Cass County, Missouri Genealogy
Guide to Cass County, Missouri ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Cass County, Missouri | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Missouri, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Missouri in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | March 3, 1835 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Harrisonville |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Cass County Courthouse 102 E Wall Street Harrisonville, Mo 64701 Phone: 816.380.8102 Cass County Website |
Contents
County Information[edit | edit source]
Cass County, Missouri Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1883 | 1836 | 1830 | 1837 | 1835 | |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has birth records 1861-1896 and court records from 1843; Recorder of Deeds has marriage, divorce and land records; Associate Division has probate records.[2]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1835 Cass County was created 3 March 1855 from Jackson County. County seat: Harrisonville. [3] It was originally named Van Buren County. Its name was changed to Cass County in 1848.
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog
- Archie
- Austin
- Belton
- Big Creek Township
- Coldwater Township
- Creighton
- Drexel
- Everett Township
- Freeman
- Garden City
- Harrisonville
- Kansas City
- Lone Tree
- Peculiar
- Pleasant Hill
- Raymore
- The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all Missouri Counties.
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Bates • Henry • Jackson Johnson • Johnson County, Kansas • Miami County, Kansas
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| MOGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| MOGenWeb Archives | ||
| Tombstone Project | ||
| MOInterment | ||
| MNGravestones | ||
| EPodunk | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Missouri Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- Cass County, Missouri, Cemetery Records, Vol. 1 at Ancestry.com ($)
- Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries
Census[edit | edit source]
- 1732-1933 - Missouri State and Territorial Census Records, 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images
For tips on accessing Cass County, Missouri Genealogy census records online, see: Missouri Census.
Church[edit | edit source]
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Missouri denominations, view the Missouri Church Records wiki page.
City Directories[edit | edit source]
- Kansas City, Missouri City Directories, 1889-91 at Ancestry.com ($)
Court[edit | edit source]
- 1800 - 1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land[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]
A History and directory of Cass County, Missouri containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc. by A.L. Weber (1908) is available online free from Google Books.
- Kansas City, Missouri : its history and its people, 1808-1908 at Ancestry.com ($)
- A civic history of Kansas City, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)
- The History of Cass and Bates counties, Missouri : containing a history of these counties, their cities, towns; biographical sketches of their citizens, general and local statistics, history of Missouri. St. Joseph, Mo. : National Historical Co., 1883.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
- Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather. History and directory of Cass County, Missouri : containing a history of the county, its towns, commercial interests, etc... Harrisonville, Mo. : Cass County Leader, 1908.
- Online at Family Search (Free)
- Glenn, Allen. History of Cass County, Missouri. Topeka, Kansas : Historical Pub. Co., 1917.
- Online at FamilySearch (Free)
Maps[edit | edit source]
- Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
- Family Maps of Cass County, Missouri Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- Map of Cass County townships (Histopolis)
- The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Cass County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
- Map of 1904 Cass County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)
Military[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
- Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications at FamilySearch — images
Regiments
Service men in Cass County, Missouri served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Cass County, Missouri:
- - 12th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry - Confederate, Company K
- - 1st Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company E
- - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company A
- - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company C
- - 2nd Battery, Missouri State Militia Artillery (Union), Company D
- - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company A
- - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company B
- - 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry State Guard (8th Division) - Confederate, Company C
- - 1st Battery, Missouri Light Artillery - Confederate, Also known as Henry Guibor's Light artillery Battery
- - 14th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company D
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 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]
Probate[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.com — index and images $
Taxation[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.
Births[edit | edit source]
- 1827 - 1935 Missouri, Births and Christenings, 1827-1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
- 1851 - 1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
- 1865 - 1867 Cass County Birth Index 1865-1867. Batch C514751 at FamilySearch - free.[4]
Marriages[edit | edit source]
- 1750 - 1920 Missouri, Marriages, 1750-1920 at FamilySearch.org — 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.com $
- 1835 - 1882 Cass County Marriage Books A thru E Index 1835-1882. Batch M514751 at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
- 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1881 - 1885 Cass County Marriage Books 1 and 2 Index 1881-1885. Batch M514752 at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
- The marriage records of Cass (Van Buren) County, Missouri at Ancestry.com ($)
Deaths[edit | edit source]
- 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
- 1867 - 1976 Missouri, Deaths and Burials, 1867-1976 at FamilySearch.org — index
- 1870 - 2011 Web: Cass County, Missouri, Obituary Index, 1870-2011 at Ancestry.com ($)
- Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.
Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]
- Cass County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 406
400 E. Mechanic Street
Harrisonville, MO 64701
Phone: 816-380-4396
- Cass County Historical Society
P.O. Box 406
400 E Mechanic Street
Harrisonville, MO 64701-0406
Phone: 816-887-2393
Facebook
- Cass County Family History Guild
Pearson Hall
400 E. Mechanic Street
Harrisonville, MO 64701
Phone: 816-773-8464
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.
Websites[edit | edit source]
 |
Check back often with these websites. Internet offerings are growing at record rates. Local societies and libraries may know of other websites. |
| Missouri Digital Heritage | Free | digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State |
| MOGenWeb | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions |
| USGenWeb Archives | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| RootsWeb resources | Free | Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions |
| Linkpendium | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| CyndisList | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
| StateofUS | Free | family history resources and government records |
| Missouri Genealogy | Free | Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($) |
Books, microfilm, or manuscripts of genealogical records | |
| FamilySearch catalog | Select topics. To select towns, add a comma to the search box. |
| WorldCat | To find nearby libraries that have specific items, see WorldCat Online Catalog. |
| Allen County Public Library | Major genealogy resource library, located in Indiana. On home page enter "Cass Missouri" and search catalog. |
| Missouri State Archives Library | catalog; from this page you must search "Cass County" |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Alice Eichholz, Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Revised ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992), 422-438. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002). At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002). At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ 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.
