Welcome to the Missouri - Reference Books
Annals of St. Louis in its Early Days Under the French and Spanish Dominations
- Compiled by Frederic L. Billon. "In 1764 St. Louis was founded by Pierre LaClede, Maxan & Co., as a trading post. In 1766 the village received an accession of inhabitants from the other side of the river, who preferred the Spanish to the English government..."An introductory chronology describes the discovery and descent of the Mississippi River, from Father Marquette's Journal, 1682. "The French Domination, 1764-1770" discusses LaClede's verbal grants of village lots in 1765, "the first manumission," in 1763, various villages, military matters, early French merchants, the first parish register and more. "The Spanish Domination, 1770-1804" began when Capt. Pierre Joseph Piernas, a Spaniard, assumed authority as lieutenant-governor and military commandant of the upper portion of the province. This section describes the establishment of the government and legal system, and contains several transcripts of early court cases. A variety of other material includes the flood of 1784, some biographical sketches, the Missouri Trading Company, the Mascou Indians, documents relating to the transfer of the Louisiana Territory, items in the archives of St. Louis, and some of the first Americans in St. Louis.
The appendix contains "brief notices of some of the most prominent of the early families of St. Louis; particularly of those whose names have been continued, through male descendants, to the present time." The index includes subjects and names, followed by an alphabetical list of subscribers. Illustrations include portraits and old buildings. (1886) reprint, 507 pp., illus., index, append., paper, $35.00 #ZB344
Annals of St. Louis in its Territorial Days From 1804 to 1821
The biographical section, making up approximately half of this volume, is a series of short sketches, each of which ends with a list of descendants. This volume also contains a 70-page "appendix" which includes a collection of miscellaneous material, for example, the treaty by which France ceded Louisiana to the United States, and several more biographical sketches, including Gov. Meriwether Lewis, Gen. William Clark, Gen. Zebulon Pike and others. There is a "historical index" as well as an everyname index. (1888) reprint, 465 pp., illus., indices, paper, $32.50 #ZB345
Missouri Birth and Death Records, Volume One - Sherida K. Eddlemon. Since the state did not have complete compliance of birth and death registration until 1911, other sources such as church, military, cemetery, tax, and probate records and newspapers from the time period are the researcher's main tools in establishing dates of birth and death. This volume is the first in a series devoted to these alternate sources of vital records. The birth and death records in this volume are presented in alphabetical order and come from sources in sixty-eight counties. 1995, c437 pp., index, paper, $33.50 #ZE129
Missouri Genealogical Gleanings 1840 and Beyond- Sherida K. Eddlemon. The purpose of this collection is to help the researcher pinpoint his or her ancestors between the census years. The author takes her information from church records, deaths records, inquests, cemetery lists, tax lists, poll lists, voter lists, licenses, wills, warranty deeds, original land entries, and estate settlements.
Volume 1
The following counties are covered: Andrew, Audrain, Benton, Buchanan, Callaway, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Chariton, Clark, Grundy, Henry, Hickory, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Maries, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Ralls, Randolph, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, Saline, St. Louis, Vernon, and Warren. 1994, 260 pp., index, paper, $24.00 #ZE125Volume 2
The following counties are covered: Andrew, Atchison, Barton, Bates, Benton, Boone, Buchanan, Chariton, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Dent, Dunklin, Franklin, Gentry, Green, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Madison, Marion, Moniteau, Morgan, Nodaway, Osage, Pettis, Polk, Putnam, Randolph, Ray, Saline, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, and Taney. 1995, c258 pp., index, paper, $24.00 #ZE123Volume 3
The following Missouri counties are covered: Andrew, Atchison, Audrain, Bates, Boone, Buchanan, Carroll, Cape Girardeau, Cass, Chariton, Clay, Dade, Dent, Franklin, Gentry, Hickory, Howell, Jackson, Jasper, Knox, Macon, Montgomery, Osage, Ozark, Pemiscot, Polk, Randolph, Saline, St. Louis, Vernon and Washington. 1996, 256 pp., index, paper, $25.00 #ZE133Volume 4
The following counties are covered: Andrew, Audrain, Boone, Buchanan, Carter, Cass, Clay, Grundy, Hickory, Howell, Jackson, Macon, Maries, Platte, Randolph, Reynolds, St. Louis and Taney. The section entitled "miscellaneous connections" includes lists of Missouri graduates from West Point, Civil War Medal of Honor recipients, Missourians listed on the Vietnam War Memorial, and excerpts from the Licking Valley Register (Covington, Kentucky) and the Weekly Kansas Chief. A surname index is included. 1997, 232 pp., surname index, paper, $20.00 #ZE114
