Davies County, Missouri Genealogical Records Information

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Davies County History and Information

Davies County Facts

Davies County was organized December 29, 1836, from Ray County and named for Joseph H. Daviess, Kentucky soldier in the War of 1812. The County Seat is Gallatin. See also County History or Courthouse History for more historical details.

Davies County has records of genealogical interest available: Recorder of Deeds: Index to deeds, 1839-1887; Deed records, 1838-1909; Index to mortgages, 1860-1892; Mortgage Deeds, 1860-1895; Deeds of trust, 1873-1896; Plat book, 1898; Index to marriage records, 1837-1954; Marriage records, 1838-1920; Register of marriage licenses, 1883-1921; Negro/colored marriages, 1866-1904. Clerk of the County Court: Permanent record of births, 1883-1891; Permanent record of deaths, 1883-1891. Clerk of the Circuit Court: Index to circuit court records, 1837-1972; Circuit court records, 1837-1885; Circuit court files, 1839-1840. Clerk of the Probate Court: Index to probate records, 1890-1919; Proof of publication, notices and affidavits, 1899-1925; Settlement records, 1890-1910; Guardian’s/curator’s records, 1890-1919; Will records, 1890-1920. . The Health Department has Birth & Death Records from 1910-Present. See Court Records for more details on whats available from the courthouse.

Counties adjacent to Daviess County are Harrison County (north), Grundy County (northeast), Livingston County (southeast), Caldwell County (south), DeKalb County (west), Gentry County (northwest). Cities and Towns include Altamont, Coffey, Gallatin, Jameson, Jamesport, Lock Springs, Pattonsburg, Winston

Davies County, Missouri History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Davies County Court Records

See Also Missouri Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below are in the Davies County Courthouse P.O. Box 337, Gallatin, MO 64640-0337; Telephone: (660) 663-2932 , unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at ? . See also Courthouse History. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Davies County Clerk of the Court has Birth & Death Records from 1883-91.
In this office in each county is located an index to common pleas, records of all extant proceedings, chancery minute books, records of births and deaths, county court records, right-of-way and road records, as well as surveyor's records (including field notes and plats made by the county surveyor). This office usually holds the county treasurer's notes, bonds and commissions, records of marks and brands, wolf scalps, stray notices, real estate assessments, and tax books. In some counties, early terms for this court included “Chancery” or the “Court of Common Pleas.”

Davies Register of Deeds / Recorder has Marriage Records from 1837 and Land Records from 1838.
The Office of Recorder of Deeds records and files instruments of writing affecting real property or personal property, subdivision plats, federal and state tax liens, and other instruments of writing. Also, the Recorder’s Office issues marriage licenses, and in accordance with the Uniform Commercial Code files termination statements. All recorded instruments are available for public research.

Davies County Probate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1890 .
In the smaller counties, probate matters are handled in the same office as the associate circuit court office. (In larger counties, there will be a separate probate court clerk's office and separate probate judges/commissioners).

Davies County Circuit Court Clerk has Court Records from 1837.
This office holds the direct index to records such as divorces, debt, dissolution of partnerships, adoptions, judgment, and tax fee books including direct and indirect indexes. They also retain the index to criminal records and criminal files of the circuit court. Adoptions are under the jurisdiction of the circuit court. Naturalization records, including petitions, declarations of intention, certificates, and certificates of allegiance, and granting of citizenship are also located in the clerk's office, as well as an index to civil case files. Some naturalization records have been found with the deeds.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include:Missouri Marriages, 1766-1983, Missouri Marriages to 1850, Missouri Marriages, 1851-1900. You may also search the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Land Patents: 1831 - 1969. Many pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals.

Click Here to Search Missouri Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Davies County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Davies County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Davies County, Missouri Court Books at Amazon.com
Missouri Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Davies County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

The Missouri Historical Society has some original tax records; others can be found in the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri, but most extant records remain in the office of the clerk of the county court. The Missouri State Archives has microfilmed some tax records for the counties of Boone, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Chariton, Clay, Cooper, Franklin, Howard, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, St. Charles, St. Francois, and Ste. Genevieve.

Prior to 1850, purchasers of the federal lands in Missouri were exempt from land taxes for five years after purchase. If one finds an ancestor on a Missouri tax list with livestock, etc., but no land being taxed, the individual may have purchased his land from the government within the preceding five years.
Some early delinquent tax lists were sent to the state auditor's office and are now located in the Capitol Fire Documents held by the Missouri State Archives

Below is a list of online resources for Davies County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Davies County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Davies County, Missouri Tax Books at Amazon.com

Davies County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Missouri Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Davies County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Davies County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Winston Historical Society, P.O. Box 177, Winston, MO 64689-0177
Daviess County Historical Society, P.O. Box 97, Gallatin, MO 64640; Phone: (660) 663-2161
Local Missouri Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Missouri State Archives, Missouri State Information Center, [EMAIL]
P.O. Box 1747, 600 West Main Str, Jefferson City, MO 65102; Phone:(573) 751-3280, Fax: (573) 526-7333
State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Str., Columbia, MO 65201-7298; (573) 882-7083, [EMAIL]
Missouri State Genealogical Association, P.O. Box 833, Columbia, MO 65205-0833
Missouri Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
See the Society page for more statewide Societies and archives
Missouri Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Davies County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Missouri Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Davies County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Davies County Tombstone Transcription Project.

