Atchison County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to Atchison 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 David Rice Atchison. The County is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Atchison County Courthouse P.O. Box 280 400 South Washington Street Rock Port, MO 64482 Phone: 660-744-6214 Atchison County Website County Recorder has marriage and land records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records. County Clerk has birth records 1883-1893. Probate Judge has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places in Atchison 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 History of Holt and Atchison Counties Internet Archive


 * The earliest inhabitants of what is now Missouri were Indians.
 * The first non indians to lay claim to what is now Missouri were the French
 * 1768 - Spain became the "owners" of the area.
 * 1800 October 1 - Spain ceded this area back to France
 * 1803 October 31 - France ceded this territory to the USA.
 * 1821 August 10 - Missouri became a state.
 * 1836 - The "Platte Purchase" was made with the Indians.
 * 1839 - The first white settler to settle in what is now Atchison County.
 * 1843 February 23 - Atchison County was organized.

Cemeteries

 * Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries Missouri Cemeteries

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Local Histories
A Biographical History of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri compendium of national biography (1901) is available online free from Google Books. Part I contains biographies of national celebrities. Part II (starts on p.219) contains biographies of Atchison and Nodaway county residents. Online at Missouri Digital History

Missouri Digital History
 * Van Leuven, Audrey. Early times of Atchison County, Missouri : being a collection of items taken mostly from old newspapers of early da ys in Atchison County, Missouri. Some are historical, some are amusing, all are interesting, 1838-1932. [S.l. : s.n.], 1984.
 * The History of Holt and Atchison counties, Missouri : containing a history of these counties, their cities, towns, etc., etc., biographical sketches of their citizens, general and local statistics ... history of Miss. Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox, 1974.
 * Directory of Atchison County Missouri; Containing the names, occupation and location of all the heads of families of the entire county, corrected up to October 1, 1899, Also election statistics, official census returns, maps and other valuable information.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Online at Internet Archive (Free)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of Atchison County townships (Histopolis)
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Atchison County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Plat Book of Atchison County, Missouri at Missouri Digital Heritage
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Atchison County, Missouri for European and African American settlers included:


 * Missouri River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Military Records

 * 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images

Civil War
Online Records


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

Regiments Service men in Atchison 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 Atchison 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

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
 * 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
 * 1883-1930 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1960 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 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

 * Northwest Missouri Genealogical Society 412 Felix Street St. Joseph, MO 64501 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 382 St. Joseph, MO 64502 Phone: 816-233-0524
 * Atchison County Historical Society 210 South Main Street Rock Port, MO 64482 Phone: 660-744-5800

Websites

 * Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
 * Atchison County MO Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Atchison 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
 * 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 ($)