Benton County, Missouri Genealogy

United States Missouri  Benton County

Guide to Benton County Missouri genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1883 and marriage records from 1839; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records; Probate Court has probate Court has probate records; Recorder has Deeds and land records

Parent County
1835--Benton County was created 3 January 1835 from Pettis and St. Clair Counties. County seat: Warsaw

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



 * The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties.

Populated Places

 * Cole Camp
 * Edwards
 * Mora
 * Warsaw

Neighboring Counties
Camden • Henry • Hickory • Morgan • Pettis • St. Clair

Local Histories

 * A sketch of the history of Benton County, Missouri by James Henry Lay (1876), only 76 pages, is available online free from Google Books.
 * Biographies from The History of Benton County, Missouri (1889) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Maps

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

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Sedalia newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that sometimes included Benton County residents.

Births

 * 1849-1865 - Benton County Birth Volumes 1 and 2 Index 1849-1865. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883-1892 - Benton County Birth Index 1883-1892. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages

 * 1839-1880 - Benton County Marriage Books A and B Index 1839-1880. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1873-1885 - Benton County Marriage Books C thru E Index 1873-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriage records, Benton County, Missouri, 1839-1861 at Ancestry.com ($)

Deaths

 * Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
 * 1883-1890 - Benton County Death Index 1883-1890. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

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