Perry County was organized November 16, 1820, (effective January 1, 1821) from Ste. Genevieve County and named for Oliver H. Perry, naval hero of the War of 1812. The County Seat is Perryville. The City of Perryville came into existence with the sale of lots from donated land around the present Courthouse square. Monies from the sale of the lots were used to build the first County Courthouse in 1825. The City of Perryville was incorporated in 1831. See also County History or Courthouse History for more historical details.
Perry County has records of genealogical interest available: Recorder of Deeds: Index to deeds, 1821-1891; Deed records, 1821-1886; Index to marriage records, 1830-1950; Marriage records, 1830-1916. Clerk of the County Court: Permanent record of births, 1883-1894; Register of births and stillbirths, 1883-1887; Permanent record of deaths, 1883-1894; Register of deaths, 1883-1893. Clerk of the Circuit Court: Index to circuit court records, (no dates); Circuit court records, 1821-1894; Naturalization records, 1893-1926. Clerk of the Probate Court: Probate records, 1831-1916; Administrator’s/executor’s letters, bonds and records, 1845-1907; Inventories, appraisements and sale bills, 1855-1890; Settlement records, 1833-1892; Guardian’s/curator’s records, 1826-1876; Index to will records, (no dates); Will records, 1821-1914.
The Health Department has Birth & Death Records from 1910-Present. See Court Records for more details on whats available from the courthouse.
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. The offices have been furnished with large fire-proof safe, and there are few counties in the State that have as complete or as conveniently arranged records.
All Departments below are in the Perry County Courthouse located at 15 W. Saint Marie St., Suite 1, Perryville, MO 63775; Telephone: (573) 547-1611 , unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.perryvillemo.com/ . See also Courthouse History. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Perry County Clerk of the Court has Birth & Death Records from 1883-94. 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.”
Perry Register of Deeds / Recorder has Marriage Records from 1830 and Land Records from 1821. 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.
Perry County Probate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1821 . Appointments are necessary to research any and all Probate Records. Please contact one of the following telephone numbers to make arrangements: 573-547-2927 573-547-5259 573-547-7378 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).
Perry County Circuit Court Clerk has Court Records from 1821. 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.
Below is a list of online resources for Perry County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Perry County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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.
Click Here to Search Missouri Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Records, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth & Death Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $15 per record,
$15 for each additional copy. The cost of a death record is $13 per record,
$10 for each additional copy. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: To request a certified copy of a marriage license contact the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the license was obtained.To request a certified copy of a divorce decree contact the Circuit Clerk in the county where the decree was granted.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: To request a birth or death certificate from a local health department, you may download the application and submit it in person or by mail to the nearest local health department. Order By Mail: Make check or money order payable to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Checks must be drawn on a United States bank. A money order must be drawn on a United States bank or issued by the United States Postal Service. Do not send cash. Mail to the following address: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services,
Bureau of Vital Records,
P.O. Box 570,
Jefferson City, MO 65102. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Missouri newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Missouri Newspaper Death Index: Spanning over 150 years with over 50,000 records from three Missouri counties, this updated version of the Missouri Newspaper Index is a wonderful resource for the researcher with ancestors in this area.
Click Here to Search Missouri Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Perry County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Perry County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Missouri Census, 1830-70: This collection contains the following indexes: 1830 Federal Census Index; 1830-39 Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1850 Slave Schedules; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1860 Slave Schedules; 1870 Federal Census Index; Early Census Index.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Missouri and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Missouri showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Missouri showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries.
Below is a list of online resources for Perry County Maps. Email us with websites containing Perry County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Missouri Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Perry County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Perry County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Missouri (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Missouri Confederate Death Records: This list, originally published in the St. Louis Republic in the spring of 1895, reveals important information regarding many of these volunteers
Missouri Confederate Volunteers: Taken from the History of the First and Second Missouri Confederate Brigades, 1861-1865 published in 1879, this database lists over 1600 men who volunteered to fight in the 1st and 2nd Missouri Confederate Brigades.
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 Perry County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Perry County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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 Perry County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Perry County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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
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.
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.
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 Perry County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Perry County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Missouri obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Missouri newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Missouri.
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.
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 Perry County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Perry County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Missouri Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Shaped like a camel's hump, Perry Co., MO consists of 471 square miles that fit neatly into a wedge created by the confluence of Apple Creek and the Mississippi River. Topographically, it is divided into lowlands and uplands. The lowlands comprise about 1/8 of the county and lie for the most part along the river. In the Northeast corner is the Bois Brule Bottom, meaning Burnt Wood, the most extensive tract of lowland, approximately 15 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide. Its rich soil, coupled with its size, makes it the most productive farmland in the county. Smaller in size but still important, are the Brazeau Bottom on the Mississippi River below Cape Cinque Hommes and the bottom situated near the mouth of Apple Creek.
The Uplands constitutes the largest part of the county and its topography varies greatly. The best parts of it are in the central area where the soil is generally good and the terrain nearly level or gently rolling. Rolling uplands surround this central section and are bounded by the Saline Hills to the West and the Mississippi River Hills and Buffs to the East and northeast.
In the eighteenth century the Perry County area, like the rest of the future State of Missouri, was part of Louisiana. For most of the century the region was uninhabited, even by the French of nearby St. Genevieve. The later was the first permanent white settlement in the MO area. In 1764, when the terms of the Treaty of Paris were announced in Louisiana, the French settlers found themselves transferred to an alien domination, that of Spain. In general the French were unhappy with the change of rule and the Spanish governance of the territory was an uneasy one, occasionally punctuated by armed rebellion. In the St. Genevieve area, the Spaniards, making a virtue of necessity, tended to let the French govern themselves.
