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United States Missouri Washington County

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

	Missouri Online Records

Washington County, Missouri
Map
Location of Missouri in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	August 21, 1813
County Seat	Potosi
Courthouse
Address	Washington County Courthouse 102 N Missouri Street Potosi, MO 63664 Phone: 573.438.4901 Washington County Website

County Courthouse

 

County Clerk has birth records 1883-1891
and death records 1883-1886; Clerk Circuit
Court has marriage, divorce, court and land 
records from 1825; Probate Office has probate
records from 1814^[1]

History

Washington County, Missouri was organized 21 August 1813. This became effective 1 November 1813. The county was named after George Washington.

Parent County

1813--Washington County was created 21 August 1813 from Ste. Genevieve County. County seat: Potosi ^[2]

Boundary Changes

• See an interactive map of Washington 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

• Belgrade
• Berryman
• Cadet
• Caledonia
• Courtois
• Irondale
• Mineral Point
• Potosi
• Richwoods
• Tiff

See also:

• Washington County, Missouri Places (GenWeb)

Neighboring Counties

• Crawford
• Franklin
• Iron
• Jefferson
• St. Francois

Resources

African American

• 1865-1875 - Washington County Marriage Index 1865-1875. Batch M515903 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Cemeteries

• Blackwell Masonic Cemetery, Surnames A-L (GenWeb; contains a number of Jefferson County residents)
• Blackwell Masonic Cemetery, Surnames M-Z (GenWeb; contains a number of Jefferson County residents)
• St. James Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Burial Records, 1845-1921 (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri Cemeteries (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri Cemetery Records (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• Washington County, Missouri Photos (of tombstones, U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Census

• 1830 census index (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• 1830 census, Part 1 of 2 (Mo. GenWeb)
• 1830 census, Part 2 of 2 (Mo. GenWeb)
• 1830 census, Part 1 of 2 (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• 1830 census, Part 2 of 2 (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• 1850 slave schedule (Caulley's Corner)
• 1890 special enumeration, Union veteran's census (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

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

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.

• St. James Catholic Church Records (GenWeb)
• St. James Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Burial Records, 1845-1921 (GenWeb)
• St. James Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Marriage Records, 1827-1904 (GenWeb)
• St. Joachim Catholic Church Records (GenWeb)
• St. Joachim Church, Washington County, Missouri, First Communion Classes, 1926-1932 (GenWeb)
• St. Joachim Church, Washington County, Missouri, Partial List of Baptism Records, 1820-1899 (GenWeb)
• St. Joachim Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Marriage Records, 1821-1899 (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri Churches (GenWeb)

Court

• Washington County, Missouri Court Records (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

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 Washington 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

• Biographies from The History of Washington County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Maps

• Family Maps of Washington County, Missouri (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

• Interactive map of Washington County townships (Histopolis)

• The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Washington County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
• Map of 1904 Washington County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Military

• Washington County, Missouri Military Records (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Miscellaneous

• Washington County, Missouri Photos (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

Newspapers

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

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Washington County, Missouri Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

• Washington County, Missouri Newspapers (U.S. GenWeb Archives)

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

• 1865-1895 - Washington County Birth Records, 1865-1875, 1882-1895 (Vien Ici)
• 1865-1875 - Washington County Birth Index 1865-1875. Batch C515903 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1883 - Washington County Birth Index 1883. Batch C514619 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Marriages

• 1815-1881 - Washington County Marriage Index 1815-1881. Batch M515901 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1827-1904 - St. James Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Marriage Records, 1827-1904 (GenWeb)
• 1821-1899 - St. Joachim Church, Washington County, Missouri, Various Marriage Records, 1821-1899 (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri Early Marriages (GenWeb)
• 1881-1885 - Washington County Marriage Index 1881-1885. Batch M515902 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1897-1911 - Washington County, Missouri Marriage Book #34 and #35 (1897-1911) (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri Marriage Records (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• Brian Oster Missouri Marriage Records Site

Deaths

• 1883-1893, 1973-1976 - Washington County Death Records, 1883-1893, 1973-1976 (Vien Ici)
• 1910- - Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
• 1883 - Washington County Death Index 1883. Batches B514619 and B514608 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Societies and Libraries

• Mine au Breton Historical Society
• Old Mines Area Historical Society
• Washington County, Missouri Library

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• African-American History (Washington and Iron Counties)
• Family History Library Catalog
• Old Mines, Washington County, Missouri (Carroll's Corner)
• Potosi, Washington County, Missouri (GenWeb)
• Washington County Courthouse (University of Missouri Extension)
• Washington County, Missouri Biographies (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• Washington County, Missouri GenWeb
• Washington County, Missouri History (biographies, U.S. GenWeb Archives)
• Washington County, Missouri Pioneer Families (GenWeb)
• Washington County, Missouri U.S. GenWeb Archives

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Washington County, Missouri. Page 406 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/f/f4/Igimissourir.pdf.

This Missouri-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. While this page is under construction, may we suggest Cyndi's List.

• This page was last modified on 17 June 2013, at 19:26.
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