Guides: Missouriana: Genealogy

Tips and Tricks

Genealogy Tool Kit A checklist to get started with your family history.
Developing Your Research Skills A lengthy list of tips for the intricacies of genealogical research.
Missouri Research Tips and Strategies FamilySearch tips for genealogy research in Missouri.
History Hub HistoryHub from the National Archives is a crowd-sourced platform for historical research including genealogical research questions.

Genealogy for Beginners
Interested in doing your family tree but don't know how? Genealogy for Beginners covers everything you need to begin researching your family history or continue a project you've already started.

Archives, Libraries, and Organizations

Midwest Genealogy Center The Midwest Genealogy Center (MGC) is the largest free-standing genealogy facility in the U.S. and is located in Independence Missouri with a collection of more than 750,000 on-site materials.
State Historical Society of Missouri Researchers at the State Historical Society of Missouri will find a wide variety of published and unpublished sources to help them discover their family history.
Missouri State Archives The Missouri State Archives is the official repository for state records of permanent and historical value. Its mission is to foster an appreciation of Missouri history and illuminate contemporary public issues by preserving and making available the state's permanent records to its citizens and their government.
Missouri State Genealogical Association The Missouri State Genealogical Association publishes a quarterly journal featuring transcriptions of Missouri county, church, bible and cemetery records. An index to surnames found in journal volumes covering publication years 1981-2005 is available online.
ACPL Genealogy Center The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center provides free genealogy research databases, including other state resources with select Missouri cemetery records.
FamilySearch The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation. FamilySearch resources help millions of people around the world discover their heritage and connect with family members.

Newspapers

SHSMO Newspaper Collection Beginning with the July 26, 1808, issue of the St. Louis Missouri Gazette, SHSMO’s newspaper collection offers researchers a wealth of information about the day-to-day lives of Missourians and the political, cultural, economic, and religious events that have influenced them. The newspaper collection, with titles ranging from rural publications to large metropolitan dailies, now includes more than 72 million pages preserved on microfilm. The dynamic collection continues to grow, with some two hundred current newspapers, from every Missouri county, collected each week.
SHSMO Digital Newspapers The State Historical Society of Missouri is pleased to present a growing collection of digitized historic newspapers. These images are freely available to the public and are keyword searchable.
Chronicling America Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
Periodical Source Index (PERSI) Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center's subject index of thousands of local history periodicals and genealogical publications.
Newspapers for Genealogy: 8 Mistakes to Avoid

Local History

State Library Missouriana Collection The Missouriana collection of the State Library features Missouri county and city histories, folktales and folklore, biographies, natural history, geography, and more.
Missouri County Histories Online The Missouri County History project, sponsored by the Missouri State Library, has gathered county histories from all over the state. There are currently 115 volumes in this collection.
Local Historical, Museum, and Genealogical Agencies A list of some local, state, and national resources for historical information. This list is not comprehensive.
Missouri Library Directory Search for a Missouri library near you.

Please check with your local library for access to Ancestry.com or HeritageQuest. The State Library does not subscribe to these resources.

Geography

Missouri Land Records The Missouri State Archives Land Records database of land sales, patents, and concessions from 1777-1969.
Federal Land Records Bureau of Land Management's Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States. Does not contain every federal title record issued.
Geographic Names Server Official repository of standard spellings of all foreign geographic names sanctioned by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and variants or historical spellings.
Missouri Board on Geographic Names The Missouri Board on Geographic Names (MOBGN) is responsible for coordinating place-naming activity between local, state and federal agencies. Read the minutes for details and information.
U.S. Board on Geographic Names U.S. Board on Geographic Names domestic names search application for names of places, features and areas within the United States and its dependent areas.
Pathfinder U.S. Bureau of Land Management's land description and geocoding web services to find townships, land descriptions, and latitude/longitudes for land parcels.

Missouri - Federal Resources

National Archives at Kansas City Genealogy and historical research at Kansas City's branch of the National Archives. Permanent records created by federal agencies and courts for Missouri. Frequently requested items include Leavenworth inmate case files, bankruptcy records, naturalization, and alien (A-Files) case files.
National Archives at St. Louis Genealogy and historical research at St. Louis's branch of the National Archives. Permanent records include Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs), Civilian Conservation Corps Enrollee Records, Selective Service Records, and Deceased Veteran's Claim Files.
National Personnel Records Center The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) located in St. Louis, MO is the central repository of personnel-related records for both military and civil service of the U.S. Government. Military records are from WWI to present.