Ten Thousand Missouri Taxpayers - Sherida K. Eddlemon. This valuable compilation contains tax list records from 35 Missouri counties between the years 1780 and 1867. About 10,000 names are listed alphabetically by surname. For each person, the book lists surname, first name, middle initial (when available), the year, the county and the type of tax. Tax lists fall into 12 types: Personal Property, Patentee of record on Tax List, Delinquent, Real Estate, Poll, Certificate, Certificate Security, Public Monies Received by County, County License Fees, Assessment List, Military Roster and Spanish. Also included is a list of contemporary historical events, such as Missouri achieving statehood in 1821 and gaining six counties with the Platte Purchase in 1837. "Tax records can fill a census gap. They can put an ancestor in a geographic location and time reference point. Using tax records to their fullest extent can be time consuming, but worth the effort... "In addition to personal property and real estate, individuals had to pay fees to have deeds recorded, purchase business licenses, and even to have writs and marriages filed. Most of these recorded additional fees only survive at the state level." 1996, 239 pp., paper, $24.00 #ZE131
Biographies of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford, and Gasconade Counties, Missouri
- Goodspeed Publishing Company. This reprinted volume consists of Part III of the original text. The more than one thousand sketches presented in this book are arranged alphabetically by county. Biographical information, although compiled by the editors, has been wholly furnished by the persons profiled. Written in a readable, engaging manner, sketches detail everything from ancestry to occupation to family data to religious and social affiliations in the subjects' lives. (1888) reprint, c480 pp., illus., new index, paper, $34.50 #ZG555
Missouri Family Histories and Genealogies: A Bibliography
- Donald M. Hehir. With over 1600 Missouri surnames, Mr. Hehir provides, in one source, a comprehensive listing of all printed Missouri genealogies and family histories that have made their way into major library collections across the U. S. The author researched library listings and catalogs covering many genealogical libraries, including the Library of Congress, the National Genealogical Society Library and the Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with historical association libraries from Massachusetts to California. Many of the books deal with multiple families, some with non-Missouri roots. Arranged for ease of use, the entries are presented alphabetically according to surname, with a cross-reference index to family and secondary names to help researchers find surnames that would otherwise remain buried within the text. No genealogist working with Missouri families should be without this time-saving volume. The author has also added an appendix with helpful hints on "Accessing the Library of Congress Records via the Internet." 1996, 216 pp., index, append., paper, $20.00 #ZH142
Political History of Jackson County, Missouri
- Marshall & Morrison. Subtitled "Biographical Sketches of Men Who Have Helped to Make It," this book seems at first glance to be purely a collection of biographical sketches (accompanied by photographs) of about two hundred citizens of this county, which lies on the west side of Missouri, about midway between the north and south ends of the state, containing Kansas City. On closer inspection it becomes evident that in between the photographs and their captions (typically a full page for each) there runs a history composed of chapters with headings such as Settlement of Jackson County, Organization of Townships, Political Episodes, Jackson County during the Civil War, The Democrat Split in 1900, County Officials, Kansas City's Early Development, Kansas City Since 1875 and City Officials. The publishers' aim in presenting this book was "to give a general review of the political conditions of the county, together with a register of officials which ought to be interesting and valuable for reference."Readers will learn how the first white man was said to set foot in Jackson County in 1787, but the first settlement was not until decades later, at Fort Osage. The county was thrown open for general settlement by treaty with the government in 1825. There is a description of the "Mormon War" and the events leading up to it. Civil War battles were fought on almost "every square inch" of the county. Most of the book, however, concerns political subjects and will be of welcome to anyone with an interest in political history. An everyname index containing about 1,500 names has been added. (1902) reprint, 276 pp., illus., new index, paper, $23.00 #ZM069
Oregon County, Missouri, Deed Abstracts, 1845 through 1868 - Nona Susan Williams. For the first time, Oregon County deeds covering a period of twenty-three years preceding and following the Civil War are available to researchers in abstract form. Oregon County, named for the Oregon Territory, was formed in 1845 from a portion of Ripley County; in 1857 Howell County was taken from the western portion of Oregon County. During the Civil War Oregon County's courthouse was burned by Union soldiers but county records, hidden in a cave, were preserved. Ripley County deeds as early as 1842 are included if the deeds were recorded after Oregon County was formed. 1994, 326 pp., indexes, paper $29.00 #ZW345
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