The first inhabitants of what is now Perry County, were the Shawnee Indians. In the 1780s, they had crossed the Mississippi River from the East and spread throughout southeastern MO. Their largest village, a population of some 400, was located in the southern part of the county, just above Apple Creek, near present day Uniontown. Within a decade of the Indian immigration, Spanish authorities showed an interest in opening the area to colonization by Americans.
The first white settlers arrived in the region during the latter half of the 1790s and claimed rich land in Bois Brule Bottom. These Americans organized the region's original Baptist Church in 1807. In the early 1800s, a second group of American settlers crossed the Mississippi to take advantage of Spanish land offers. These were Catholics of English stock, from north-central Kentucky. They had originally come from Maryland to escape religious discrimination and prided themselves on being descendants of Lord Baltimore's original colonists. The first of these to settle permanently in the future Perry County was Isidore Moore. He arrived in 1801 and became a patriarch of the area. Others soon followed whose family names predominated the decades: Tucker, Fenwick, Cissell, Hayton, Riney, Hamilton, Layton, Manning, and Ragan. Most of these settled in the uplands around Perryville in a place called the Barrens because of its open land.
New Bourbon: 1796 Census of North America Upper Louisiana
Free Blacks and Mulatto 8
Slaves 109
Whites 256
Total 373
New Bourbon: 1797 Census of North America* America
*America 07
Canada 07
Creole 16
Delaware Indian 120
Shawnee Indian 70
Total 220
* *Heads of Households only Explained in the New Bourbon Census, which was a French census and therefore different from a United States census.
When the region was transferred to American sovereignty in 1803-1804, the Barrens became part of the Louisiana Territory. Prior to the admission of MO to statehood in 1821, several new migrations altered the religious composition of the future county. In 1817, a large group of Presbyterians from North Carolina settled in the neighborhood of Brazeau, an area roughly bounded by the Mississippi River and the Cinque Hommes and Apple Creek. These settlers organized a church in 1819. They ere soon followed by Methodists from the same state whose family names live on, like Abernathy, Farrar, and Rutledge. In 1826, they built their first log meeting house, which was later replaced by York Chapel
Until 1821, the Barrens region formed the southern portion of St. Genevieve County. When MO received statehood, Perry County was organized out of the parent district. It was divided into three townships, Brazeau, Cinque Hommes, and Bois Brule. Their boundaries, following natural geographical features, were quite irregular. In 1856, the borders were made symmetrical and two new townships, St. Mary's and Saline, were added.
After 1821, the descendants of French colonial families from St. Genevieve trickled into Perry County, and in the middle of the next decade, their ranks swelled by immigrants from France itself. They settled on the lands that were near the present city of Perryville. At about the same time, a small group of Flemings settled in the northeastern part of the county, with the present town of Belgique as their center. There were also Swiss in the same area.
In the late 1830s, saw the beginnings of a heavy German immigration that would permanently alter the ethnic balance of the county. In the fall of 1838, more than 600 Saxon Lutherans, under the leadership of Pastor Martin Stephen, uprooted themselves and migrated to MO, seeking to avoid enforced religious conformity. They settled in the southeast corner of the county and moved inland through a series of towns whose names enshrined both religion and nationality: Wittenberg, Friedheim, Frohna, Dresden, Altenburg, and Paitxdorf, which was renamed Uniontown during the Civil War.
Others that settled in the area were German Catholics, mostly from Bavaris and Baden. They settled in the Barrens area. The Lutherans and Presbyterians established churches in the region bounded by the 1856 township of Brazeau. The Methodists located father west in the area that comprised the 1856 township of Cinque Hommes. There they set up two churches, the first York Chapel, near present day Longtown, abt 5 miles southeast of Perryville, and in 1836 a second in Perryville itself. Then in 1844-1845, they divided between north and south over the question of whether a bishop could own slaves. The two Methodist churches in Perry County parted company, the city congregation going with the North and the York Chapel siding with the South. The Baptists of the county tended to congregate in both Bois Brule Bottom and in the area of Saline township. In the first decades of the 1800s, they met in private homes.
Courthouse History
After Perry County organized in 1821, county officials used a two-story, log building for conducting county business. In 1825 a contract was let for the first courthouse. Funding of the $1,486.25 project came from the sale of 55 lots from property deeded to the county by Bernard Layton.
No known illustrations of the structure exist. The two-story building was either frame or a combination of frame and brick. Thomas Hayden contracted to build this courthouse and completed his work in August 1826. The site was on the northeast corner of the square.
By 1859 a growing county created a need for more space. The court appropriated $8,000 for a two-story building, competed in 1861. John R. Layton superintended construction. The building continued in use until after the turn of the century, when grand jury reports indicated the condition of the building was beyond repair.
After county residents presented a petition calling for an election in February 1903, voters approved a proposition September 1, 1903, for a $30,000 bond issue to finance a new courthouse. From several plans submitted in November, the court selected the proposal of J. W. Gaddis, Vincennes, Indiana.
Caldwell and Drake, Columbus, Indiana, contracted for construction in January 1904. Construction began in February 1904; cornerstone ceremonies were conducted June 4, 1904. Total cost on the red brick, 65-by-92-foot building was $31,819. The courthouse continues in use today.