Vital Records

Bureau of Vital Records The Bureau of Vital Records, within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, provides certified copies of Missouri birth certificates from 1910 to present, and death certificates that are less than fifty years old. Missouri marriages and dissolutions of marriage records are maintained from 1948 to present.
Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, pre-1910 Birth, stillbirth, and death records recorded before 1909 available on microfilm at the Missouri State Archives.
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1973 The Missouri Death Certificate database can be searched by first, middle and last name, county, year and month. Digitized images of the original death certificates are linked to the search results.
Numerical Identification Files Numerical Identification files (NUMIDENT) are records of social security number (SSN) assigned to individuals with a verified death or who would have been over 110 years old by December 31, 2007. Entries in NUMIDENT may be applications for either SSN, claim, or death record.
Where to Write for Vital Records State or territory links to access birth, death, marriage, or divorce records.

Obituary and Cemetery Records

Find a Grave Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, or add photos, virtual flowers and a note to a loved one's memorial. Search or browse cemeteries and grave records for every-day and famous people from around the world.
Military Gravesite Locator Search the Nationwide Gravesite Locator for burial locations of Veterans and their family members in Veteran Administration national cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for Veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
St. Louis County Library's St. Louis Obituary Index From the St. Louis Public Library, an obituary index search from the St. Louis Post Dispatch for the years 1880-1931, 1942-1945, 1960-1970, and 1992-present.

Military Records

Soldiers' Records: War of 1812 - World War I The Missouri State Archives holds nearly 1.5 million pages that document the service of Missourians in domestic and foreign wars between 1812 and World War I. These military records primarily consist of individual service cards, but the extensive collection also includes muster rolls, special orders, reports, and more.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database From the National Park Service, the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies.
U.S. Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors Database The U.S. Mexican War Soldiers and Sailors System is a database containing information about the men who served during the war from the National Park Service.
NARA Online Veterans and Military Documents The National Archives holds federal military service records, though most are not online. Those that are online appear in select searchable databases.
How to Get Copies of Military Records Getting access to military records can help with veterans benefits, ancestry research, and more. Learn how to get your own records or someone else's.

Immigration Records

Naturalization Records, 1816 - 1955 The information contained in the naturalization records includes name, native city and/or native country, date of record, court of application (county court, circuit court, Supreme Court), and microfilm location for copy of full entry (reel number, volume and page numbers).
Ellis Island Passenger Search The Passenger Search database allows you to look for family members who arrived at the Port of New York from 1820 to 1957.
Ship Passenger Records Lists of passengers who arrived in the United States by ship between 1820 and 1912 from the National Archives Access to Archival Databases.
Passenger Arrival Records Microfilm and digitized records passenger arrivals to the U.S.

African American Genealogy

International African American Museum's Center for Family History Collections from the African American community spanning the colonial era of the Americas through the 20th Century.
Freedmen's Bureau Records Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture's Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal.
Trans-Atlantic and Intra-American Slave Trade Databases Databases of records of more than 36,000 voyages of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic between 1514 and 1866.
People of the Historical Slave Trade From Enslaved.org, Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade is a discovery hub of datasets and digital projects of named enslaved and free[d] individuals.
African American Gateway African American resources from the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean from the ACPL Genealogy Center
African American Genealogy Resources A list of resources gathered by the Library of Congress.

Native American Ancestry

Tracing American Indian and Alaska Native Ancestry This page will help you understand the Tribal enrollment process, tribal services, and guide you to resources that can assist with tracing American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry and conducting genealogical research.
Family Search: Native American Online Genealogy Records These are genealogy links to Native American online databases and indexes that may include birth records, marriage records, death records, biographies, cemeteries, censuses, histories, immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, obituaries, or probate records.
Tracing Native American Family Roots National Indian Law Library's genealogy guide.
Indigenous Peoples of North America Gateway First Nations family history resources from the ACPL Genealogy Center.

Census Records

Census Records and Tax Lists From the Missouri State Archives, territorial, state, federal, and special census records from 1752 to 2004. The database does not include federal population schedules.
Federal Census Records Federal population Census outside of the 72-year restriction. Digitized records are not complete, and not all records are available for free.
Census Enumeration Districts The National Archives collection of Bureau of the Census Enumeration District and Related Maps from 1880-1990. Not all records are available online.