Carter County, Missouri Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat:	Van Buren
Organized:	March 10, 1859
Parent County(s):	Ripley, Shannon^[1]
Neighboring Counties
Butler • Oregon • Reynolds • Ripley • Shannon • Wayne See County Maps
Courthouse

Location Map

Adoption
This page is available for adoption

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Zimri A. Carter, a pioneer settler who came to Missouri from South Carolina in 1812. The County is located in the south central area of the state. ^[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Carter County Courthouse
105 Main Street
Van Buren, MO 63965-0517
Phone: 573-323-4527
Carter County Website

Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records.
Probate Court has probate records from 1859.^[3]

Carter County, Missouri Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records^[4]
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1910	1861	1910	1866	1845	1859	1830
Statewide registration started in 1910 for births and deaths. General compliance for births by 1927 and deaths by 1911.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

1859 Carter County was created 10 March 1859 from Ripley and Shannon Counties.
County seat: Van Buren^[5]

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.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, 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:^[6] ^[7]

Cities
Ellsinore	Grandin
Towns
Van Buren (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Chicopee Chilton Crites Corner	Eastwood House Creek	Keeney Corner South Van Buren
Census-designated places
Fremont	Hunter
Townships
Carter Township, Carter County, MO Johnson Township, Carter County, MO	Kelly Township, Carter County, MO Pike Township, Carter County, MO	Jackson Township, Carter County, MO
Ghost towns
Barren	Homestead	Midco

History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Carter County, Missouri online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com MOGenWeb MOGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MOGravestones EPodunk Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves
See Missouri Cemeteries for more information

Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries

Census Records[edit | edit source]

1732-1933 - Missouri State and Territorial Census Records, 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

For tips on accessing Carter County, Missouri Genealogy census records online, see: Missouri Census.

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Missouri denominations, view the Missouri Church Records wiki page.

Court Records[edit | edit source]

1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Missouri Land and Property for information about records of land transfers from the government to private ownership. After that transfer, transactions were usually recorded and are currently housed at the county courthouse.

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Carter County, Missouri Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Missouri Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
Interactive map of Carter County townships (Histopolis)
The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Carter County.

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

1900-1941 Missouri, Pre-WWII Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts, 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Online Records

1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
1911-1938 Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications, 1911-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II[edit | edit source]

1940-1945 - Missouri, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
1941-1946 - Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Carter County, Missouri Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
Do a Carter County, Missouri Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Carter County, vital record abstracts from Carter County newspapers (Missouri State Historical Society)

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Probate records include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information, see United States Probate Records.

In Missouri, probate records have usually been recorded by the clerks of the probate courts, but in some counties the common pleas or circuit courts handled this function. They are frequently indexed.

Online Probate Records

1750-1988 Missouri Probate Records 1750-1998 at FamilySearch — images
1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images $

School Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more information see the wiki page Missouri Taxation.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. For additional guidance on researching and using vital records, see United States Vital Records or How to order Missouri Vital Records.

St. Louis and Kansas City recorded births and deaths starting as early as 1850 for deaths and 1870 for births. The Missouri Department of Health began keeping birth and death records in 1909. County records vary by year and the county. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Missouri Vital Records State Department of Health, the County Clerk's office or order electronically online.

Birth[edit | edit source]

1817-1939 Missouri Births, 1817-1939 at FamilySearch — index
1827-1935 Missouri, Births and Christenings, 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $

Some Pre-1910 Birth Records are available online at Missouri State Archives. Birth Records - Over 250 reels of microfilm containing birth and death records from 1883 to 1893 are available at the Archives for research. To learn more about researching birth and death records from this period, contact the Archives using email: archref@sos.mo.gov

Marriage[edit | edit source]

1750-1920 Missouri, Marriages, 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — index
1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry $
1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
1861-1885 - Carter County Marriage Book A Index 1861-1885. Batch M514741 at FamilySearch.^[8]

Death[edit | edit source]

1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
1867-1976 Missouri, Deaths and Burials, 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
1883-1930 Missouri Deaths, 1883-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images
Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

West Carter County Genealogy Society
P.O. Box 309
Van Buren, MO 63965
Phone: 573-323-4315

Websites[edit | edit source]

Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
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
FamilySearch Catalog . 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 ($)

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Carter County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_County,_Missouri, accessed 18 Sept 2018.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Carter County, Missouri. Page 397-407 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 393-397.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Carter County, Mo" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_County,_Missouri#Communities, accessed 13 Sep 2019.
↑ "Carter County, Mo" in HomeTownLocator, https://missouri.hometownlocator.com/counties/cities,cfips,035,c,carter.cfm accessed 17 Sep 2019.
↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/5a/Igimissouria.pdf.

[1] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

[2] Wikipedia contributors, "Carter County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_County,_Missouri, accessed 18 Sept 2018.

[3] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

[4] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Carter County, Missouri. Page 397-407 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 393-397.

[5] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Missouri. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

[6] Wikipedia contributors, "Carter County, Mo" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_County,_Missouri#Communities, accessed 13 Sep 2019.

[7] "Carter County, Mo" in HomeTownLocator, https://missouri.hometownlocator.com/counties/cities,cfips,035,c,carter.cfm accessed 17 Sep 2019.

[8] Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/5a/Igimissouria.pdf.

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