Guibor's Light artillery Battery :- 14th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company D

Births

 * 1865-1867 - Cass County Birth Index 1865-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1835-1882 - Cass County Marriage Books A thru E Index 1835-1882. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1881-1885 - Cass County Marriage Books 1 and 2 Index 1881-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * The marriage records of Cass (Van Buren) County, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)

Deaths

 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * Web: Cass County, Missouri, Obituary Index, 1870-2011 at Ancestry.com ($)

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries

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