Franklin County, MissouriEdit This Page
From FamilySearch Wiki
United States 
Missouri Franklin County
Guide to Franklin County Missouri genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Franklin County, Missouri | |
| Map | |
 Location of Missouri in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | December 11, 1818 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Union |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Franklin County Courthouse Courthouse Square PO Box 311 Union, MO 63084-0311 Phone: 314.583.6355 Franklin County Website |
Contents |
County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth records 1883-1892
and death records 1883-1887; Recorder Deeds
has marriage and land records; Clerk Circuit
Court has divorce records; Probate Judge has
probate records[1]
History
Local histories are available for Franklin County, Missouri. 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
Parent County
1818--Franklin County was created 11 December 1818 from St. Louis County. County seat: Union [2]
Franklin County was established in 1818, two years before Missouri was admitted to the Union as a state. When the Missouri Territory was organized in 1812, there were only five counties: St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid. Franklin County was once part of St. Louis County. Between 1812 and 1820, the number of counties increased to 15 with the addition of Washington (1813), Howard (1816), and Jefferson, Franklin, Wayne, Lincoln, Madison, Montgomery, Pike and Cooper (all 1818). Any student of history and genealogy relating to Franklin County in the first half of the 19th century would be well advised to become apprised of the details of county formation and township formation as townships also evolved before assuming their present form. Someone living in St. Louis County in 1814 might actually have been in present-day Franklin County. Likewise, someone living in Franklin County in 1818 could have been living in present-day Gasconade County.
When the county was first organized, Newport was selected as the first county seat and remained so until 1825, when an act of Legislature effected its removal to Union. Before a courthouse could be built at Union, court was held in a structure belonging to Ambrose Ransom (see photo at right).
Two invaluable sources of early Franklin County history are Goodspeed and Kiel histories. "Goodspeed" is an 1888 history published by Goodspeed Publishing Company of Chicago, Illinois, correctly called "History of Missouri, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford, & Gasconade Counties. The "Kiel" history, correctly referred to as "The Centennial Biographical Directory of Franklin County, Missouri" compiled and published by Herman Gottlieb Kiel", 1925, is basically a book of lists, but the lists are a great tool for the researcher.[3]
Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Franklin County border changes at N2Genealogy.
Record Loss
Places/Localities
- The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties.
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Cemeteries
Church
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
Land
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
Local histories are available for Franklin County, Missouri. 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
- Family Maps of Franklin County, Missouri (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- Interactive map of Franklin County townships (Histopolis)
- The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Franklin County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
- Map of 1904 Franklin County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
Military
Civil War
USCT Volunteers who enlisted in Washtington, Franklin, Missouri
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Missouri newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Franklin County, Missouri Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
Probate
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.
Taxation
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
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. For additional guidance on researching and using vital records, see United States 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 or the County Clerk's office.
Births
- 1826-1899 - Franklin County Birth Records, 1826-1899, "colored" 1865-1875 (Vien Ici)
- 1842-1875 - Franklin County Birth Index 1842-1875. Batch C515101 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
- 1848-1863 - Franklin County Birth Index 1848-1863. Batch C515102 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
Marriages
- Franklin County Recorder of Deeds Marriage Search
- 1819-1875 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1819-1875. Batch M515101 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
- 1864-1881 - Franklin County Marriage Books C and D Index 1864-1881. Batch M515102 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
- 1881-1890 - Franklin County Marriage Books E and F Index 1881-1890. Batch M515103 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
- Brian Oster Missouri Marriage Records Site
Deaths
- Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
Societies and Libraries
Family History Centers
Web Sites
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
- http://www.franklinmo.org/
- Biographies from The History of Franklin County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Franklin County, Missouri. Page 400 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mofrankl/index.htm
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/5/5a/Igimissouria.pdf.
Need additional research help? Contact our research help specialists.
Need wiki, indexing, or website help? Contact our product teams.
Did you find this article helpful?
You're invited to explain your rating on the discussion page (you must be signed in).
- This page was last modified on 12 June 2013, at 20:37.
- This page has been accessed 2,005 times.
New to the Research Wiki?
In the FamilySearch Research Wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others.
Learn More