The Missouri State Archives has published A Brief Guide to Church Records on Microfilm which is a county by county listing, but it is currently out of print. The available church records can be located by using the Archives' Manuscript Register. Church microfilm rolls are not available for purchase, without written consent of the individual church, and must otherwise be used at the Missouri State Archives. The Western Historical Manuscript Collection on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus holds some church records. These can be located by using their descriptive catalogue or microfiche guide. Most church records in Missouri are scattered and remain in private hands

There is no central registry for cemeteries located in Missouri. The following national cemeteries are located in Missouri:

Springfield National Cemetery, 1702 E. Seminole Street, Springfield, Missouri 65804. All known soldiers buried there, including those transferred from towns throughout southwest Missouri were published in Ozar'kin
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 101 Memorial Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63125. There is a card file reference to persons interred there. Inquiries may be made by phone or mail.
Jefferson City National Cemetery, 1024 E. McCarty Street, Jefferson City, Missouri 65101. The researcher may phone or write the Jefferson Barracks for information.

Below is a list of online resources for Davies County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Davies County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Missouri Bible Records, Volume 1: The database is the first volume in a series of Bible records that includes such information as births, marriages, probate information, and deaths of individuals who settled in Missouri.
Davies County, Missouri Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Davies County, Missouri Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Missouri Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Davies County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Davies County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

Jamesport has the largest Amish community in Missouri.

According to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Jr. Daviess County at Adam-ondi-Ahman was the location where Adam and Eve relocated after being banished from the Garden of Eden. The site is to be a gathering spot prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Smith's revelvation which came in 1838 -- two years after the county was organized -- spurred in an influx of Mormon settlers. Non-Mormon residents feared they were going to lose control of the county and attempted to prevent Mormons voting in the Gallatin election day battle. This was to be the first skirmish in the Mormon War, in which Missouri successfully evicted the Mormons after arresting Smith and other Mormon leaders.

The Mormon Church now own the Adam-ondi-Ahman site and have opened a church in Gallatin.

The County played a major role in the history of the outlaw James-Younger Gang. The first confirmed bank robbery involving Jesse James occurred on December 7, 1869 at the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin. In the process the bank cashier John W. Sheets was killed by Jesse James, who believed Sheets was Samuel P. Cox, who had killed James's bushwhacker Bloody Bill Anderson during the American Civil War. On July 15, 1881, the gang was believed to have been responsible for the robbery of the Rock Island Line at Winston in which a conductor and passenger were killed.

After Jesse was murdered in St. Joseph, Missouri, Frank James surrendered in 1882 to face Daviess County charges in connection with the train robbery/murder as well as murder charges in the 1869 robbery. Frank James was tried from August 20 through September 6, 1883. Interest was so intense that the trial was moved to the Gallatin Opera House to accommodate the crowds. James was found not guilty of involvement in both crimes. Charges were made that the jury was filled with Southern sympathizers who refused to convict one of their own.[1]

The Daviess County Savings Association and the Gallatin Opera House have since been torn down although the Winston Rock Island Line train station still stands and is used by the historical society.

Daviess County has one of only three Rotary Jails still in existence. It is now a museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Courthouse History
Philip Covington drafted a plan for the Daviess County courthouse and presented it March 26, 1838. Although the court appropriated $6,000, this project apparently did not proceed.

Next the court accepted the plans of Jacob Stollings and W. C. Lincy in March 1840. For this courthouse there is both documentary and visual evidence. A drawing from An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Daviess County, 1876, depicts this example at Gallatin, and County Court records supply specifications.

The foundation was to be 3 feet thick, the brick wall of the first floor, 18 inches, and the second story, 13 inches thick. The building was "to be four square." The walls and roof of the colorful building were Venetian red. Doors were beech yellow; white window casings and sashes were accented with green blinds.

Bids for construction were let in 1840, and the contractor was given two years to complete his work. L. Nelson took the contract but needed an additional year. The cost of $8,094.55 exceeded the original estimates of $6,000. The work was completed in May 1843.

Double doors on the west and south provided entries to the courtroom, which occupied the entire lower floor. The rostrum on the north was so high that the feet of those on it were above the eye level of spectators seated on wooden benches. A stairway at the southwest corner led to four rooms on the second floor. When celebrating special occasions, the observation tower at the base of the cupola was decorated with flags. It provided space for speakers or bands. The large cupola, topped by a large brass ball, attracted admiration, but maintenance was a constant problem; leaking began only a few years after construction, causing water damage. Finally, after years of complaints, the court ordered the building razed in 1886.

After several unsuccessful elections, a special election held December 9, 1905, finally produced a vote in favor of a $75,000 new courthouse. The court selected the plans of P. H. Weathers July 9, 1906. On August 29 the building contract was awarded to M. T. Lewman and Co., Louisville, Kentucky, for $69,650. Construction began the following November, and the cornerstone was laid May 23, 1907. Work was completed on the building and accepted by the court in August 1908; dedication ceremonies took place October 5, 1908. This courthouse resembles those Weathers designed for Cape Girardeau County, 1906, and Stoddard County, 1909.

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